SIRGE Coalition, Jakarta (2026)

19/08/2026

🇧🇴 The Bolivian government announces the elimination of its Development Planning and Environment Ministry.

Against a backdrop of protests across the country and an ongoing state of exception, Rodrigo Paz announced the elimination of the Ministries of Development Planning and Environment and Sustainable Tourism, Culture, Folklore and Gastronomy. The measure, he argued, is aimed at cutting government spending and a continuing a trend to reduce the size of the Bolivian state.

The decision follows the 2025 elimination of Bolivia's Ministry of Environment and Water, whose mandate and competencies were distributed into the now defunct Ministry of Development Planning and Environment.

With this new restructuring of the state apparatus, all policy-making related to the environment will be absorbed by the Ministry of Productive, Rural Development and Water, and vice-minister Óscar Justiniano, an agribusiness industry leader. Importantly, Bolivia's agribusiness sector played a key role in the election of Paz and has been linked to over 90% of the 1.8 million hectares lost to deforestation in 2024.

Amid a geopolitical rush to control mineral supply chains, a deforestation crisis, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. for the exploration of minerals in Bolivia, and the exclusion of Indigenous Peoples from the drafting of a new mining code, the government's latest decision has drawn strong criticism from Indigenous Peoples organizations, civil society, environmental organizations and advocates across the country.

17/08/2026

☁ "Artificial Intelligence may appear immaterial to its users, as an amorphous construct that exists “in the cloud.” But the cloud is not a cloud."

In our latest article, Director of Advocacy and Partnerships at SIRGE Coalition, Bryan Bixcul, and Nalori Chakma, Transition Minerals Advocacy Manager at Tallgrass Institute, explore the mineral footprint of artificial intelligence and raise important questions about the need for an AI governance that respects Indigenous Peoples’ authority, protects ecosystems, and allows communities to decide whether, how, and on what terms these technologies affect their lands, waters, data, and futures.

➡️ Swipe through this post to learn more about the true impact of AI's mineral footprint over Indigenous Peoples.

📄 And read the full article here: https://www.sirgecoalition.org/news-and-articles/indigenous-peoples-and-the-mineral-footprint-of-artificial-intelligence

14/08/2026

🇺🇸 The U.S. announces $3 billion investment in mining projects across the country.

Last Friday, at a roundtable at the State Department and before 200 mining executives, educators, investors and politicians, the U.S. government announced it will invest $3 billion in critical minerals and battery projects as part of a push to increase domestic production and boost national security and industrial policy.

"Critical minerals are the raw materials of American strength that ⁠power everything from advanced weaponry to automobiles, and we want these essential products to be mined, refined and made right here in the USA," Trump said.

The announcement comes amid the depletion of weapons stockpiles as a result of the U.S. conflict in Iran and the need reduce U.S. dependence on Chinese supply chains. Importantly, weapons such as precision-guided missiles, fighter aircraft, armored vehicles and other advanced military systems depend on supplies of minerals including rare earths, tungsten, germanium and scandium.

Due to the fact that these investments are set to be conducted within the U.S., it is important to highlight that in the country, 97 % of nickel, 89 % of copper, 79 % of lithium and 68 % of cobalt reserves and resources are located within 35 miles of Native American reservations.

As the U.S. accelerates domestic mining in the name of national security, Indigenous Peoples’ rights cannot be sidelined. With such a significant share of critical mineral resources located near or on Native American reservations, Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) must be upheld throughout this new rush for domestic production. The race for minerals must not come at the expense of Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

13/08/2026

🇧🇴 Bolivia is drafting a new Mining Code. Indigenous Peoples have been excluded from the drafting and discussion processes.

Even though around 48% of the Bolivian population over the age of 15 is of Indigenous origin (according to 2017 information from the National Institute of Statistics), Rodrigo Paz's government has excluded Indigenous Peoples from the drafting of a new Mining Code set to be adopted by October and that will impact Indigenous Peoples' lands and rights for decades to come.

The summit, which was inaugurated in late July, established six working groups: legal certainty; institutionalization; commercialization; the fight against illegal mining; environmental protection and responsible mining; and mining contracts. Indigenous Peoples and land defenders were not included in any of them.

As a response, Indigenous Peoples organizations across the country have said they will not accept new mining legislation that excludes them from the drafting process. In parallel, members of congress have stated that they will not receive nor back a law that was not socialized with Indigenous Peoples and communities affected by mining.

A new Mining Code cannot be developed without the meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples. Respect for Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) must be at the heart of any policy that affects Indigenous Peoples’ lands, territories, and rights.

➡️ Read more about the situation here: https://lnkd.in/e8GgYkH8

07/08/2026

⚡️ While AI is often framed as a digital revolution, its foundations are deeply material.

