Negotiating and controlling water: The case of large mining industry in Cajamarca, Peru

The paper proposes a way to understand impacts of large mining industries, established in rural Andean areas. We argue that the establishment of these industries bring along a full re-structuration of how land and water are used, managed and controlled; affecting existing local livelihoods that depend on those resources and provoking reactions or conflicts. It provokes the erosion of communities territories, behaviors, cultures and identities with for instance the introduction of commodification or negotiation notions in dealing with natural resources or communities’ grievances. Negotiations take place when mining industries impact or recognize their impacts on water resources or peasant irrigation canals and can be specified in activities concerning drainage of entire water sources, resign, relocation of water rights and control over water sources. All of these activities are backed up or allowed by the Peruvian state agencies. The paper uses evidence from the establishment and operations of one of the largest gold mining companies in Latin America, Yanacocha mining company. This company is currently operating in the rural areas of Cajamarca -northern Peruvian Andes-. The paper provides insights in Yanacocha’s strategies to secure water for mining exploitation. It shows how water access and rights are disputed as well as negotiated and how peasant communities cope with or accommodate to the changes induced by the mine