VW, BASF, Daimler, and Fairphone have funded the Responsible Lithium Partnership initiative at its inception, aiming to work towards responsible natural resource management, including lithium, in Chile’s Salar de Atacama.

The partnership intends to foster a dialogue among local stakeholders, generating and synthesising scientific facts and seeking solutions in a participatory manner. As the demand for lithium as a material in batteries is expected to grow in the next years, the largest lithium reserves located in the Salar de Atacama currently lack a consensus regarding the impacts and risks of lithium mining and other economic activity in the region. Potential risks derived from water and brine table shifts could potentially harm the ecosystems and affect local livelihoods.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), commissioned by the companies, will coordinate the partnership seeking to find common ground by building a multi-stakeholder platform among all relevant actors in the Salar watershed - ranging from civil society groups including indigenous communities, government institutions, mining companies and beyond.

The platform aims to facilitate a common understanding of the status quo and jointly develop a shared vision for the future of the Salar de Atacama watershed. In addition, it intends the co-development of a joint action plan to improve long-term integrated natural resource management and undertake the first implementing steps.

Share Story: