Overview
This book uncovers a historical dependency on smelting activities that has trapped inhabitants of La Oroya, Peru, in a context of systemic lack of freedom. La Oroya has been named one of the most polluted places on the planet by the US Blacksmith Institute. Residents face the dilemma of whether to defend their health or to preserve job stability at the local smelter, the main source of toxic pollution in town. Valencia unpacks this paradoxical human rights trade-off. This context, shaped by social, historical, political, and economic factors, increases people’s vulnerabilities and decreases their ability to choose, resulting in residents' trading off their right to health in order to work. This book shows the deep connection of this local dilemma to the country’s national paradox, arising out of Peru's vision of natural resource extraction as the main path to secure economic growth for the entire country at the expense of some groups.
Full Product Details
Author: Areli Valencia
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan
Edition: 1st ed. 2016
Dimensions:
Width: 14.80cm
, Height: 2.40cm
, Length: 21.00cm
Weight: 4.955kg
ISBN: 9781137488671
ISBN 10: 1137488670
Pages: 281
Publication Date: 05 November 2016
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
Drawing on a detailed, rich and insightful case study, this book deals with the case of the smelting town of La Oroya in Peru. ... This study is very useful for researchers, activists and community leaders alike dealing with human rights, human development and socio-environmental trade-offs, as well as for those interested in the structural roots of institutional and legal contexts in the region and beyond. (Johannes M. Waldmuller, Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Vol. 20 (1), 2019)
“Drawing on a detailed, rich and insightful case study, this book deals with the case of the smelting town of La Oroya in Peru. … This study is very useful for researchers, activists and community leaders alike dealing with human rights, human development and socio-environmental trade-offs, as well as for those interested in the structural roots of institutional and legal contexts in the region and beyond.” (Johannes M. Waldmüller, Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Vol. 20 (1), 2019)
Author Information
Areli Valencia holds a PhD in Law and Society from University of Victoria, Law Faculty, Canada. She was the 2013 Gordon F. Henderson Postdoctoral Fellow at the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, University of Ottawa, Canada. She is currently Professor at the School of Government and Public Policy at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
