Environmental Damages, Transnational Corporations and Legal Responsibility in Peru's Mining Regions

Peru has experienced severe social conflicts in recent years as a result of industrial mining projects involving transnational companies. In many cases, these conflicts have been triggered by the corporations’ high consumption of natural resources, such as land or water, but more importantly by the contamination of these very resources. Simultaneously with the expansion of such conflicts, there has been an increase in legal contests by which local communities try to hold transnational companies legally responsible for the damages caused by the latter. In many cases, this has led to a juridification of the social conflicts.

Based on fieldwork in Peru, this paper examines various legal possibilities for holding transnational mining companies liable for environmental damages. Aspects of strategic litigation play an equally important role in these lawsuits as networking with international advocacy networks and the search for alternative legal options outside the Peruvian jurisdiction do. The paper analyses two different cases: a mercury spill which occurred in 2000 in the region of Cajamarca as well as the long-term heavy metal pollution of water resource in the Espinar province. In doing so, the paper explores the specific difficulties in attributing responsibility for environmental hazards to business actors.