Historical Context of Sustainability - Lithium in Bolivia - Case Study Example

Historical Context of Sustainability Report: Lithium in Bolivia Name Course Name and Code Date Executive summary Bolivia is located in South America, and it produces lithium. The country holds more than a third of the world deposit of lithium. Lithium is a production used in the aluminium manufacture, technological industries, health, and pharmaceutical industries. The production of lithium requires water in large volumes because it is used as a raw material that is later evaporated. In addition to water, different chemicals are required to support the production process. These chemicals have a negative impact on the environment and landscape, and effective sustenance measures should be in place. Moreover, the community and other stakeholders may influence the sustainability requirements of the project. The solutions to these problem include effective socioeconomic engagement, integrated legal and political framework, alternative business investment, and environmental protection and sustainability measures. These different approaches are important because it allows the development of a single framework, which the different stakeholders can follow and adhere. For example, the government and other institutions have clear policies and frameworks to follow in the production of lithium. Extensive engagement, collaboration, sharing and partnerships among the different stakeholders ensures the sustainability requirements and needs are achieved. Keywords Bolivia, lithium, sustainability, environment, socioeconomic Overview of Lithium and Sustainability Challenge Associated with It Bolivia is a country located in South America, has a population of around 10 million while the GDP in 2012 was estimated at $27.43 billion: the table below summaries other economic indicators for Bolivia. The resource that is associated with the region is lithium. Lithium is found in the southwestern Bolivia, and the quantity is estimated as a third of what is found across the world. To harvest the resource, the engineers mixes with water and exposes the salt for evaporation resulting in the production of lithium. Source: Overseas Development Institute (2010) Lithium is a chemical element, which is silver-white in colour and soft. Lithium is among the lightest metal in the world and utilised in different sectors and industries (Bebbington and Bury, 2009). Some of the industries include pharmaceutical, batters, cell phones and can be combined with other metals and chemicals such as Sulphur. For example, lithium-ion batteries are able to store huge quantities of energy. Other uses of lithium include chemical processes, medical industry, aluminium manufacture, polymers, metallurgy, gas industry, lubricants, ceramic and glass industry. The following summarizes the uses of lithium and export compensation of some Latin countries. Source: Wahnschaft (2011) Lithium is an important economic component because it addresses numerous requirements similar to natural gas, coal and petroleum. Since these nonrenewable resources will be replaced in the future, lithium mineral becomes important (Gruber et al. 2011). However, consideration of local investments, better wages and links to other economic sectors such as agriculture, farming and tourism are updated or aligned to benefit from lithium (Prior et al. 2013). The production of lithium has created numerous employment opportunities since two local cooperatives have been established to provide employment opportunities. The development has not gained roots but the process in place in which the social environment would be supported. The socioeconomic factors can be addressed easily, but the problem lies with the environmental concern. The production of lithium is not a straightforward process because it requires large quantities of chemical inputs, which translates to environmental liabilities. Lack of detailed environmental assessment including the wider impact to the landscape means that sustainable measures should be in place (Prior et al. 2013). Since the method of extraction is evaporation, more water is required to create the brine and appropriate mixtures and later allowed to evaporate (Stamp, Lang and Wäger, 2012). Both the physical and chemical methods of extraction are destructive in nature, and the environmental consequences are many. Bolivia has a small history of extraction and processing in the lithium since the process started since 2008. The history is different from neighbouring countries such as Argentina and Chile that have more than 20 years of experience means that Bolivia faces challenges in the legal and political environment (Stamp, Lang and Wäger, 2012). It creates challenges in two ways. The first is creating local frameworks and policies that support the mining and production of lithium (Gruber et al. 2011). It includes the participation and engagement of the community, labour regulations and other formalities ensuring the production process become effective. The second problem is associated with marketing and selling of the lithium. Since Bolivia is not technologically advanced, it relies on foreign markets to sell the projects (Prior et al. 2013). Relationship with the foreign countries, foreign direct investment, business engagement fundamentals, and development of contractual requirements become important. Hence, the lack of effective legal and political framework creates problems to the emerging industry in Bolivia. The following table summarizes the major producers of lithium in 2014: Source: (World Atlas, 2014) Past the production process, problems arise when it comes to looking for markets for the products and the consequences of oversupply (Gruber et al. 2011). At least there are ten new lithium production regions in the world, and it may result in oversupply in the future, which translates to the price drop. Geopolitical problems and technological barriers may also create more problems, which may result in unsustainable business obligations (Stamp, Lang and Wäger, 2012). Hence, the sustainability when it comes to markets and wider impact to the society raises numerous issues. Sustainable Measures in Lithium Production The following are some of the sustainable measures that can be integrated into the production of Lithium in Bolivia: Socioeconomic approach – the socioeconomic approach incorporates the society and economy in advancing the requirements of the lithium industry. The