Pere Nogues Martin

PERE NOGUES MARTIN, then a graduate student at City University of New York, Graduate Center, New York, New York, was awarded funding in September 2023 to aid research on “The Making of a Lithium Frontier: Mining, Conflict and Identity in Bolivia’s Uyuni Salt Flat,” supervised by Dr. Marc Edelman. This research investigated the socio-environmental and political transformations surrounding lithium mining in the Uyuni Salt Flat, Bolivia, during a 12-month fieldwork period. The study examined three core dimensions: the creation of a resource frontier, the negotiation of socio-environmental and identity-based claims by local communities, and the production of activist-driven environmental knowledge. The findings highlight how the Bolivian state’s lithium governance fosters geopolitical imaginaries of development but is characterized by significant scientific uncertainties and technical challenges. Local communities and activists challenged state narratives by producing alternative environmental knowledge, rooted in local expertise, to support territorial claims and indigenous rights. Through extensive ethnographic fieldwork, including interviews, participatory observation, and archival research, this project uncovered the layered dynamics of resource extraction, activism, and identity in a rapidly transforming landscape. These insights contribute to broader debates in anthropology on resource governance, environmental justice, and the intersection of scientific and local knowledge. The research underscores the importance of centering indigenous perspectives and environmental concerns in global energy transition policies.