From a White Desert to the Largest World Deposit of Lithium: Symbolic Meanings and Materialities of the Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia

Sanchez‐Lopez, Maria Daniela

doi:10.1111/anti.12539

Cited by 29 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…For example, increased mining has not only caused increased deforestation in the Congo but has also resulted in more violence on the local population from the local warlords over the production and control of resources [64]. In Bolivia, where the Uyani salt flats have the largest lithium reserves on Earth, the discovery has resulted in conflict between the federal government, local government, and local residents, as the federal government has converted the region into a fiscal reserve and assigned a government-controlled company to operate and mine the reserve, whilẽ 59% of local residents lived in extreme poverty [65]. In the Atacama region of Chile, social activism against lithium mining has increased in the last several years.…”

Section: Sustainable Miningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and Technological Impact of Businesses Surrounding Electric Vehicles

Vidhi

Shrivastava

Parikh³

2021

Clean Technol.

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Electric vehicle (EV) penetration has been increasing globally and is expected to continue its exponential growth over the coming decades. Several countries have already announced plans to achieve total or partial electrification of their vehicle fleets. Such rapid transportation electrification will have a significant impact on society and businesses that support the transportation industry. Additionally, new business opportunities will be available to support this technological evolution. In this paper, the business opportunities emerging from EVs and their supporting infrastructure are reviewed. It has been observed that several businesses, such as sustainable mining and manufacturing, will need to be developed before EV growth as they provide the initial platform required for EV adoption. Other businesses such as fleet optimization, battery management, and recycling can be developed at a later stage. All of these businesses will also have social and technological impacts, which will drive policy decisions. Regional governments play a critical role in ensuring the smooth execution of a transition to transportation electrification through social programs, such as training and education for equitable growth, and legislative decisions, such as technology standardization.

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Section: Sustainable Miningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social and Technological Impact of Businesses Surrounding Electric Vehicles

Vidhi

Shrivastava

Parikh³

2021

Clean Technol.

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“…However, it could be important for the lithium industrialisation in the Uyuni salt flats because one of the biggest reserves of lithium is nearby. The Uyuni salt flats contain approximately 10 million tonnes of lithium and are in the process of being industrialised [33]. The use of renewable energies could be the best method of industrialisation and to reduce the carbon footprint of lithium batteries.…”

Section: The Wind Power Potential In the Bolivian Andes By Wrf Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wind Power Potential in Highlands of the Bolivian Andes: A Numerical Approach

Mamani

Hendrick

2022

Energies

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Wind resource assessment is a key factor for the development and implementation of wind farms with the purpose of generating green, eco-friendly and clean electricity. The Bolivian Andes, as a large dry region, represents an important source of renewable energy. However, the altitude and high wind energy resources of the Bolivian Andes require further knowledge and understanding of the wind energy resources. In this study, the GWA have been used to determine the total area available to install wind farms considering the protected areas, roads, cities and transmission lines. In addition, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF v3.8.1) model is employed to complement the results of the GWA based on the validation of WRF simulations with measurements from Qollpana wind farm. The main purpose is to estimate the wind power potential along the Bolivian Andes and its variability in time. The wind power simulations have been compared with the power generated by the Qollpana wind farm to verify the WRF’s performance. The wind power potential in the highlands of the Bolivian Andes could reach between 225 (WRF) and 277 (GWA) GW, distributed mainly over the Western and Eastern Cordillera of the Altiplano.

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“…Historically, hypersaline ecosystems have played a key role in defining the cultural and religious identity of native populations across the globe (Grebe & Hidalgo, 1988). For instance, communities belonging to the Quechua and Aymara ethnic groups inhabiting the areas surrounding Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia) (Sanchez‐Lopez, 2019), Shoshone, Utes, and Goshutes living in the wetlands of Great Salt Lake (USA) (Baxter, 2018) and Likan‐antai ethnic group (also known as Atacameños) located near Salar de Atacama (Chile) (Rivera, 1997), all have deep spiritual connections with their local saline environments (Baxter, 2018), and their survival depends on access to water and to the resources of these ecosystems (Baxter, 2018; Romero & Opazo, 2019). Hypersaline lakes provide numerous ecosystem services directly or indirectly to humans: products (salts, minerals, elements, and mud) for different industries; species, strains, and compounds for biotechnology and aquaculture; services for nature conservation, recreation, tourism (e.g.…”

Section: Resource Extraction Versus Conservation: a Salty Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

Salt to conserve: a review on the ecology and preservation of hypersaline ecosystems

et al. 2021

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When it comes to the investigation of key ecosystems in the world, we often omit salt from the ecological recipe. In fact, despite occupying almost half of the volume of inland waters and providing crucial services to humanity and nature, inland saline ecosystems are often overlooked in discussions regarding the preservation of global aquatic resources of our planet. As a result, our knowledge of the biological and geochemical dynamics shaping these environments remains incomplete and we are hesitant in framing effective protective strategies against the increasing natural and anthropogenic threats faced by such habitats. Hypersaline lakes, water bodies where the concentration of salt exceeds 35 g/l, occur mainly in arid and semiarid areas resulting from hydrological imbalances triggering the accumulation of salts over time. Often considered the ‘exotic siblings’ within the family of inland waters, these ecosystems host some of the most extremophile communities worldwide and provide essential habitats for waterbirds and many other organisms in already water‐stressed regions. These systems are often highlighted as natural laboratories, ideal for addressing central ecological questions due to their relatively low complexity and simple food web structures. However, recent studies on the biogeochemical mechanisms framing hypersaline communities have challenged this archetype, arguing that newly discovered highly diverse communities are characterised by specific trophic interactions shaped by high levels of specialisation. The main goal of this review is to explore our current understanding of the ecological dynamics of hypersaline ecosystems by addressing four main research questions: (i) why are hypersaline lakes unique from a biological and geochemical perspective; (ii) which biota inhabit these ecosystems and how have they adapted to the high salt conditions; (iii) how do we protect biodiversity from increasing natural and anthropogenic threats; and (iv) which scientific tools will help us preserve hypersaline ecosystems in the future? First, we focus on the ecological characterisation of hypersaline ecosystems, illustrate hydrogeochemical dynamics regulating such environments, and outline key ecoregions supporting hypersaline systems across the globe. Second, we depict the diversity and functional aspects of key taxa found in hypersaline lakes, from microorganisms to plants, invertebrates, waterbirds and upper trophic levels. Next, we describe ecosystem services and discuss possible conservation guidelines. Finally, we outline how cutting‐edge technologies can provide new insights into the study of hypersaline ecology. Overall, this review sheds further light onto these understudied ecosystems, largely unrecognised as important sources of unique biological and functional diversity. We provide perspectives for key future research avenues, and advocate that the conservation of hypersaline lakes should not be taken with ‘a grain of salt’.

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From a White Desert to the Largest World Deposit of Lithium: Symbolic Meanings and Materialities of the Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia

Cited by 29 publications

References 39 publications

Social and Technological Impact of Businesses Surrounding Electric Vehicles

Social and Technological Impact of Businesses Surrounding Electric Vehicles

Wind Power Potential in Highlands of the Bolivian Andes: A Numerical Approach

Salt to conserve: a review on the ecology and preservation of hypersaline ecosystems

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