Resource extraction in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Encyclopedia
The Democratic Republic of the Congo
(abbreviated DR Congo or DRC), previously known as Zaire, is immensely rich in natural resources
. However, mining activities have been closely linked to serious problems in the DRC. In September 2010, the government banned mining in the east of the country, attempting to crack down on illegal organisations and corruption.
DR Congo is estimated to have $24 trillion (equivalent to the combined Gross Domestic Product
of Europe
and the United States
) worth of untapped deposits of raw mineral ores, including the world’s largest reserves of cobalt and significant quantities of the world’s diamonds, gold and copper. The major ores extracted throughout the DRC are:
Much of the resource extraction is done in small operations, known as "Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining" (ASM), which are unregulated in the DRC. Recently, more money is being invested into the extraction and refining of some of the ores found in the DRC, primarily copper and cobalt, which may help regulate the extraction and reduce environmental impacts. However, many ASM operations still exist for minerals such as coltan
that can be mined with little capital investment. ASM operations employ a significant number of DRC's population, with estimates of up to one fifth of the country or 12.5 million people. Because artisenal mining operations require little capital they are unregulated and occur primarily within protected areas, around endangered or threatened species. Artisenal mining often occurs in riparian zones.
During periods of violence, resources have been looted from the original collectors by both Congolese and foreign soldiers, and civilians or they are extracted by soldiers, locals organized by military commanders (much of the time Rwandan and Ugandan commanders) and by foreign nationals. Problems stemming from mining practices include disruption of families, mining-related illnesses, environmental damage, child-labor, and abuse of women including prostitution and rape.
, Uganda
, and Burundi’s
successful invasion of eastern and southeastern DRC a great deal of what the UN labeled “mass scale looting” started to take root. While initial invasion tactics were still being worked out, military commanders were busy making business deals with foreign companies for the Congo’s vast mineral reserves. Between September 1998 and August 1999 existing stockpiles of minerals, agricultural products, timber, and livestock were illegally confiscated from Congolese businesses, piled onto trucks, and sold as exports from the confiscating countries. Rwandan and Ugandan troops forced local businesses to close their doors by raiding and harassing civilian owners. Cars were stolen to such an extent that Uganda showed a 25 percent increase in automobiles in 1999. DARA-Forest Company illegally extracted and sold Congolese timber on the international market. An American Mineral Fields executive allowed rebels to use his private lear jet for a $1 billion mining deal. Some parallel the mining corporations rush to acquire coltan
rich land in rebel territory of the DRC to the Conference of Berlin in 1885.
Rwanda
and Uganda
have no known production sites for many of the minerals that were exported at vastly higher rates after their invasion of the DRC. “Free zone areas” make diamonds difficult to track because they can be repackaged and “legally” sold as diamonds from that country. The DRC has been exporting few minerals since the invasion because the destruction of the rural infrastructure has caused mining and agricultural outputs to wane. Coltan
is the most profitable mineral export from the Congo, but it is particularly difficult to track because it is often listed as cassiterite
, a mineral of lesser quality, for which export taxes are lower. Coltan has been illegally extracted and sold via Burundi since 1995, three years before the invasion. The International Monetary Fund
(IMF) states that Burundi
has no “gold, diamonds, columbotantalite, copper, cobalt or basic metals” mining operations but has been exporting them since 1998.
In the year 2000 Rwanda
spent $70 million supporting about 25,000 troops and Uganda
spent $110 million supporting twice as many troops. Rwanda
and Uganda
finance their war efforts through commercial deals, profit-sharing with companies, and taxation among other things. Rwandan soldiers often steal coltan collected by villagers and sell it to diamond dealers themselves. From dealing in coltan trade alone the Rwandan army may have collected $20 million per month and coltan profits have been used to pay back loans from foreign creditors. Rebel groups MLC, RCD-Goma, and RCD-ML make their own deals with foreign businessmen for cash and/or military equipment. Battlefields are most commonly centered on areas that hold a lot of diamond and coltan potential and foreign armies occupation of the eastern region is maintained by illegal resource exploitation.
For $1 million per month Rebel group RCD-Goma gave a coltan monopoly to SOMIGL which they in turn poured into efforts to gain control from RCD-ML for mineral-loaded land. To try to get fast cash to gain control of government land the DRC gave a diamond monopoly to International Diamond Industries (IDI) which was supposed to pay the government $20 million but paid only $3 million and continued to extract diamonds from the region and sell them internationally. Upon request of the IMF and WB the DRC is trying to liberalize diamond trade and IDI has threatened to sue because they had a contract they themselves did not honor.
