Linking Ecological Economics and Political Ecology to Study Mining, Glaciers and Global Warming

Ecological economics and political ecology offer complementary perspectives on economy–society–environment interactions. Although both refer to values and perceptions, ecological economics focuses on what provides benefits and how values can be elicited, and political ecology scrutinizes the socio‐political setting within which preferences are revealed. Linking the two areas of study makes it possible to depict socially constructed values that are affected by different discourses and power inequalities, as well as by the stakeholders' geographical distance from the issue concerned. Mining activity is a special case, because the selection of potential sites is restricted by the natural distribution of resources, bringing them to the attention of different stakeholders. Mining interferes with ecosystem structure and function, making the trade‐offs between different uses of the environment explicit and demonstrating how difficult it is to protect ecosystem services, especially in some political settings. Two case studies (Kumtor in Kyrgyzstan and Pascua‐Lama in Chile–Argentina) illustrate how gold mining interferes with glaciers and how this may be affected by changing perceptions of global warming. In the case of Kumtor, at least 39 million m 3 of glacier ice were removed by the end of 2011, but this intervention and the subsequent consequences escaped public attention. Meanwhile, the plans to remove 0.8 million m 3 of ice, in the case of Pascua‐Lama, led to widespread protests in which local communities were joined by overseas pressure groups and other stakeholders. The factors that led to the disparity of interest and opposition in the two case studies reflect larger market, government and social empowerment failures in Kyrgyzstan.