Beyond our standard social research, Oxus International specializes in studying the impacts of mining and other extractive industries on the communities in which they operate. Central Asia possesses extensive quantities of raw materials such as gold, copper, natural gas, and rare earth minerals. The economic rewards to be gained from extracting these resources are potentially huge, but the impact on the community is often overlooked. Oxus International employs international standards in studying the current or potential impacts from natural resource extraction. We also have tools for identifying and mitigating the causes of conflict between communities, industry, and governments. Oxus International has several past projects related to the social impact of the extractive industries in Kyrgyzstan:

• Report on Cyanide Use in Gold Mining
• Mining Research in Talas
• Conflict Mitigation in Kyrgyzstan’s Extractive Industries
• Social Baseline Study of Togolok Mine
• Social Impact Assessment of Shambesai Gold Project

For this service, Oxus International frequently makes use of Conflict Mapping, an innovative method for collecting qualitative data that provides more insight into a specific conflict and causes more interaction among participants than a traditional focus group. Check out the Conflict Mapping page for more information on this method.