Corporations and Western countries purchasing coltan
from Rwanda
, Uganda
, or Burundi
are aware of its origin and aid from western donors is funneled directly into Rwandan and Ugandan war efforts. The German government even gave a loan to a private German citizen to build his coltan export business in the DRC, for which he enlisted the help of RCD-Goma soldiers. Mineral plunder in the DRC was easy once the central authority had collapsed because of the extremely weak financial system, as well as the apparent disregard of illegal conflicts on the part of proper standards by international corporations and governments that imported illegal minerals. The US has documented that many minerals are purchased from the DRC even though the DRC has no record of exporting them. A lack of state stability combined with international corporations and foreign government’s interest in investing in Congolese mineral plunder increased the pace at which the DRC was shook off its fragile foundation. The UN does an excellent job of identifying the perpetrators of illegal resource exploitation in the DRC, but was not able to help prevent the economic exploitation of the country.
In September 2010, it was reported that the FDLR (Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda), a group of mostly Hutu rebels, was exploiting timber, gold and coltan in North Kivu and South Kivu.
Mining can be an intensive process and has affected some wilderness areas, including national parks and wildlife reserves such as Kahuzi-Biega
and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve
, both of which are world heritage site
s. Mining in these areas is typically artisanal; a small scale mining method that takes place in river beds and can, cumulatively, be very environmentally damaging. Artisanal mining degrades riparian zones, creating erosion
and heavy silting of the water. The tailings
are often dumped into the rivers and could be contaminated with mercury
and cyanide
degrading the health of the river systems putting the wildlife and people at risk. Miners and refugees are relocating to parks in search of minerals; a reported 10,000 have moved into Kahuzi-Biega
and 4,000 to the Okapi Wildlife Reserve
. This increases the pressures on wildlife as timber is cut down and used as fuel wood
to cook with, and wildlife is killed for its meat. Also, as people enter into these areas animals such as primates are collected for trade on the black market. Others are poached for their hides, or for the tusks such as elephants.
The extent of logging has been difficult to quantify. Much of the logging that occurs is primarily for target hardwood species, rather than clear-cutting which can be assessed by satellite imaging. Observations have shown an increased number of logging trucks moving across borders. Logging destroys valuable habitat for animals and increases the access into forested areas making it easier for poachers, miners and refugees to access areas.
Within the DRC, there are both wars between Congolese and conflicts between neighboring nations. Although these wars have components of inter-tribal conflict, in several cases the conflicts have been induced by external forces, such as changes in international support and demands for resource extraction. As a result of tantalum mining and wars, societies in the eastern regions of the Congo are experiencing heightened physical and economic insecurity, health problems and human-rights violations.
In the Ituri region, a violent conflict
is occurring between the Lendu
and the Hema
tribes. Analysts have determined that the conflict has intertribal as well as economic components brought about by the patterns of coltan
extraction.
A health problem brought about by resource extraction is the effect of tantalite
(coltan
) mining on women and children who work in the mines. As more women are turning to mining for income, they are faced with dangerous tasks such as pounding the stone which contains tantalum
. The release of fibers that get into the lungs is affecting both the women and their babies, who are passengers on their mother’s backs. “More worrying, the majority of babies, often on the backs of their mothers during the horrendous task of pounding coltan, have started showing similar signs of disease and pain to those of their mothers”.
Child labour is common in DRC, and the mining industry is no exception. Children in the region are also being forced and coerced to become soldiers.
The resulting labor shift from farming to mining has been linked to food shortages and insecurity. The DRC has some of the richest soils and favorable climatic conditions for food production on the African continent. Before Mobutu’s reign, the DRC was one of the major exporters of food to the rest of Africa. “The richly fertile soil (especially that in the eastern highlands which is volcanic in origin) could produce enough food to feed half of Africa, but the country is so poor that at present its people do not produce enough food to feed themselves”.
Health and safety standards are largely specified in Congolese law, but government agencies have not enforced them effectively. Because of this, there are many grave labor violations. Minimum wage laws are rarely followed at mines. Work week hour standards, overtime payment and rest periods are largely ignored as well. Child labor laws are rarely enforced. Child laborers make up to 30% of the mining labor force. Because of all of this, deaths and violent injury at mining work sites are common place.
