What could water justice in critical raw material mining look like?

The E-Waste Column
Jun 4
11 min read

An introduction to the water scarcity and pollution arising from mining, and to how companies could reduce conflicts by protecting water and respecting Indigenous Peoples' rights.

This edition of “The E-Waste Newsletter” was written by Krisna Baghouzian and Christine Nikander.

Water as a life support system

Water can provide different benefits or so-called “ecosystem services” to humans. For example, water plays a fundamental role in “human development, from drinking water and sanitation to agriculture and generating electricity”.[i]

As there is no life without water, water is often considered to be key to the “right to life”. Often when speaking of water that sustains human life, we refer to fresh water, which is critically becoming scarcer. Freshwater ecosystems only make up 0.01% of water on Earth and cover less than 1% of the global surface area. Yet, they support “10% of all recorded species including ∼ 30% of all vertebrates”.[ii] Wetlands specifically function as “life support systems, providing us with water, food, protection from floods, droughts and storms and livelihoods for over 1 billion people".[iii] Amongst others, rivers provide ecosystem services through their cooling effects, cultural diversity, and recreational functions.[iv]

Water depletion and pollution

As there is a limited availability of fresh water on Earth, protecting rivers and other inland water is key. Amongst others, water scarcity is caused by the increased use and demand for water by industry and consumers. Water intensive lifestyles include indirect use of water “through increased demand for goods that require large quantities of water to produce, such as cars [and] electronics”.[v] In combination with the high consumption and use of water by different industries — such as agriculture and mining, water pollution further decreases the available water for consumption.

The effects of river pollution are notably not only limited to fish and aquatic species. Humans are not exempt from the effects of river pollution. “In many parts of the world, a key problem is the long-standing failure to provide people access to clean water and sanitation.”[vi] “One new study estimates that 4.4 billion people worldwide don’t have access to safely managed drinking water services.”[vii] Moreover, in 2023 alone, there have been 347 water-related conflicts documented by researchers and the number is expected to increase.[viii] Thus, an equitable water sharing system that involves people, who are affected by a decreased access to water, is needed.[ix]

Water scarcity through mining

Water scarcity through mining is becoming an increasing issue. Notably, “at least 16% of the world’s land-based critical mineral mines, deposits and districts are located in areas already facing high or extremely high levels of water stress. “These are areas where agriculture, industry and households regularly use up much or most of the available water supply.”[x]

As an example, lithium extraction in the so-called “lithium triangle” — where Chile, Argentina and Bolivia meet — has contaminated the waters used by local inhabitants.[xi] The activities “consumed 65 percent of the region’s water supply”.[xii] “This has not only created extreme water shortages, but has also had a substantial impact on the abilities of local farmers to grow crops and maintain livestock.”[xiii]

As another example, the open-pit mining for silver, copper, lead, zinc, tin and other minerals has adversely impacted Indigenous Quechua People in Bolivia. The mining has led to “water scarcity [...] near the Indigenous Quechua community collective, or ayllu, of Acre Antequera”. The mining has used up large amounts of the Quechua community’s freshwater, and the waste from mining activities has contaminated their food and large amounts of the remaining water in the area. As a consequence of this, the Quechua community is effectively left “without enough water to raise livestock and grow crops” in the dry season from May to November. This has led to “an increasing number of residents […] relocat[ing] to other parts of the country, creating concern that many cultural practices will disappear”.[xiv]

Water pollution through mining

The act of mining and the processing of metals leads to metal pollutants leaching into bodies of water.[xv] Materials left behind after mining such as arsenic, cyanide, or mercury can be causes of environmental damage.[xvi] This is especially the case in “many developing countries where illegal small-scale operations […] occur”.[xvii] In the past, water contamination has been caused, for example, by a lithium mine in Jadar, Serbia, an open-cast copper mine in Galicia, Spain, and several nickel mines in the Philippines, where materials for electric vehicles were extracted.[xviii] Moreover, while “decreasing water quality” is feared at the Oak Flat copper mine, a land swap was still planned so the mine could “be built on a site of religious significance for local indigenous groups”.[xix]

