Indigenous Rights and Resource Governance in Extractive Industries

The governance of extractive industries has become a pivotal arena for the affirmation of Indigenous rights, as communities seek to defend their land-based livelihoods, cultural integrity and self-determination in the face of expanding mining, hydrocarbon and renewable energy projects. International instruments such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and national frameworks increasingly enshrine principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent, recognising the authority of Indigenous nations to approve or veto developments on their territories. Despite these advances, disparities persist in implementation: state and corporate processes often fail to account for cumulative impacts, traditional knowledge and holistic worldviews. Benefit-sharing agreements and co-management arrangements have emerged as mechanisms to reconcile economic development with social justice, yet their efficacy varies according to regulatory design, enforcement capacity and the strength of local institutions. Research across polar and tropical contexts highlights the dynamic interplay between political ecology perspectives—illuminating power relations and colonial legacies—and practical tools such as environmental impact assessments, sustainable benefit-sharing models and participatory land-use planning. The global significance of this field lies in its potential to foster equitable resource governance, mitigate environmental harm and support the realisation of Indigenous sovereignty.

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Indigenous Rights and Resource Governance in Extractive Industries publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in indigenous rights and resource governance in extractive industries across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC): A procedural right that guarantees Indigenous communities the authority to grant or withhold approval for projects affecting their lands and resources before activities commence.

Benefit-sharing: Arrangements that distribute economic, social or environmental advantages from resource extraction to Indigenous communities, aiming to achieve equitable development outcomes.

Political ecology: An interdisciplinary framework that examines how political, economic and social factors influence environmental issues and resource use, with attention to power dynamics and colonial histories.

Duty to Consult: A legal obligation of states to engage Indigenous peoples in meaningful dialogue regarding land and resource decisions, ensuring their perspectives inform outcomes.

Co-management: Shared governance structures in which Indigenous communities and state or corporate actors collaboratively oversee planning, regulation and stewardship of resource projects.

References

1. Understanding the Impacts of Arctic Climate Change Through the Lens of Political Ecology. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change (2024).
2. Green colonialism in the Nordic context: Exploring Southern Saami representations of wind energy development. Journal of Community Psychology (2020).
3. Fragmented Landscapes and Planscapes—The Double Pressure of Increasing Natural Resource Exploitation on Indigenous Sámi Lands in Northern Sweden. Resources (2020).