Nicolás Camilo Zanetta Colombo

Nicolás Camilo Zanetta Colombo is a Research Associate in the Department of Geography at Heidelberg University's South Asia Institute, where he has worked since 2022. His research bridges environmental health, geochemistry, and community-based monitoring to advance environmental justice in mining communities across the Global South.

His educational background includes a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Geography from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, with PhD completion in November 2024. His academic journey reflects a deep commitment to understanding human-environment interactions through interdisciplinary approaches.

Zanetta-Colombo specializes in investigating how pollution and extractive industries contribute to health disparities, particularly among vulnerable and marginalized populations. His work integrates spatial analysis, toxicology, and critical geography to examine environmental pollution impacts in the Atacama Desert, where he has built long-term collaborations with Indigenous and urban communities affected by mining-related contamination. His decade-long research in this region is complemented by comparative projects in Central America and South Africa, bringing a global perspective to socio-environmental challenges. His research aims to make visible the often-overlooked health consequences of extractive industries and support pathways toward more just and sustainable futures through science outreach and community engagement.

His publication record reveals a strong interdisciplinary focus on mining impacts in the Atacama Desert region, examining metal(loid) dispersion through multiple environmental media and temporal scales. His work uniquely combines contemporary environmental monitoring with long-term historical perspectives, using innovative methods like tree ring analysis and rodent middens to document pollution patterns over decades and even millennia. This approach bridges environmental science, public health, and social justice concerns, highlighting the connections between global resource demands and local community impacts.

Dr. Zanetta-Colombo teaches courses in Political Ecology, Critical Physical Geography, and Geographies of Extraction, reflecting his commitment to interdisciplinary approaches that connect environmental processes with social justice concerns. His work emphasizes community involvement and science outreach as essential components of effective environmental research and solutions, particularly in contexts where extractive industries operate with limited accountability to affected communities.