Civilians, including large numbers of children, have been regularly forced into labor, especially as miners and soldiers. Many miners become enslaved when they fail to pay back debt to their employer.
Rebel and militia groups commit widespread human rights abuses, including rape, enslavement, torture, disappearances and killing of civilians. These groups compete for finances from illegal mining. Reports indicate that corporations have facilitated these abuses by obtaining minerals from areas controlled by these groups.
Sexual violence is an especially widespread and devastating issue across the country. Between 1.69 and 1.80 million women reported being raped in their lifetime. Around mines, survival prostitution, sex slavery, and forced child prostitution has been observed. This widespread sexual violence contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS, as well.
During the Second Congo War, 3 million civilians died, largely attributed to malnutrition or disease. Nearly as many were internally displaced. Destruction of agricultural land and cattle, and the draw of money through mining led to a decrease in food access and increase in malnutrition.
Assessment and assistance by outside organizations has been difficult. Access to mining areas is limited by corrupt government officials and hostile militias. Recently, reductions in mortality rate have been documented. This is linked to improvements in security, humanitarian and politic issues. These improvements, however, are limited by continued unregulated mining. Exploitation of natural resources by rebel groups supplying international corporations continues to impair the growth of peace and stability.
In the United States, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requires retailers and manufacturers to track and publish the amount of conflict minerals
sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A recent event, the exact regulations have not yet been determined.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
(abbreviated DR Congo or DRC), previously known as Zaire, is immensely rich in natural resources
Natural Resources
Natural Resources is a soul album released by Motown girl group Martha Reeves and the Vandellas in 1970 on the Gordy label. The album is significant for the Vietnam War ballad "I Should Be Proud" and the slow jam, "Love Guess Who"...
. However, mining activities have been closely linked to serious problems in the DRC. In September 2010, the government banned mining in the east of the country, attempting to crack down on illegal organisations and corruption.
Natural Resources
DR Congo is estimated to have $24 trillion (equivalent to the combined Gross Domestic Product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) worth of untapped deposits of raw mineral ores, including the world’s largest reserves of cobalt and significant quantities of the world’s diamonds, gold and copper. The major ores extracted throughout the DRC are:
- CobaltCobaltCobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
- Diamonds
- GoldGoldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
- CopperCopperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
Much of the resource extraction is done in small operations, known as "Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining" (ASM), which are unregulated in the DRC. Recently, more money is being invested into the extraction and refining of some of the ores found in the DRC, primarily copper and cobalt, which may help regulate the extraction and reduce environmental impacts. However, many ASM operations still exist for minerals such as coltan
Coltan
Coltan is the industrial name for columbite–tantalite, a dull black metallic mineral from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral is columbite, hence the "col" half of the term...
that can be mined with little capital investment. ASM operations employ a significant number of DRC's population, with estimates of up to one fifth of the country or 12.5 million people. Because artisenal mining operations require little capital they are unregulated and occur primarily within protected areas, around endangered or threatened species. Artisenal mining often occurs in riparian zones.
During periods of violence, resources have been looted from the original collectors by both Congolese and foreign soldiers, and civilians or they are extracted by soldiers, locals organized by military commanders (much of the time Rwandan and Ugandan commanders) and by foreign nationals. Problems stemming from mining practices include disruption of families, mining-related illnesses, environmental damage, child-labor, and abuse of women including prostitution and rape.
Mass Scale Looting
After RwandaRwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, and Burundi’s
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
successful invasion of eastern and southeastern DRC a great deal of what the UN labeled “mass scale looting” started to take root. While initial invasion tactics were still being worked out, military commanders were busy making business deals with foreign companies for the Congo’s vast mineral reserves. Between September 1998 and August 1999 existing stockpiles of minerals, agricultural products, timber, and livestock were illegally confiscated from Congolese businesses, piled onto trucks, and sold as exports from the confiscating countries. Rwandan and Ugandan troops forced local businesses to close their doors by raiding and harassing civilian owners. Cars were stolen to such an extent that Uganda showed a 25 percent increase in automobiles in 1999. DARA-Forest Company illegally extracted and sold Congolese timber on the international market. An American Mineral Fields executive allowed rebels to use his private lear jet for a $1 billion mining deal. Some parallel the mining corporations rush to acquire coltan
Coltan
Coltan is the industrial name for columbite–tantalite, a dull black metallic mineral from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral is columbite, hence the "col" half of the term...
rich land in rebel territory of the DRC to the Conference of Berlin in 1885.