In the Amazon, the mining of gold and copper has polluted local water supplies. The mining has also increased the conflict between Indigenous Peoples, miners, and the military. Since 2011, on average three people in the Amazon have been killed per week trying to protect their land, according to a Global Witness report from October 2022. A quarter of the deaths were tied to the extractive industries, and the mining industry was “directly linked to the most killings”. Notably, most of the individuals killed were Indigenous.[xx]

In Canada, one of “the most water-rich” countries in the world, First Nations communities face contaminated water. Many of the lakes, rivers, and streams that provide First Nations communities with water “have deteriorated because of pollutants from industries, and growing municipalities.”[xxi] All in all, “there were 174 unsafe drinking water advisories in over 100 First Nations communities” in 2018.[xxii] For context, the government issues “Do not consume advisories [...] when the water system has contaminants, like lead, that cannot be removed from the water by boiling.”[xxiii] This water is not suitable for consumption, and it also cannot be used to bathe vulnerable people like young children and elderly.[xxiv] Effectively this means that the lack of consultation by commercial parties with First Nations has led to First Nations not being able to “effectively carry out their culturally-understood obligation to protect water”.[xxv]

In Indonesia, poor management and facility development led to multiple tailing dams to collapse on March 21. These dams store toxic mine waste, putting surrounding workers and families “at risk through exposure to heavy metals”.[xxvi] The risk of the dams collapsing from rain was further exacerbated by “high rates of deforestation due to nickel mining”.[xxvii] Such incidents are unfortunately expected to increase “as mining operations across Indonesia are creating, or planning to create, hundreds of millions of tons of highly toxic and hazardous filtered tailings from HPAL” (High Pressure Acid Leach).[xxviii]

Impacts on Indigenous communities

Accessibility to water is a problem for many Indigenous groups.[xxix] “Due to water scarcity, lack of infrastructure and/or unsafe water quality in their communities, indigenous peoples are facing many struggles”.[xxx] While Indigenous Peoples only represent 6.2% of the world population, they make up 18.7% of “the extremely poor” and approximately 33% of people “living in extreme poverty in rural areas”.[xxxi] In line with this, “[t]hey often have difficulty in paying for water and sanitation or providing the necessary investment to ensure such services".[xxxii] “[T]he lack of the necessary investment, means that they do not have the adequate infrastructure to access services”.[xxxiii] “Water is usually taken directly from rivers, ponds, streams, wells or springs, many of which are polluted, requiring women to seek out distant sources that do not meet adequate accessibility conditions”.[xxxiv]

The scarcity and use of water in or close to Indigenous territories can also lead to violence. According to the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, “[t]he opposition of indigenous peoples to mega-projects or legislation that seriously affect their territories and drinking water supplies often leads to criminalisation and repression of these protest movements, including threats, violence and even assassinations of indigenous leaders”. In line with this, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples has also “expressed concern about the alarming growth of criminal acts, including violence against and the killing of indigenous peoples defending their natural resources and territories worldwide”.[xxxv]

Mitigating risks related to water and mining

Sadly, “[v]iolence over water is on the rise globally”.[xxxvi] The “number of conflicts [that] erupted in 2023” set a new record.[xxxvii] It “far surpass[es] the [...] conflicts recorded in 2022 and [is] continuing a rising trend that has persisted over the last decade.”[xxxviii]

Coordination between “government agencies, the private sector, and civil society” is crucial to effectively manage and allocate water resources.[xxxix] This should be done at the early stages "in the water management and planning processes”, as well as “beyond the watershed”.[xl]

Indigenous People’s rights to self-determination should be upheld, with “free and well-informed consultations”, as well as to “consent prior to any intervention in their territories”.[xli] Consultations should be taken with extra precaution as mining often takes place in already vulnerable areas, with adverse effects on health and lives of surrounding communities. Companies and decision-makers need to make an effort to understand the diverse ways in which people interact and value waterbodies, by recognizing the “spiritual, physical and economic relationship” that Indigenous Peoples have with their land and water.[xlii]

The next newsletter will explore recent developments in the ecodesign and circularity of electronics. If you want to be notified when it comes out, please subscribe to our mailing list.

