Resource extraction causes harm. These experts have advice on how to minimize it
Sustainability can begin by including communities' concerns at the start of development projects, says expert
Amid the endless barrage of headlines about tariffs on Canada's abundant natural resources, academics say it's essential to remember the harm that rampant resource extraction can have on people nearby.
Extraction methods have often left communities facing environmental destruction and economic instability, said Nathan Andrews , associate professor of political science at McMaster University.
Resource extraction is an inevitable part of modern life — essential for industries like energy, mining, forestry, and fishing. But Andrews, who recently gave a guest lecture on the subject at Memorial University, says there's been growing scrutiny from people worldwide calling for a more sustainable approach to resource extraction in light of climate change and economic inequality.
"We're mining for 15 or 20 years, we're making all the money," Andrews told CBC Radio's The Signal earlier this week.
"But then towards the end, what are you doing to safeguard the environment? To safeguard the community?
"[The community] will feel the impact in the water bodies that they don't have access to anymore, the soil that they cannot use to farm, the toxic material that goes into the environment that has not been dealt with properly."
In communities in Ghana, for example, resource extraction can bring important benefits. Companies often build roads and hospitals, while also providing jobs to local residents. These communities, typically neglected by their governments, welcome such development.
But when companies close their operations, communities face devastating consequences: economic hardship, loss of social services, and environmental damage they must deal with on their own.
A step toward sustainability is to engage with the communities near the developments from the start and until the end of the projects, he says.
Mark Stoddart, sociology professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland, said host communities of development projects want to see that they're benefiting from them, too.
It's about good governance, Stoddart says, in which the community's concerns are taken into account. He adds companies or governments can provide the communities with bonds or royalties, so that they have more direct financial benefit.
"If you are doing development — whether it's wind energy, whether it's oil and gas — are there royalties, benefits of that just flowing to the general coffers of our provincial or national government?" he said. "How does that translate into on-the-ground benefits for those host communities?"
A responsible transition to a greener economy
Stoddart says the transition to a greener economy isn't one that can be rushed.
He says a move too fast could mean a company shutting down an oil project for the sake of a greener option, but disregarding how it will impact the community that relied economically on the development.
"How do we do that transition with those considerations in mind?" Stoddart said.
"[To] ensure respect for human rights, good quality engagement with communities and governance, and benefits as we try to also meet the imperatives for climate action."
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With files from The Signal