Active Extraction Phase
When the mass scale looting died down as stocks of minerals were depleted, soldiers were encouraged by commanders to take part in small-scale looting which started an “active extraction phase”. Natural resources that were not stolen were often purchased with counterfeit Congolese francs which contributed to inflation. Air transportation companies that had operated in the Congo disappeared and were replaced by companies affiliated with foreign armies. The Congolese government lost out of profits from taxes on natural resources entering and leaving air fields because air services were controlled by foreign Rwandan and Ugandan troops who routinely exported coltan from the Congo. The increase in air transportation networks has also increased exploitation because of the emergence of new transport routes.Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
have no known production sites for many of the minerals that were exported at vastly higher rates after their invasion of the DRC. “Free zone areas” make diamonds difficult to track because they can be repackaged and “legally” sold as diamonds from that country. The DRC has been exporting few minerals since the invasion because the destruction of the rural infrastructure has caused mining and agricultural outputs to wane. Coltan
Coltan
Coltan is the industrial name for columbite–tantalite, a dull black metallic mineral from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral is columbite, hence the "col" half of the term...
is the most profitable mineral export from the Congo, but it is particularly difficult to track because it is often listed as cassiterite
Cassiterite
Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem...
, a mineral of lesser quality, for which export taxes are lower. Coltan has been illegally extracted and sold via Burundi since 1995, three years before the invasion. The International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF) states that Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
has no “gold, diamonds, columbotantalite, copper, cobalt or basic metals” mining operations but has been exporting them since 1998.
In the year 2000 Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
spent $70 million supporting about 25,000 troops and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
spent $110 million supporting twice as many troops. Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
finance their war efforts through commercial deals, profit-sharing with companies, and taxation among other things. Rwandan soldiers often steal coltan collected by villagers and sell it to diamond dealers themselves. From dealing in coltan trade alone the Rwandan army may have collected $20 million per month and coltan profits have been used to pay back loans from foreign creditors. Rebel groups MLC, RCD-Goma, and RCD-ML make their own deals with foreign businessmen for cash and/or military equipment. Battlefields are most commonly centered on areas that hold a lot of diamond and coltan potential and foreign armies occupation of the eastern region is maintained by illegal resource exploitation.
For $1 million per month Rebel group RCD-Goma gave a coltan monopoly to SOMIGL which they in turn poured into efforts to gain control from RCD-ML for mineral-loaded land. To try to get fast cash to gain control of government land the DRC gave a diamond monopoly to International Diamond Industries (IDI) which was supposed to pay the government $20 million but paid only $3 million and continued to extract diamonds from the region and sell them internationally. Upon request of the IMF and WB the DRC is trying to liberalize diamond trade and IDI has threatened to sue because they had a contract they themselves did not honor.
Corporations and Western countries purchasing coltan
Coltan
Coltan is the industrial name for columbite–tantalite, a dull black metallic mineral from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral is columbite, hence the "col" half of the term...
from Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
, or Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
are aware of its origin and aid from western donors is funneled directly into Rwandan and Ugandan war efforts. The German government even gave a loan to a private German citizen to build his coltan export business in the DRC, for which he enlisted the help of RCD-Goma soldiers. Mineral plunder in the DRC was easy once the central authority had collapsed because of the extremely weak financial system, as well as the apparent disregard of illegal conflicts on the part of proper standards by international corporations and governments that imported illegal minerals. The US has documented that many minerals are purchased from the DRC even though the DRC has no record of exporting them. A lack of state stability combined with international corporations and foreign government’s interest in investing in Congolese mineral plunder increased the pace at which the DRC was shook off its fragile foundation. The UN does an excellent job of identifying the perpetrators of illegal resource exploitation in the DRC, but was not able to help prevent the economic exploitation of the country.
In September 2010, it was reported that the FDLR (Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda), a group of mostly Hutu rebels, was exploiting timber, gold and coltan in North Kivu and South Kivu.
