Landscape Architecture, UCL
77 Wicklow Street, London WC1X 9JY
Join us to hear perspectives from Peruvian land defenders living near a copper mine and from members of the Red Muqui network. We are also presenting the exhibition – Cartographies of extraction and waste in the energy transition: Teaching strategies to support community resistance in Latin America.
The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between communities affected by Bauxite mining in Brazil, communities in Moquegua and Red Muqui in Peru, Groundlab Ltd., the London Mining Network, the University of Para in Brazil and University College London. It showcases the collaboration between Landscape Architecture students and communities affected by tailings dams and mining waste in Peru and Brazil.
During the event, we’ll hear from Estela Rojas from the Ancash region, where the Antamina copper mine is located. Antamina is a joint venture of BHP (33.75%), Glencore (33.75%), Teck Resources (22.5%), and Mitsubishi Corporation (10%). People in Ancash have been found to have high levels of lead and arsenic in their bodies as a result of mining in the area. Estela has been a member of the Steering Committee of the National Platform for People Affected by Heavy Metals, and the San Pedro de Puerto Huarmey Association of Fishermen and Artisanal Shipowners. She is also the Chair of the Health Committee of Puerto Huarmey and 9 de Octubre since 2023.
Lucio Flores is from the Aymara farming community of Muilaque in Moquegua. He is part of the National Platform for People Affected by Heavy Metals. Lucio has been president of the Regional Agricultural Coordination Committee, a member of the Moquegua Interest Defence Front, and, for the past five years, president of the Moquegua branch of the National Agricultural Confederation. He will discuss the present effects and the future legacies of the Quellaveco mine in the Moquegua region. Quellaveco is a copper, molybdenum, gold and silver mine owned 60% by Anglo American and 40% by Mitsubishi Corporation.
Jaime Borda currently serves as Executive Secretary of Red Muqui, a network of more than 30 environmental institutions working in mining contexts in Peru. He is a specialist in mining, the environment, human rights, communities, and eco-territorial conflicts. He has more than 15 years of experience supporting communities affected by mining, primarily in Peru’s Andean regions.
Beatriz Cortez is a lawyer for Red Muqui. She has been the coordinator of the Technical Committee on Environmental and Human Health from 2021 to 2024, which supports the National Platform for People Affected by Heavy Metals, Metalloids and Other Toxic Chemicals. She holds a Masters degree in Constitutional Law and Human Rights from the National University of San Marcos in Peru.
This event is organised with the Peru Support Group and Cafod.
