Justice in Extractivism Related Socio-environmental Conflicts from a Decolonial and Restorative Lens The Agua Zarca case in Honduras

This article investigates the potential of the restorative justice approach to address socio-environmental conflicts resulting from extractivism by employing as a case study the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam on the Gualcarque River in Honduras. Based on interviews with victims from the affected Lenca community, environmental defenders, and local practitioners, this research shows that harms caused by extractivism are both multi-dimensional and multi-level. We argue that restorative justice represents a viable option for the Agua Zarca case because it offers a kind of justice that is in many ways close to what constitutes a meaningful justice for the Lenca people. However, due to the context of impunity in Honduras, meaningful justice also requires the prosecution of aggressors through the traditional judicial system in addition to structural changes that address colonial legacies such as historical injustices, systemic discrimination, and power asymmetries. Overall, this research shows the importance of a synergy of restorative justice with the decolonial
theory that allows bottom-up strategies for restoring justice on an intra-community as well as a structural level and implementing strategies that transform conflicts in Indigenous territories.