Video
"Our Land, Our Life": The Struggle for Western Shoshone Land Rights
What Oxfam is Doing
Providing Grants and Strategic Advice
Oxfam America's regional program offices provide funding and counsel to local partner organizations, protecting their rights and natural resources.
Case in point: Community says "No"
In 2003, the people of Tambogrande, Peru staged an unofficial referendum to determine public support for a proposed gold mine. After a resounding vote against the project, the government found grounds to withdraw the concession it had granted to a Canadian mining company. Oxfam America commissioned a hydrological study of the area to expose the environmental risks of mining, and helped fund organizations that supported the referendum.
The events in Tambogrande inspired a similar referendum in Esquel, Argentina, an environmentally-fragile area of Patagonia trying to block a gold mine.
Advocating for Rights and Policy Change
Oxfam calls on companies and international financial institutions to respect communities' rights to be consulted and provided adequate information about extractive projects in their communities.
Case in point: the Camisea Gas Pipeline project
Oxfam America's partners in the Camisea region of southeastern Peru succeeded in convincing the Inter-America Development Bank to impose social and environmental standards on a $135 million loan for the Camisea Gas Pipeline project. This is the first time such conditions have been attached to IDB loan funds, giving local indigenous organizations a role in protecting their resources in the pipeline area. They are now organizing to monitor the effects of the project.
Campaigns
Mobilizing People for Change
Oxfam America is undertaking a new campaign focused on the theme "Right to Know/Right to Decide," which is calling on oil, gas, and mining companies to fully respect the right of communities to participate in decision-making and to fully disclose money they pay to foreign governments—information that is crucial for ensuring that governments use these funds to reduce poverty and protect human rights.