About the authors

Krisna Baghouzian is a freelance sustainability consultant at Palsa & Pulk. She has a background in governance and past experience in working on sustainability at a local government with a people-centered approach. In her work, Krisna likes to take a holistic view of sustainability — by touching on different aspects of sustainability and their impact on our Earth and its inhabitants.

Christine Nikander is the founder of the environmental and social sustainability consultancy, Palsa & Pulk. She frequently speaks and writes about the environmental and human rights issues that arise through global supply chains, the energy transition, and the mining of critical raw minerals. Christine studied law at the universities of Columbia (New York), Edinburgh (Scotland), and Leiden (the Netherlands). She has been writing The E-Waste Column weekly since 2022.

About The E-Waste Column

The E-Waste Column is a weekly column about e-waste, transition minerals, and critical raw materials. It touches on a range of topics including ESG, sustainable development, circular economy, EU law and policymaking, corporate social responsibility, the transition to renewable energy, the EU Green Deal, supply chain due diligence and auditing, human environmental rights, business and human rights, climate law, and corporate sustainability.

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Our weekly column is published on Wednesdays at 12PM CET (The Hague) or 6AM EST (New York) on our website and on LinkedIn. Our monthly newsletter is published here on our blog, on Substack, and on LinkedIn.

[i] Stockholm Environment Institute, Water. https://www.sei.org/topics/water/ (20.02.2025).

[ii] ScienceDirect, Freshwater Ecosystem. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/freshwater-ecosystem (20.02.2025).

[iii] Wetlands International, Call for an ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework on World Wetlands Day 2020. https://www.wetlands.org/call-for-an-ambitious-global-biodiversity-framework-on-world-wetlands-day-2020/ (20.02.2025).

[iv] Kerstin Böck, Renate Polt, and Lisa Schülting, Ecosystem Services in River Landscapes. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-73250-3_21 (20.02.2025).

[v] U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, The Future of Water: Water Insecurity Threatening Global Economic Growth, Political Stability. https://www.dni.gov/index.php/gt2040-home/gt2040-deeper-looks/future-of-water (29.05.2025).

[vi] Ian James, Violence over water is on the rise globally. A record number of conflicts erupted in 2023. https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2024-08-22/boiling-point-water-conflicts-increasing-boiling-point (25.04.2025).

[vii] Ian James, Violence over water is on the rise globally. A record number of conflicts erupted in 2023. https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2024-08-22/boiling-point-water-conflicts-increasing-boiling-point (25.04.2025).

[viii] Ian James, Violence over water is on the rise globally. A record number of conflicts erupted in 2023. https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2024-08-22/boiling-point-water-conflicts-increasing-boiling-point (25.04.2025).

[ix] Stockholm Environment Institute, SEI Initiative on Water Beyond Boundaries. https://www.sei.org/projects/water-beyond-boundaries/ (29.05.2025).

[x] Shivani Lakshman, More Critical Minerals Mining Could Strain Water Supplies in Stressed Regions. https://www.wri.org/insights/critical-minerals-mining-water-impacts (29.05.2025).

[xi] Samar Ahmad, The Lithium Triangle: Where Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia Meet. https://hir.harvard.edu/lithium-triangle/ (29.05.2025).

[xii] Samar Ahmad, The Lithium Triangle: Where Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia Meet. https://hir.harvard.edu/lithium-triangle/ (05.05.2025).

[xiii] Samar Ahmad, The Lithium Triangle: Where Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia Meet. https://hir.harvard.edu/lithium-triangle/ (05.05.2025).

[xiv] Christine Nikander & Heidrun Kordholste-Nikander, How does the mining of critical raw materials impact Indigenous Peoples’ rights? https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-indigenous-peoples-rights (13.11.2024); Maxwell Radwin, Indigenous Bolivians flee homes as backlash to mining protest turns explosive. https://news.mongabay.com/2024/04/indigenous-bolivians-flee-homes-as-backlash-to-mining-protest-turns-explosive/ (05.11.2024).

