Communities from KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, protest the expansion of coal mining. Rob Symons
1 in 5 mining projects is stopped by well-organised resistance. So what does organising well and winning look like?
This report by Begüm Özkaynak, Beatriz Rodríguez-Labajos, Cem İskender Aydın from EJOLT assesses empirical evidence from 346 cases of mining resistance from around the world, featured on the EJOLT Atlas of Environmental Justice. Enriched by an interactive discussion of results with activists and experts it explores the general patterns identified in mining conflicts, and the factors that determine Environmental Justice ‘success’ and ‘failure’ from an activist viewpoint.
Highlighting that one in five projects had been stopped due to strong, well-organised community resistance. The report explores the importance of starting to resist early, building networks, sharing information and connecting with wider movements. These things improve chances of stopping mining and staying safe while doing it.