Emblematic cases
A collection of interactive case studies from the Yes to Life, No to Mining Network shares the stories of communities resisting mining, restoring damaged ecosystems and protecting and developing alternatives to extractivism.
The Emblematic Cases combine images, video and text in an effort to share the learning and experience of communities at the forefront of struggles against the world’s most deadly industry.
The mining industry is responsible for ecocide, systematic human rights violations and over 20% of global carbon emissions.
But, at great cost and against the odds, communities are stopping mining projects in their tracks. These same communities are protecting old and innovating new ways of living that are regenerative and life-sustaining. These ‘alternatives’ point towards a post-extractive future in which ‘many worlds fit’.
Each case shared here has been developed by communities themselves and their allies, with the support of YLNM’s Regional Coordinators. This first selection includes contributions from communities and Peoples living in Myanmar, Colombia, Spain, Ireland and the Sápmi Territory across Finland, Norway and Sweden. Our deepest thanks goes to them for sharing their experiences in solidarity with others.
Our existence is our resistance
IRELAND – A new analysis of geological and permitting data shows that a staggering 27% of the Republic of Ireland and 25% of Northern Ireland are now under concession for mining.
A green shift?
SÁPMI TERRITORY– Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish authorities have granted concessions for tens of thousands of hectares of land, with mining pressure increasing particularly dramatically in Sápmi – the home territory of the Indigenous Sámi Peoples. Norwegian version
A place for all living things
MYANMAR– where the indigenous Karen People have declared the Salween Peace Park as a space to practice their Earth-centred culture and as a strategy to block the intertwined threats of mega-hydro and mining.
Regenerating the commons
SPAIN– where the villagers of Froxán, Galicia, are re-planting forests and asserting their commons-based forms of land and water care in response to the threat of tungsten mining. Spanish version available here.
In defence of live
COLOMBIA– where the community of Cajamarca stopped a gold mine through popular democracy, triggering a national movement and new initiatives to strengthen their regenerative local economy. Spanish version available here.
Landscapes of renewal
FINLAND – where the villagers of Selkie closed down a peat mine after pollution events poisoned the Jukajoki River and have re-wilded their water systems using a blend of traditional knowledge and science.