[xv] Sammy Witchalls, The Environmental Problems Caused by Mining. https://earth.org/environmental-problems-caused-by-mining (27.02.2025).

[xvi] Sammy Witchalls, The Environmental Problems Caused by Mining. https://earth.org/environmental-problems-caused-by-mining (27.02.2025).

[xvii] Sammy Witchalls, The Environmental Problems Caused by Mining. https://earth.org/environmental-problems-caused-by-mining (27.02.2025).

[xviii] Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, “You can’t eat lithium”: Community consent and access to information in transition mineral mining exploration. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/briefings/tmt-2021/you-cant-eat-lithium-community-consent-and-access-to-information-in-transition-mineral-mining-exploration-in-europe-and-north-america (05.11.2024); Iris Crawford and Scott Odell, Will mining the resources needed for clean energy cause problems for the environment? https://climate.mit.edu/ask-mit/will-mining-resources-needed-clean-energy-cause-problems-environment (05.11.2024); Éléonore Lèbre et al., The social and environmental complexities of extracting energy transition metals. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18661-9 (05.11.2024); Thea Riofrancos, Shifting Mining From the Global South Misses the Point of Climate Justice. https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/07/renewable-energy-transition-critical-minerals-mining-onshoring-lithium-evs-climate-justice/ (05.11.2024); International Energy Agency, Sustainable and responsible development of minerals. https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions/sustainable-and-responsible-development-of-minerals (05.11.2024); International Energy Agency, The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions. https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/ffd2a83b-8c30-4e9d-980a-52b6d9a86fdc/TheRoleofCriticalMineralsinCleanEnergyTransitions.pdf (05.11.2024); Pascal Laffont, Critical minerals for clean energy transitions. https://unctad.org/system/files/non-official-document/GCF21_s4_Laffont_1.pdf (05.11.2024); Samuel Block, Mining Energy-Transition Metals: National Aims, Local Conflicts. https://www.msci.com/www/blog-posts/mining-energy-transition-metals/02531033947 (05.11.2024); Amnesty International, Philippines: Nickel mining projects approved despite inadequate consultation and serious risks to communities’ health and environment. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/01/philippines-nickel-mining-projects-approved-despite-inadequate-consultation-and-serious-risks-to-communities-health-and-environment/ (05.11.2024).

[xix] Christine Nikander & Heidrun Kordholste-Nikander, How does the mining of critical raw materials impact Indigenous Peoples’ rights? https://www.theewastecolumn.com/post/how-does-the-mining-of-critical-raw-materials-impact-indigenous-peoples-rights (13.11.2024); Alex Donaldson, Mining causes 24.7% of environmental conflict involving indigenous people. https://www.mining-technology.com/news/mining-environmental-conflict-indigenous-people/ (05.11.2024).

[xx] Christine Nikander & Heidrun Kordholste-Nikander, How can companies protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights by caring for forests? https://www.palsapulk.com/post/how-can-businesses-protect-indigenous-peoples-rights-by-caring-for-forests (13.11.2024); Adam Morton, Evidence grows of forced labour and slavery in production of solar panels, wind turbines. https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/29/evidence-grows-of-forced-labour-and-slavery-in-production-of-solar-panels-wind-turbines (05.11.2024); Molly Taft, Over Half the World’s Energy Transition Minerals Are on Indigenous Lands. https://gizmodo.com/over-half-the-worlds-energy-transition-minerals-are-on-1849865104 (05.11.2024); European Federation for Transport and Environment, How Europe can improve the way global extractive companies do business. https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/how-europe-can-improve-the-way-global-extractive-companies-do-business/ (05.11.2024)

[xxxiv] Alokya Kanungo, The Silent Cry of the Forest: How Deforestation Impacts Indigenous Communities. https://earth.org/the-silent-cry-of-the-forest-how-deforestation-impacts-indigenous-communities/ (05.11.2024).

