Negotiating extraction: Indigenous peoples and the upscaling of artisanal and small-scale mining in the central Peruvian Amazon

Abstract

Artisanal and Small Scale Mining (ASM) is on the rise in the Amazon biome. Several Protected Areas and indigenous lands from Peruvian Amazonia are currently witnessing a rapid expansion and upscaling of ASM. Nonetheless, while most of the scholarship documents cases of land grabbing and conflict, this article examines a case where indigenous communities negotiated access to their lands and managed to settle agreements with ASM operators, resulting in tangible individual and collective benefits. Based on an interdisciplinary approach that encompasses fieldwork, spatial analysis and GIS mapping in the Reserva Comunal El Sira in the Central Peruvian Amazon, this article follows three research objectives. It first documents the growth of ASM in this Protected Area, then explores the motivations of indigenous communities to engage in ASM, and finally examines how these communities coexist with ASM through negotiating individual and collective benefits. Results provide evidence that far from rejecting extraction, indigenous communities can coexist with ASM, even with so-called ‘illegal miners’, through pragmatic agreements. Our findings challenge monolithic narratives portraying ASM expansion on indigenous lands as merely environmental crimes, highlighting the need for a more nuanced perspective on its diverse expressions.