Talk Series: Resources Across Disciplines - Second Lecture

Collective Mapping as a Methodology for Human Rights in Times of Energy Transition: The Case of Lithium in the Salar de Atacama

How can collective mapping contribute to the protection of human rights in the context of the energy transition?

On 13 October, PhD candidate Patricio Trincado Vera (Faculty of Law, University of Groningen) will explore the tensions between lithium extraction and socio-environmental rights, focusing on the Lickanantay people in Chile's Salar de Atacama.

The lecture introduces collective mapping as a participatory method that brings together communities' knowledge and lived experiences to understand their relationship with the land. Drawing on a decolonial approach, Patricio will discuss how this method can contribute to new understandings of environmental rights in the context of lithium extraction.

About the speaker

Patricio Trincado Vera is a PhD candidate at the Department of Transboundary Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, University of Groningen. His research focuses on developing a decolonial approach to the Right to a Healthy Environment in the context of lithium extraction in the Atacama salt flat.

Registration

Interested in joining the discussion? Please register by contacting one of the academic leads of the Conflict, Environment & Society research group, Dr Vanessa Tünsmeyer or Dr Joram Tarusarira.

Registration is required as room capacity is limited.

About the lecture series

This lecture is part of an interdisciplinary series of talks organised by the Conflict, Environment & Society research group of the Rudolf Agricola School for Sustainable Development. The series brings together researchers from different disciplines to discuss resources and their environmental, economic, political and cultural dimensions.

Previous talks in the series include:

• 15 September 2026: Capturing Regulation, Selling Off the Environment: Regulatory Failure and Infrastructure Violence in the Brazilian Mining Sector - PhD canditate Júlia Dos Anjos Marques.

Upcoming lectures:

• 10 November 2026: Deeper Underground: On the Speculative Politics of Critical Mineral Production from Geothermal Resources - Dr. Ethemcan Turhan.

• 15 December 2026: Sacred Cattle, Sacred Forests: Religion, Climate Adaptation, and Security Risks in Kenya - Dr. Joram Tarusarira.