Transnational Corporations and Livelihood Transformations in the Peruvian Andes: An Actor-Oriented Political Ecology

Abstract

This article argues for the use of an actor-oriented approach in political ecology studies that links the activities of transnational corporations with local human and environmental change. It argues for the use of sustainable livelihoods frameworks as one way of linking these actor-oriented approaches to local economic, social, and environmental change. Drawing on case study research of Newmont Mining Corporation's activities in the Peruvian Andes as an example of corporate focused actor-oriented research, the article offers new insights into the role of corporations in shaping social and ecological change in the developing world. The case study illustrates how household access to resources in the region has been transformed since 1990 by the changing behavior and activities of the corporation through three different time periods.