[xxi] Amanda Klasing, Make it Safe: Canada’s Obligation to End the First Nations Water Crisis. https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/06/07/make-it-safe/canadas-obligation-end-first-nations-water-crisis (29.05.2025).

[xxii] Sena Yenilmez, Indigenous Safe Drinking Water Crisis in Canada- overview. https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/indigenous-safe-drinking-water-crisis-in-canada-overview (29.05.2025).

[xxiii] Sena Yenilmez, Indigenous Safe Drinking Water Crisis in Canada- overview. https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/indigenous-safe-drinking-water-crisis-in-canada-overview (29.05.2025).

[xxiv] Sena Yenilmez, Indigenous Safe Drinking Water Crisis in Canada- overview. https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/indigenous-safe-drinking-water-crisis-in-canada-overview (29.05.2025).

[xxv] Amanda Klasing, Make it Safe: Canada’s Obligation to End the First Nations Water Crisis. https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/06/07/make-it-safe/canadas-obligation-end-first-nations-water-crisis (29.05.2025).

[xxvi] Ellen Moore, Multiple Dams Fail at Indonesian Nickel-Mining Facilities. https://earthworks.org/blog/multiple-dams-fail-at-indonesian-nickel-mining-facilities/ (29.05.2025).

[xxvii] Ellen Moore, Multiple Dams Fail at Indonesian Nickel-Mining Facilities. https://earthworks.org/blog/multiple-dams-fail-at-indonesian-nickel-mining-facilities/ (29.05.2025).

[xxviii] Ellen Moore, Multiple Dams Fail at Indonesian Nickel-Mining Facilities. https://earthworks.org/blog/multiple-dams-fail-at-indonesian-nickel-mining-facilities/ (29.05.2025).

[xxix] Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: State of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, p.5. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/water/2022-11-04/A-HRC-51-24-Friendly-version-EN.pdf (19.03.2025).

[xxx] Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: State of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, p.6. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/water/2022-11-04/A-HRC-51-24-Friendly-version-EN.pdf (19.03.2025).

[xxxi] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Indigenous peoples face growing challenges to access safe water. https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/10/indigenous-peoples-face-growing-challenges-access-safe-water (19.03.2025).

[xxxii] Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: State of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, p.5. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/water/2022-11-04/A-HRC-51-24-Friendly-version-EN.pdf (19.03.2025).

[xxxiii] Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: State of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, p.5. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/water/2022-11-04/A-HRC-51-24-Friendly-version-EN.pdf (19.03.2025).

[xxxiv] Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: State of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, p.5. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/water/2022-11-04/A-HRC-51-24-Friendly-version-EN.pdf (19.03.2025).

[xxxv] Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: State of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, p.11. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/water/2022-11-04/A-HRC-51-24-Friendly-version-EN.pdf (19.03.2025).

[xxxvi] Ian James, Violence over water is on the rise globally. A record number of conflicts erupted in 2023. https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2024-08-22/boiling-point-water-conflicts-increasing-boiling-point (25.04.2025).

[xxxvii] Ian James, Violence over water is on the rise globally. A record number of conflicts erupted in 2023. https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2024-08-22/boiling-point-water-conflicts-increasing-boiling-point (25.04.2025).

[xxxviii] Ian James, Violence over water is on the rise globally. A record number of conflicts erupted in 2023. https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2024-08-22/boiling-point-water-conflicts-increasing-boiling-point (25.04.2025).

[xxxix] U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, The Future of Water: Water Insecurity Threatening Global Economic Growth, Political Stability. https://www.dni.gov/index.php/gt2040-home/gt2040-deeper-looks/future-of-water (29.05.2025).

[xl] Stockholm Environment Institute, SEI Initiative on Water Beyond Boundaries. https://www.sei.org/projects/water-beyond-boundaries/ (29.05.2025).

[xli] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/51/24: Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: state of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5124-human-rights-safe-drinking-water-and-sanitation-indigenous (19.03.2025).

[xlii] Australian Government, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, The Murray-Darling Rivers: Pumping life through our nation -to our farms, communities and the environment. https://www.dcceew.gov.au/campaign/murraydarling/first-nations (29.05.2025).