Environmental Impacts
Resource extraction has many impacts on the cultural and environmental diversity of the DRC; it is difficult to quantify the environmental degradation of the country. As it is unstable and difficult for researchers to enter and do work in the country also it is always difficult to quantify loss of biodiversity as animals are mobile and the lack of roads and navigable rivers make transportation into the wilderness areas difficult for researchers.Mining can be an intensive process and has affected some wilderness areas, including national parks and wildlife reserves such as Kahuzi-Biega
Kahuzi-Biéga National Park
Kahuzi-Biéga National Park is in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, 50 km west of the town of Bukavu in the Kivu Region, near to the western side of Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border....
and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve
Okapi Wildlife Reserve
The Okapi Wildlife Reserve is a World Heritage Site in the Ituri Forest in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, near the borders with Sudan and Uganda...
, both of which are world heritage site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
s. Mining in these areas is typically artisanal; a small scale mining method that takes place in river beds and can, cumulatively, be very environmentally damaging. Artisanal mining degrades riparian zones, creating erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
and heavy silting of the water. The tailings
Tailings
Tailings, also called mine dumps, slimes, tails, leach residue, or slickens, are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore...
are often dumped into the rivers and could be contaminated with mercury
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
and cyanide
Cyanide
A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
degrading the health of the river systems putting the wildlife and people at risk. Miners and refugees are relocating to parks in search of minerals; a reported 10,000 have moved into Kahuzi-Biega
Kahuzi-Biéga National Park
Kahuzi-Biéga National Park is in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, 50 km west of the town of Bukavu in the Kivu Region, near to the western side of Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border....
and 4,000 to the Okapi Wildlife Reserve
Okapi Wildlife Reserve
The Okapi Wildlife Reserve is a World Heritage Site in the Ituri Forest in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, near the borders with Sudan and Uganda...
. This increases the pressures on wildlife as timber is cut down and used as fuel wood
Wood fuel
Wood fuel is wood used as fuel. The burning of wood is currently the largest use of energy derived from a solid fuel biomass. Wood fuel can be used for cooking and heating, and occasionally for fueling steam engines and steam turbines that generate electricity. Wood fuel may be available as...
to cook with, and wildlife is killed for its meat. Also, as people enter into these areas animals such as primates are collected for trade on the black market. Others are poached for their hides, or for the tusks such as elephants.
The extent of logging has been difficult to quantify. Much of the logging that occurs is primarily for target hardwood species, rather than clear-cutting which can be assessed by satellite imaging. Observations have shown an increased number of logging trucks moving across borders. Logging destroys valuable habitat for animals and increases the access into forested areas making it easier for poachers, miners and refugees to access areas.
Socio-cultural repercussions
There are many factors which contributed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s severe socio-economic hardships, and not all resource extraction operations have had an entirely negative impact on Congolese society at large. That said, the negative consequences brought about by some forms of resource extraction, such as coltan mining, are devastating. For example, worldwide, as demand for goods has increased, so has the demand for tantalum, or coltan (DCA 2006) and reportedly, “much of the finance sustaining the civil wars in Africa, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is directly connected to Coltan profits” (DCA 2006, pp 1).Within the DRC, there are both wars between Congolese and conflicts between neighboring nations. Although these wars have components of inter-tribal conflict, in several cases the conflicts have been induced by external forces, such as changes in international support and demands for resource extraction. As a result of tantalum mining and wars, societies in the eastern regions of the Congo are experiencing heightened physical and economic insecurity, health problems and human-rights violations.
In the Ituri region, a violent conflict
Ituri Conflict
The Ituri conflict is a conflict between the agriculturalist Lendu and pastoralist Hema ethnic groups in the Ituri region of the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo . While there have been many phases to the conflict, the most recent armed clashes ran from 1999 to 2003, with a low-level...
is occurring between the Lendu
Lendu
The Lendu, or Balendru, are an ethno-linguistic agriculturalist group residing in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in the area west and northwest of Lake Albert, in particular the Ituri region of Orientale province. Their language is one of the most populous of the Central Sudanic languages...
and the Hema
Hema people
The Hema, or Hima, are an ethnic group with about 160,000 members located in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, in particular the Ituri region and Orientale province, as well as parts of Uganda and Rwanda...
tribes. Analysts have determined that the conflict has intertribal as well as economic components brought about by the patterns of coltan
Coltan
Coltan is the industrial name for columbite–tantalite, a dull black metallic mineral from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral is columbite, hence the "col" half of the term...
extraction.
