Addressing the negative impacts of the extractives industry on land, environment and women’s rights

Discoveries of minerals in East Africa have been celebrated by governments, oil
companies and other stakeholders. As extractives activities commence in these
localities, a number of negative impacts have been registered among the communities
and more especially on women such as loss of land, environmental degradation, food
insecurity, social disruption, forced evictions, unfair compensation and domestic
violence among others. The environmental, air and associated health costs of the fossil
fuels energy are significant. Mines
have produced emissions, dust and polluted local water supplies, air and soil, whilst
refineries produce pollution when they process oil into a refined product. Women who
manage natural resources and take care of their families and communities are the ones
who bear most of these externalized impacts. GEENET is working with key
stakeholders in extractives like local governments, central government or state
institutions such as parliaments, ministries of environment and minerals, and authorities,
the private sector and civil society organizations to ensure prioritization of women’s
rights and address issues facing women in extractives by ensuring that the laws already
in place are implemented and stakeholders that do not follow the laws are held
accountable. In this way, given their influence and support, GEENET can work to
address the negative impacts of extractives on women such as loss of land by ensuring
that there is adequate compensation and resettlement.