mining of lithium requires collaboration between the economic and social factors to sustain the production and development requirements. The production of lithium should be tied with salaries, labour regulations, and conflict resolutions, partnering and engaging with the community. It means a diverse approach should be integrated into running the production. Chances of conflicts between the community and the miners are high illustrating the importance of conflict resolution mechanisms while partnering and engaging with the community reduces or addresses conflict issues. The concerns of the community can be presented to the management of lithium extraction and the concerns addressed. Thus, the sustainability of the business relies on the effectiveness of socioeconomic framework in which concerns of different stakeholders are integrated into the production of lithium. Alternative business investments – reliance on a single business is a disaster to a region of the country especially in business environments that are dynamic. Lithium production can generate more revenues, but alternative investments have to be considered (Prior et al. 2013). For example, recycling business can be developed because 50-70% of the lithium can be recycled. The recycled products can be mixed with the new products providing an effective engagement platform. The diversification of economic activities should include agriculture and tourism among other activities. The problems affecting many regions relying on a single business initiative should be avoided through allowing development measures beyond lithium. For example, complementary production such as solar energy technology should be considered to create alternative application of lithium. It means lithium should not be exported as raw material rather value addition should be championed. Legal and political frameworks – to create a sustainable business, it is important to consider the legal and political environment. The government and governmental agencies have to develop control mechanism and tighten regulatory system (Prior et al. 2013). The aim is to prevent conflict and ensure the different stakeholders operate in a specific framework (Stamp, Lang and Wäger, 2012). The framework should be guided by international frameworks and incorporates views from countries such as Chile and Argentina business of the historical success in lithium production (Grosjean et al. 2012). The strategy is to reduce to the minimum any loopholes that may affect the production system. In addition to engagement with international bodies and business affiliates, the local capacity and industry have to be developed. It can be achieved through supporting research and development policy (Gruber et al. 2011). The approach is to continue developing new products and services that integrate the social, economic and environment concerns. These different processes would ensure the industry continues to develop while legal and political issues avoided. Environmental protection and sustainability – the mining of lithium requires huge volumes of water. The water is mixed into generating brine, which is then evaporated and the remaining product is the lithium. The mining creates problems in terms of transport, waste management, chemicals, and mining process. The mining process requires different chemicals, which creates additional problems and liabilities to the environment (Grosjean et al. 2012). The long-term effects of some of the chemicals may not be now and may contribute to health and safety problems such as cancer and related diseases (Wanger, 2011). The solution is doing extensive environmental assessment reports, and utilise these reports to develop a solution to the problem (Prior et al. 2013). If the problem is transport, environmentally friendly means of transportation can be used while waste management can be achieved through analysing the contents of the wastes and dictates how the waste can be managed appropriately; for example, water recycling can be done to reduce water wastages. Conclusion Bolivia is a country located in South America and has voluminous amount of lithium. The country was unable to produce the product, which is used in different industries ranging from technology to pharmaceuticals because of lack of infrastructure and competency. Some of the problems and challenges include environmental degradation, reliance on a single economic activity, community and society issues, and lack of effective legal and political framework. These can be solved through implementing a collaborative engagement with the community, diversification of economic activities, and implementing environmental protection and sustainability programs. References Bebbington, A.J. and Bury, J.T., 2009. Institutional challenges for mining and sustainability in Peru. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(41), pp. 17296-17301. Grosjean, C., Miranda, P.H., Perrin, M. and Poggi, P., 2012. Assessment of world lithium resources and consequences of their geographic distribution on the expected development of the electric vehicle industry. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 16(3), pp. 1735-1744. Gruber, P.W., Medina, P.A., Keoleian, G.A., Kesler, S.E., Everson, M.P. and Wallington, T.J., 2011. Global lithium availability. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 15(5), pp. 760-775. Overseas Development Institute. 2010. Bolivia. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/mdg_gap/mdg_gap2010/mdggap_bolivia_casestudy.pdf Prior, T., Wäger, P.A., Stamp, A., Widmer, R. and Giurco, D., 2013. Sustainable governance of scarce metals: The case of lithium. Science of the Total Environment, 461, pp. 785-791. Stamp, A., Lang, D.J. and Wäger, P.A., 2012. Environmental impacts of a transition toward e-mobility: the present and future role of lithium carbonate production. Journal of Cleaner Production, 23(1), pp. 104-112. Wahnschaft, R. 2011. Sustainable development of lithium of lithium resources from salt flats: resources from salt flats. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/susdevtopics/sdt_pdfs/meetings/2011/Presentation_Toronto_Lithium_Meeting_Ralph_Final.pdf Wanger, T.C., 2011. The lithium future—resources, recycling, and the environment. Conservation Letters, 4(3), pp. 202-206. World Atlas. 2014. Lithium production. Retrieved from http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-top-lithium-producing-countries-in-the-world.html Read More