A health problem brought about by resource extraction is the effect of tantalite
Tantalite
Tantalite, [2O6], is a mineral group that is close to columbite. The two are often grouped together as a semi-singular mineral called coltan or "columbite-tantalite" in many mineral guides. However, tantalite has a much greater specific gravity than columbite...
(coltan
Coltan
Coltan is the industrial name for columbite–tantalite, a dull black metallic mineral from which the elements niobium and tantalum are extracted. The niobium-dominant mineral is columbite, hence the "col" half of the term...
) mining on women and children who work in the mines. As more women are turning to mining for income, they are faced with dangerous tasks such as pounding the stone which contains tantalum
Tantalum
Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as tantalium, the name comes from Tantalus, a character in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a rare, hard, blue-gray, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion resistant. It is part of the refractory...
. The release of fibers that get into the lungs is affecting both the women and their babies, who are passengers on their mother’s backs. “More worrying, the majority of babies, often on the backs of their mothers during the horrendous task of pounding coltan, have started showing similar signs of disease and pain to those of their mothers”.
Child labour is common in DRC, and the mining industry is no exception. Children in the region are also being forced and coerced to become soldiers.
The resulting labor shift from farming to mining has been linked to food shortages and insecurity. The DRC has some of the richest soils and favorable climatic conditions for food production on the African continent. Before Mobutu’s reign, the DRC was one of the major exporters of food to the rest of Africa. “The richly fertile soil (especially that in the eastern highlands which is volcanic in origin) could produce enough food to feed half of Africa, but the country is so poor that at present its people do not produce enough food to feed themselves”.
Environmental and Occupational Health
Civilian populations have suffered significant health impacts from mining and the associated conflicts. The exploitation of natural resources is directly related to the ongoing conflict in the region and subsequent humanitarian crises. These health impacts come from labor, human rights violations, and collapse of social norms.Health and safety standards are largely specified in Congolese law, but government agencies have not enforced them effectively. Because of this, there are many grave labor violations. Minimum wage laws are rarely followed at mines. Work week hour standards, overtime payment and rest periods are largely ignored as well. Child labor laws are rarely enforced. Child laborers make up to 30% of the mining labor force. Because of all of this, deaths and violent injury at mining work sites are common place.
Civilians, including large numbers of children, have been regularly forced into labor, especially as miners and soldiers. Many miners become enslaved when they fail to pay back debt to their employer.
Rebel and militia groups commit widespread human rights abuses, including rape, enslavement, torture, disappearances and killing of civilians. These groups compete for finances from illegal mining. Reports indicate that corporations have facilitated these abuses by obtaining minerals from areas controlled by these groups.
Sexual violence is an especially widespread and devastating issue across the country. Between 1.69 and 1.80 million women reported being raped in their lifetime. Around mines, survival prostitution, sex slavery, and forced child prostitution has been observed. This widespread sexual violence contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS, as well.
During the Second Congo War, 3 million civilians died, largely attributed to malnutrition or disease. Nearly as many were internally displaced. Destruction of agricultural land and cattle, and the draw of money through mining led to a decrease in food access and increase in malnutrition.
Assessment and assistance by outside organizations has been difficult. Access to mining areas is limited by corrupt government officials and hostile militias. Recently, reductions in mortality rate have been documented. This is linked to improvements in security, humanitarian and politic issues. These improvements, however, are limited by continued unregulated mining. Exploitation of natural resources by rebel groups supplying international corporations continues to impair the growth of peace and stability.
In the United States, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requires retailers and manufacturers to track and publish the amount of conflict minerals
Conflict minerals
Conflict minerals are minerals mined in conditions of armed conflict and human rights abuses, notably in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by the Congolese National Army and various armed rebel groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda...
sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A recent event, the exact regulations have not yet been determined.
General reading
External links
- First Blood Diamonds, Now Blood Computers? by Elizabeth Dias, Time Magazine, July 24 2009
- Mining Concessions in the DR Congo, International Peace Information Service. Interactive, searchable map of all mining concessions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, based on Cadastre Minier (CaMi) data, July 27, 2010.
See also
- Canadian mining in the Democratic Republic of the CongoCanadian mining in the Democratic Republic of the CongoThis article describes extractive sector companies that are incorporated in Canada and are either currently or previously active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It encompasses mining and petroleum companies, both those carrying out commercial, large-scale extraction operations, and junior...