THE RESURGENCE OF OLD FORMS IN THE EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES: THE COLONIAL ONTOLOGY OF THE PRIOR CONSULTATION PRINCIPLE

Abstract

The need to deal with anthropogenic effects over the environment surfaced in the 1960´s mainly due to accidents all over the world with severe impacts on the environment. Therefore, International Environmental Law gained traction and international institutions legitimacy based on the universality of the formation of International Law and the objectivity and neutrality of the science, generating essential exclusions and implication for Global South countries. As colonial domination as part of the imperial projects ceased with the recognition of the sovereignty and self-determination of nations, a new form of granting access to natural resources was necessary. In this study, we argue that International Law and Institutions are proxies of the old ways of imperialism and colonial venture by imposing legal obligations and standard practices to countries disregarding their own experiences, cultures, and values, which has in the principle of prior consultation and its derivatives the most representative stance. As such, the study relies on TWAIL and Elite Theory to unveils the role of International Law and local elites to legitimize the domination and exclusion.