This article addresses a global debate around the resource curse theory. Broadresearch demonstrates that some resource rich countries face with major challenges to achieve social welfare, economic stability and sustainable environmental management. Recent evidence emphasizes the relevance of institutions to determine the degree to achieve a better development performance in resource rich countries. This article supports the role of institutions to take advantage of the exploitation of natural resources, particularly those at the local level. The Peruvian context is especially analyzed concerning the challenges to improve the use and management of extractive revenues. / El artículo aborda el debate sobre la teoría de la maldición de los recursos. Lasinvestigaciones realizadas a la fecha demuestran que existen países ricos en recursos naturales, que enfrentan mayores desafíos para lograr el bienestar social, estabilidad económica y manejo ambiental sostenible. Estudios recientes destacan la importancia de las instituciones para determinar el grado de desarrollo alcanzado  por los países ricos en recursos naturales. En este artículo se reafirma el rol de las instituciones en el aprovechamiento de la explotación de recursos naturales,particularmente las del ámbito local. Se destaca, especialmente, el caso peruano y la problemática del uso de los fondos derivados de los impuestos de la actividad extractiva.

In this article, the author analyzes the complexity of a common problem in many parts of the world: social conflicts, putting emphasis on socio-environmental ones. Consequently, he starts addressing the social conflict concept and its elements, to approximate to its comprehension through various conceptions of the Theory of Law.Finally, the author provides a socio-anthropological analysis of Law in order to understand the importance of the knowledge of structural and systemic causes of socio-environmental conflicts and outlines an alternative solution. / En el presente artículo, el autor destaca y aborda la complejidad de un problema no poco común en nuestro país: los conflictos sociales, poniendo especial énfasis en aquellos de tipo socio-ambientales. Para ello, parte del concepto de conflicto social y analiza cada elemento que lo compone, para luego aproximarse a su comprensión a través de diversas concepciones de la Teoría del Derecho.Finalmente, realiza un análisis socio-antropológico del derecho para comprender la importancia del conocimiento de las causas estructurales y sistemáticas de los conflictos socio-ambientales, y esboza una alternativa de solución.

臺灣礦業採掘有關的政治環境衝突往往被概念化為治理問題。也就是說，治理政策產生的衝突，是由於礦業採掘活動中「收益分配、政治參與、透明度和原住民社區的就業機會」等四個指標。然而，在治理層面忽略了原住民族長期受到邊緣化的歷史過程以及持續接受殖民的統治的治理模式，因此本文的主要論述是， 礦業採掘活動有關的政治環境衝突並非源自 “治理” 問題， 而更重要的是，此問題本身超越了現行的政治體制架構，因為國家、礦業採掘公司、原住民部落之間在土地議題上顯現出不同的本質觀點，雙方在政治體制的範圍上，以及文化、社會體系上，兩者皆沒有共同之處，而基於這一論點，本研究將對於南澳泰雅族人土地議題的奮鬥案立加以研究。 / Political-environmental conflicts related to extractive industries in Taiwan tend to be conceptualized as problems of governance. These conflicts are generated from ill-designed policies that manage the distribution of revenues from extractive industries, formal political participation, transparency and employment opportunities for the indigenous community. The governance approach, however, does not take into account the history of marginalization and resistance of indigenous groups, or the permanence of colonial patterns of domination in Taiwan. The main argument of this paper is that the political-environmental conflicts related to extractive activities do not derive from problems of ‘governance’, but more significantly, they emerge as a consequence of divergences that transcend the current institutional framework. The different political ontologies among state, corporate, and the indigenous community over land revealed, each party operates within institutional parameters and socio-cultural systems which have nothing in common. This argument will be developed in the case study of the Atayal people’s territorial struggles in Nan’ao, Taiwan.