As the world experiences a rapid digital transition, driven by the development and global adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies, its rapid and unevenly regulated expansion is creating multiple layers of risk for Indigenous Peoples. These range from mineral extraction and water depletion to concerns involving Indigenous Data Sovereignty, intellectual property, surveillance, and exclusion from decision-making.

In our latest article, Director of Advocacy and Partnerships at SIRGE Coalition, Bryan Bixcul, and Nalori Chakma, Transition Minerals Advocacy Manager at Tallgrass Institute, explore the mineral footprint of artificial intelligence and raise important questions about the need for an AI governance that respects Indigenous Peoples’ authority, protects ecosystems, and allows communities to decide whether, how, and on what terms these technologies affect their lands, waters, data, and futures.

➡️ Read the full article on SIRGE Coalition's website: https://lnkd.in/dBDkA2fA

💬 What are your thoughts on the relationship between AI, transition minerals, and Indigenous Peoples' rights? We'd love to read your perspective in the comments.

30/07/2026

⚡️ Even though minerals are framed as essential for the energy transition, their use for climate action is not the reason behind the unprecedented mining boom the world is experiencing.

📄 A new Oakland Institute report, RUSH: Global Scramble for Minerals Wages War on People and Planet, documents that more than 70% of critical mineral demand today actually comes from industries unrelated to the energy transition, including the automotive, aerospace, military, communications, and technology sectors.

To justify a massive scale up of mineral extraction, governments, corporations, and international financial institutions like the World Bank, frame critical minerals as indispensable to the green transition and as a pathway to prosperity for the Global South. These findings, however, dismantle the dominant narrative that massive amounts of minerals are needed for the energy transition, revealing instead a convergence of political, military, and corporate interests racing to control the resources that underpin modern warfare and artificial intelligence.

✊🏽 With 54% of mineral projects worldwide located on or near Indigenous Peoples' territories, and with Indigenous Peoples increasingly facing the direct impacts of this geopolitical rush, these findings bring into question the narrative that these minerals and their fast-tracked and expanded extraction is essential and inevitable.

27/07/2026

🇬🇹 Big win for Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala!

For 14 years, Indigenous land and water defenders of the Peaceful Resistance La Puya have maintained a 24-hour camp outside a gold mine in Guatemala to stand for their lands and rights.

Their decade-long persistence became a key part of a much larger legal battle. After Guatemalan courts suspended the mine's operations following legal actions brought by affected Indigenous communities, the U.S.-based mining company Kappes, Cassiday & Associates (KCA) filed a nearly US$500 million claim against Guatemala through the Investor State Dispute Settlement, a system envisioned by and for extractive corporations seeking to maintain control over the natural commons, especially in the Global South.

However, in a landmark decision, the arbitration tribunal rejected the company's claim, marking an important victory for Guatemala and for the Indigenous Peoples who have spent more than a decade defending their rights.

🔗 Read the full story in this article series from EARTHWORKS: https://lnkd.in/e9ECkgM7

21/07/2026

🌱 ¡Únete a la Coalición SIRGE!

Estamos buscando un/a Coordinador/a de Subvenciones y Operaciones para apoyar nuestra misión de avanzar los derechos, la autodeterminación y el Consentimiento Libre, Previo e Informado (CLPI) de los Pueblos Indígenas en la transición energética.

Como parte de nuestro Secretariado, esta persona contribuirá al fortalecimiento de nuestros procesos de donaciones, apoyará los esfuerzos liderados por Pueblos Indígenas y aportará a la coordinación de una coalición global que trabaja por una economía verde basada en derechos.

📄 Consulta los Términos de Referencia completos y los detalles para postular en el PDF a continuación.

➡️ ¿Conoces a alguien que podría ser una excelente persona candidata? Comparte esta oportunidad con tus redes.

21/07/2026

🌱 ¡Únete a la Coalición SIRGE!

Estamos buscando un/a Coordinador/a de Donaciones y Operaciones para apoyar nuestra misión de avanzar los derechos, la autodeterminación y el consentimiento libre, previo e informado (CLPI) de los Pueblos Indígenas en la transición energética.

Como parte de nuestro Secretariado, esta persona contribuirá al fortalecimiento de nuestros procesos de donaciones, apoyará los esfuerzos liderados por Pueblos Indígenas y aportará a la coordinación de una coalición global que trabaja por una economía verde basada en derechos.

📄 Consulta los Términos de Referencia completos y los detalles para postular en el PDF a continuación.

➡️ ¿Conoces a alguien que podría ser una excelente persona candidata? Comparte esta oportunidad con tus redes.

20/07/2026

⚡️ As transition minerals are increasingly framed as essential for the energy transition, energy security, national defense, and emerging technologies, the costs of their extraction often go overlooked.

➡️ Here are five facts worth knowing.

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