Impact of the extractive industry

Rio de Janeiro - Manifestantes realizam a Marcha Global pelo Clima na orla do Rio chamando a atenção da população da cidade para a gravidade das mudanças climáticas globais.(Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil)

The extractive industry, namely oil, mining and lumber, have major impacts on the environment and on society and can cause serious human rights violations in the territories.

Communities located near these business ventures are often directly affected but do not have the tools to hold companies and the institutions that finance them accountable.

Unforgivable disasters, such as the bursting of dams in Mariana and Brumadinho, both in the state of Minas Gerais, make it clear that Brazil has a predatory mining model whose modus operandi prioritizes low costs at the expense of people’s lives and safety.

Conectas wants to help the country adopt a mining model that is more respectful of people and the environment and that includes the impacted communities and civil society in decision-making processes. Conectas develops strategies to hold companies accountable for their actions and for the violations in their supply chains. To do this, we work together with a number of partners, such as the International Accountability Project, the Information Center on Business and Human Rights, the Suape Forum, SOMO and Repórter Brasil.