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+Graetz, Geordan. “Uranium Mining and Indigenous Peoples: The Role of SIA.” 32 nd Annual Meeting of the International Association for Impact Assessment. January 06, 2012. Web. August 12, 2016. http://conferences.iaia.org/2012/pdf/uploadpapers/Final20papers20review20proce ss/Graetz,20Geordan.2020Uranium20Mining20and20Indigenous20Peoples ,20the20Role20of20SIA.pdf. |
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+Conclusion: A New Approach In light of the constraints associated with SIA and HRIA, this paper proposes the development of a new approach, which would better incorporate insights from social risk and business risk disciplines, and their interconnections, as well as theoretical and practical knowledge about indigenous rights. Indigenous people are increasingly cognisant of their rights, and the promulgation of indigenous rights instruments over the last 20 years has enhanced their bargaining position vis-à-vis uranium companies. If companies fail positively to respond to this new rights paradigm, they are unlikely to gain or maintain the important social licence to operate. The approach suggested here would supplement the SIA/HRIA process, and, importantly, would result in a new stakeholder engagement process being embedded into corporate decision-making and government policy-making apparatuses. However, social risk is relatively under-theorised, especially as it pertains to the extractive industries, thereby necessitating more empirical and theoretical work to demonstrate its appropriateness as a prism through which to engage with indigenous peoples confronted with uranium developments. The recent thawing in relations between indigenous peoples and the Australian uranium industry arguably is attributable to the recognition of both indigenous rights and the business risk consequences of not getting engagement right. The importance of this nexus cannot be understated, especially as demand for uranium increases to fuel the next generation of nuclear power plants. |