This neologism refers to the excessive extraction or elimination of common natural assets. It does not solely imply extracting natural elements for economic, commercial, and industrial objectives. Rather, it also refers to a development model where extractions are associated to the accumulation of wealth. Money is given greater value than the environment and life forms.
The extractivist processes usually involve a series of agents including the community, transnational corporations, and the government. In the majority of cases, extractions are exported.
Some extractivist practices include open-pit mining, hydrocarbon exploitation to expand the oil and energy industry, building large hydroelectric dams, or expanding agribusiness.
Criticisms of extractivism are centred on their environmental and social implications. For example, it is detrimental to the environment, and certain negative effects are concerning: climate change, the decrease in biodiversity, water pollution, deforestation, and soil depletion, among others.
Social effects include unjust and unsafe labour conditions, unequal wealth distribution, and the displacement of local and regional economies. This situation is proof of the relation between extractivism and the possibility of facing a socio-ecological crisis.
The extractivist processes usually involve a series of agents including the community, transnational corporations, and the government. In the majority of cases, extractions are exported.
Some extractivist practices include open-pit mining, hydrocarbon exploitation to expand the oil and energy industry, building large hydroelectric dams, or expanding agribusiness.
Criticisms of extractivism are centred on their environmental and social implications. For example, it is detrimental to the environment, and certain negative effects are concerning: climate change, the decrease in biodiversity, water pollution, deforestation, and soil depletion, among others.
Social effects include unjust and unsafe labour conditions, unequal wealth distribution, and the displacement of local and regional economies. This situation is proof of the relation between extractivism and the possibility of facing a socio-ecological crisis.