UDTR Global Rights of Nature Radar

Constitutionalizing the Lithium Frontier: Indigenous Consultation, Water Justice, and the Limits of Argentina’s Federal Extractivism

Identification

Public canonical key

doi:10.47353/sj.v5i3.539

Authors

Diego Carmona-Fernández

Reported year

2026

Reported language

en

Source type

article

First detected

2026-11-09T19:16:32.655915+00:00

Last metadata observation

2026-11-09T19:16:32.655915+00:00

Last HTTP verification

Not checked

Institutions reported by the source

National University of Mar del Plata

Documentary abstract — original language

Argentina’s expanding lithium industry exposes a constitutional tension between provincial control over natural resources, environmental protection, and Indigenous peoples’ rights. Although the National Constitution recognizes a healthy environment and Indigenous participation, implementation depends on fragmented regulatory institutions, access to environmental information, and timely remedies. This article examines how Argentina’s federal structure mediates conflicts among lithium development, Indigenous self-determination, and water protection. It employs doctrinal legal research and qualitative analysis of constitutional provisions, legislation, international instruments, judicial materials, and peer-reviewed scholarship. The article develops the concept of constitutional asymmetry in extractive governance: a mismatch between the formal recognition of rights and the institutional capacity required to make them effective. The analysis identifies four dimensions—normative, institutional, informational, and remedial—and explains how they may interact when mining permits, environmental assessments, consultation processes, and judicial review operate separately. It argues that provincial ownership does not displace constitutional and international obligations, and that project-by-project assessment may be inadequate where impacts accumulate across shared hydrological systems. The article proposes a rights-based framework linking cumulative water assessment, meaningful prior consultation, accessible environmental information, intergovernmental coordination, and effective review. It does not claim that all Argentine lithium projects violate rights; rather, it provides a framework for evaluating whether governance arrangements make constitutional guarantees practically enforceable. It concludes that the legitimacy of lithium development should be assessed through rights protection and accountability, not only economic benefits or formal compliance.

Identifiers

OPENALEX

W7222961882

DOI

10.47353/sj.v5i3.539

Documentary context

Documentary family

Scholarship

Source-reported types

article

Jurisdictions studied — explicit sources

AR

Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.

Sources

OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2

• DOI · https://doi.org/10.47353/sj.v5i3.539
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W7222961882

Documented bibliographic relations

Source-declared references and links; they do not establish legal support or UGLC qualification. Up to 20 outgoing references are displayed.

• openalex:w1565616200 · CITES
• openalex:w1881738340 · CITES
• openalex:w1999972471 · CITES
• openalex:w2001152634 · CITES
• openalex:w2147324701 · CITES
• openalex:w2278938776 · CITES
• openalex:w2488167377 · CITES
• openalex:w2602164860 · CITES
• openalex:w2997520647 · CITES
• openalex:w4293415975 · CITES
• openalex:w4316096733 · CITES
• openalex:w4399012533 · CITES
• Los Reclamos de las Comunidades Indígenas de Salinas Grandes y Laguna de Guayatayoc por la Explotación de Litio en el Marco del Reconocimiento de la Naturaleza como Sujeto de Derecho · CITES

0 incoming references within the detected corpus

Documentary status

Relevance pending

Library

This identity is not yet included in the Legal Library.