Integrating local and Indigenous knowledge with sustainable development goals in lithium mining impact assessment for a fair energy transition

Abstract

The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy has accelerated the extraction of minerals critical to energy transmission and storage, including lithium—raising pressing questions of socio-environmental justice, particularly for Indigenous and local communities. While global frameworks for impact assessment exist to work towards sustainable development, they fail to reflect the values, priorities, and knowledge systems of these communities. This study foregrounds Indigenous and local knowledge to identify socio-environmental impacts of lithium mining in the Argentinian High Andean Plateau and to propose locally grounded indicators aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To achieve this, we 1) identify and classify the socio-environmental impacts of lithium extraction in the region reported in scientific literature; 2) explore local and Indigenous knowledge regarding these impacts; and 3) identify local indicators of these impacts aligned with the UN SDGs to inform policy decisions. The literature review identified 15 impacts of lithium mining, which were then verified through a survey of four local and indigenous communities. Through the specific local impacts reported, we propose potential indicators to measure them. By analyzing these locally relevant indicators against the UN SDGs, we found that the local indicators contribute to all but one of the UN SDGs. However, there were some local indicators that did not have corresponding global goals, revealing that local knowledge is not necessarily represented in global policies. Overall, this research consists of an iterative process to contribute to a more equitable, sustainable, and fair energy transition.