In this week’s debrief, we unpack recent developments in Chile around the environmental impacts of mining and data centres. An environmental court has recently annulled a key permit for the expansion of the Collahuasi copper mine, the world’s sixth-largest, over open questions regarding environmental impacts and Indigenous People’s rights. At the same time, Chile’s push to become a tech hub in Latin America is increasing water stress in already drought-stricken regions while in the EU, civil society actors are pushing to prevent similar adverse impacts. In Colombia, Indigenous Peoples are also adversely impacted by expanding business operations and face cumulative impacts of coal mining and green energy projects.
Concerning workers’ rights and forced labour, a new study by Peoples Courage International highlights the disproportionate impacts of heat on migrant and informal workers across South Asian and Southeast Asian cities and allegations of Indian migrant workers facing forced labour conditions at a quarry in Guyana have led to a state investigation into the operations.
On deforestation, this week’s issue is highlighting laggards and frontrunners regarding the containment of deforestation. In Indonesia’s palm oil sector, deforestation continues despite years of policies aiming to curb it while in Brazil, the lowest deforestation rates since 2019 have been recorded in the Amazon rainforest although deforestation in the Cerrado continues to comprise over half of the country’s cut trees. The debrief also highlights Costa Rica’s coffee sector as a case study for effective implementation of support for farmers in complying with the EUDR.
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Announcements
Op-Ed publication on the Lafarge case
In a new op-ed published via Global Rights Compliance, BHRC’s sister organisation, BHR expert Raphaëlle Jouen explores the critical lessons from the Lafarge case in Syria, highlighting the need for heightened Human Rights Due Diligence (hHRDD). The article breaks down the core elements of what went wrong in the company’s “business continuity at all costs” approach and how hHRDD would have helped identify adverse impacts on human rights and in the context of the conflict. Further, the article provides lessons learned to transform hHRDD into a practical operational tool rather than a box-ticking exercise.
🔗 Access the publication here.
Due Diligence Legislation
Updates:
A Chilean environmental court has annulled a key environmental permit for the expansion of the Collahuasi copper mine.
The court overturned the environmental authorisation for the desalination plant of the project, which is the world’s sixth largest copper mined owned by Anglo America, Glencore and a Japanese consortium. It cited concerns over impacts on Indigenous communities and the surrounding marine environment, and has ordered the Environmental Assessment Service to reassess the seawater system designed to pump desalinated water nearly 200 kilometres inland to the mine at 4,600 metres above sea level.
The company is now required to initiate a new process clarifying different aspects such as the hypersaline discharge on the seabed, impacts on hydrobiological resources and the scope of a marine environment monitoring plan. In addition, it must address technical deficiencies that had been identified regarding indigenous consultations prior to any approval for an expansion of the operations.
In Chile, a growing number of datacentres are exacerbating local drought through excessive water use and drive fossil-fuel-powered energy consumption.
On the outskirts of the capital Santiago, one of the largest concentrations of datacentres in Latin America is consuming billions of litres of water annually and has drained water from the Quilicura wetlands, in a country that continues to be struck by a mega-drought for more than 15 years. Across Chile, 33 centres have been constructed with 34 more planned as part of a push to establish it as a tech hub in Latin America. Under the new right-wing government of Antonio Kast, who has already abolished environmental regulation, the issue is expected to exacerbate.
Water consumption of datacentres, which is driven by cooling operations inside the centre and the water use by power plant facilities that supply power and water consumption during the chip manufacturing process, has long been scrutinised for its impacts on local communities. In addition, major gaps in the transparency over water usage remains a challenge when determining actual impacts and ensuring effective regulation. The call for increased scrutiny over the centres’ environmental impacts is echoed in the EU by the European Environment Agency after the EU Commission had allowed data centres to conceal their energy consumption.
Indigenous Peoples are facing cumulative impacts of mining and green energy expansion in Colombia.
In-depth reporting on adverse impacts on the Wayúu people in the country’s north highlights rapid expansion of renewable energy developments while sidelining consent of Indigenous People and their control over land and water. It comes after decades of environmental and human rights impacts caused by mining, through Correjón, one of the larges open-pit coal mines globally. On top of such as displacement, water contamination and other forms of environmental pollution, the region has seen the development of dozens of wind energy projects risk further disregarding the Wayúu People’s rights.
Notes/Further Reading:
A new study published by Peoples Courage International highlights adverse heat impacts on lives and livelihoods of informal and migrant workers in Asian cities.
The was survey conducted among informal workers across five South and Southeast Asian cities, Delhi, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Jakarta and Quezon City. It found that heat already impacts the lives and livelihoods of 95% of surveyed migrants, that coping with extreme heat drives informal workers into financial strain and debt, that health issues cause by heat lead to health crises and reduce well-being, including through reduced recovery time and actions taken by governments and businesses are not apace with heat events.
The recommendations not only call for action at the government level, such as increasing social protection during extreme heat but also at the company level, for instance, by integrating worker protections into heat policies and engage in long-term heat action planning.
Deforestation Legislation
Updates:
The mapping analysis conducted by TheTreeMap shows that over 31,000ha of forest had been cleared in 2025, an increase on records from the previous year. Campaigners said that the continued deforestation is mainly due to incomplete traceability of palm oil production, loopholes in corporate ownership and policies applying only to palm oil and no other deforestation-linked commodities.
A lack of traceability to plantation level represents a significant challenge. The NGO AidEnvironment published a recent report assessing traceability of five of the different commodities covered by the EUDR across main producer countries. It found that in Indonesia’s palm oil sector, mapping of independent smallholders, those outside of concession areas remains a big issue. In addition, land tenure complexities of third-party suppliers makes it difficult to identify a singular plot of land. In Indonesia, smallholders account for approximately 40% of the country’s palm oil production.
Deforestation in 2025 in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen to its lowest level since 2019 - 23.5% lower than in 2024.
Total deforestation was reduced by 20.4% compared to 2024 as reported by the MapBiomas monitoring network. Despite this, in the Amazon the rate still means that there are five trees lost every second. In addition, other biomes have seen an increase in deforestation over recent years. As had been the case in 2024, the Cerrado was hardest hit by deforestation, accounting for more than half of trees cut down nation-wide.
Notes/Further Reading:
Costa Rica is as an example for early preparation and implementation of provisions towards EUDR compliance in its support for farmers.
The country has developed a pilot through the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE) with support from the UNDP to support its coffee farmers through its largest cooperative, CoopeTarrazú. The programme managed to geo-reference about 40% of its coffee-growing areas and train producers through a series of workshops. It should be noted that structural factors, such as a strong grower organisation, a history of legislation to curb deforestation and widely practiced agroforestry give Costa Rica an advantage over other producer countries.
Forced Labour Legislation
Updates:
Guyana’s Ministry of Labour has now launched an investigation into Ekaa HRIM Earth Resources Management, an Indian-owned quarrying company, after 38 Indian workers at its Batavia quarry came forward with allegations of passport confiscation, withheld wages, arbitrary salary cuts, and exploitative contracts.
The workers came forward following the death of a colleague on 12 May due to unsafe working conditions. Workers reported there was a general environment of unaddressed workplace hazards with 12-hour shifts daily from Monday to Saturday, on public holidays and at the discretion of the employer. In addition, the company allegedly charged $3,000 in “management fees” if workers were fired for breaches and poor performance and $5,000 if they quit before completing 24 months.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is for general informational purposes only. It does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice.