ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an overview of socio-environmental disputes in Latin America. It proceeds with a discussion of the Early Action Fund (EAF) proposal process and details the nine cases that ad hoc EAF committees selected for use of EAF funds between 2005 and 2007. The cases involved potential impacts to air, water, and land from commercial activities such as mining, timber harvesting, fishing, power generation, and agriculture. The chapter outlines how the EAF pilot program directly and positively affected parties' ability to reach consensus and avoid violence. The majority of proposals identified water as the natural resource most at stake in the disputes. Instead, agreements were reached between the mayor of Buenavista and the mining companies over a tax for natural resource exploitation. The chapter concludes with recommendations for improvement and for potential application to geographic areas beyond Latin America, not only in situations where conflict is imminent, but also in post-conflict situations.
