title: Examples of coupled human and environmental systems from the extractive industry and hydropower sector interfaces.
abstract: Large-scale corporate projects, particularly those in extractive industries or hydropower development, have a history from early in the twentieth century of creating negative environmental, social, and health impacts on communities proximal to their operations. In many instances, especially for hydropower projects, the forced resettlement of entire communities was a feature in which local cultures and core human rights were severely impacted. These projects triggered an activist opposition that progressively expanded and became influential at both the host community level and with multilateral financial institutions. In parallel to, and spurred by, this activism, a shift occurred in 1969 with the passage of the National Environmental Policy Act in the United States, which required Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for certain types of industrial and infrastructure projects. Over the last four decades, there has been a global movement to develop a formal legal/regulatory EIA process for large industrial and infrastructure projects. In addition, social, health, and human rights impact assessments, with associated mitigation plans, were sequentially initiated and have increasingly influenced project design and relations among companies, host governments, and locally impacted communities. Often, beneficial community-level social, economic, and health programs have voluntarily been put in place by companies. These flagship programs can serve as benchmarks for community-corporate-government partnerships in the future. Here, we present examples of such positive phenomena and also focus attention on a myriad of challenges that still lie ahead.
authors: Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115; mcastro@hsph.harvard.edu bhsinger@epi.ufl.edu.
authors: Marcia C
authors: MC
authors: Castro
authors: NewFields, Inc., Denver, CO 80202.
authors: Gary R
authors: GR
authors: Krieger
authors: NewFields, Inc., Denver, CO 80202.
authors: Marci Z
authors: MZ
authors: Balge
authors: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland.|University of Basel, CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland.
authors: Marcel
authors: M
authors: Tanner
authors: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland.|University of Basel, CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland.
authors: Jürg
authors: J
authors: Utzinger
authors: College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
authors: Maxine
authors: M
authors: Whittaker
authors: Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610 mcastro@hsph.harvard.edu bhsinger@epi.ufl.edu.
authors: Burton H
authors: BH
authors: Singer
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D000818:Animals; D019985:Benchmarking; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004777:Environment; D019652:Extraction and Processing Industry; D005843:Geography; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007812:Laos; D008288:Malaria / Q000517:prevention & control; D059206:Natural Gas; D010219:Papua New Guinea; D011634:Public Health; D012067:Religion; D059205:Renewable Energy; D012935:Social Justice; D012941:Social Responsibility; D014481:United States; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D059206:Natural Gas; D014867:Water
keywords: community health; corporate social responsibility; impact assessment