Outline:
 |
| Map of Africa with DRC in orange. Retrieved from |
- · Introduction
- · Overview of the DRC: Environment
- · Overview of the DRC: Social
- · Roots of Conflict
- · The Current State of Conflict
- · Environmental Issues: The Case of Virunga National Park
- · Conflict Minerals in the DRC
- · The Case of Coltan in Kahuzi-Biega National Park
- · Social Impacts of Conflict
- · Opportunities for Change
- · Conclusion
Introduction
The eastern area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is currently considered to be one of the most volatile areas on the African continent, and arguably even the world (Biro, 2010). This is due to an ongoing conflict, one that has persisted for decades, and shows few signs of ceasing in the near future. Numerous factors contribute to this distressing scenario. In order to explore this conflict in depth, the roots of the conflict must be considered, along with the current situation underpinning it; that being the issue of conflict minerals which are mined within conservation sites, and thus impact not only the social well-being of the people, but also the rich environment. An overview of both the environment and the social situation of the DRC will be discussed, as well as a brief synopsis of the roots of conflict and the current situation. Two cases in particular will be used to illustrate. First, the environmental impacts of the population in Virunga National Park, a World Heritage Site, will be examined in order to grasp the degradation occurring from the influx of people into this area. Next, the ever important issue of illegal mineral mining, specifically that of coltan in Kahuzi-Beiga National Park which is also a World Heritage Site, will be discussed in order to illustrate the ways in which conflict minerals such as coltan support the conflict and result in impacting the people and the environment. In terms of social impacts of the conflict, the use of sexual violence as a war weapon will be discussed. The opportunities for change that exist will follow this discussion, in the hopes of providing an indication of what types of changes have the potential to contribute to the peace process and better conservation in the area.
Overview of the DRC: Environment
 |
| Baby Gorilla in Virunga Park. Retrieved from www.life.com/image/71495221 |
The environment which is exists in the DRC is truly incredible, containing the greatest extent of tropical rainforest on the continent, and covering more than 100 million hectares (Mongabay, 2006, Para 1.). The forests in the eastern area, where the conflict is mainly located, are particularly diverse and consist of one of the few forest areas to have survived the ice age within Africa. Currently, approximately 45% of the DRC is covered by primary forest, which acts as an invaluable refuge for several large species of mammal which have been driven to extinction in many other African countries. The DRC is known to have at last 11,000 species of plants, 450 different mammals, 1,150 birds, 300 reptiles, and 200 amphibians (Ibid, 2006).
Overview of the DRC: Social
Within this vibrant and diverse environment there is a social situation which seems to be in stark contrast. According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as of 2010 the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita within the country is a mere $300 (U.S.), while the population is approximately 68 million (CIA, 2010). The median age is about 16 years old, with life expectancy sitting at around 54 years old. Infant mortality is over 8%, meaning that for every 1000 children born, 80 of them die before they reach one year old. This statistic shoots up to 20% when looking at how many children die before they reach the age of five. To put this into local perspective, the infant mortality rate in Canada is only 0.5%, or 5 children out of every 1000, dying before the age of one. It follows logically that fertility rates would be quite drastic in the DRC, and this is certainly the case with the average being more than 6 children per woman. Further, we see that literacy rates are 80% for males and only 54% for females, demonstrating a drastic gender imbalance which is also highlighted in the school life expectancy, which is 9 years for males, and a meager 6 years for females. Overall, there are almost 213,000 refugees currently living in the DRC, with over 1.4 million internally displaced people, most of who are in the eastern areas (CIA, 2010).
Roots of Conflict
 |
| Map of Provinces with Kivu Provinces in orange. Retrieved from |
Part of the reasoning behind this immense amount of both refugee migration and internal displacement can be found in the events following the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. At this point, hundreds of thousands of people crossed the border in to what was then Zaire (Changed to Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997). This massive migration created a humanitarian crisis. Making this situation worse was the fact that both refugees and rebels had fled, and thus the conflict expanded over the border with them. In 1998 a second large war broke out when an insurgence backed by the Rwandan and Ugandan governments invaded the Kivu provinces which border Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi on the eastern coast of the DRC. What was said to be the official reason for this invasion was an attempt to protect their borders, but it is thought that another factor, perhaps even more important, was the desire to gain control over the DRC’s mineral resources (Van de Giessen, 2005).
In 2002 the Pretoria Accord was signed, and a government of national unity was set up by 2003. Despite this power sharing government, there continues to be a high level of violence and instability as numerous rebel groups as well as armies try to either gain control, or keep control, of certain strategic areas. A substantial amount of this is occurring within areas that are classified as conservation sites, and are rich in biodiversity as well as minerals. Although mineral resources were not a central reason behind the fighting when it began, they certainly have played a large role in the past decade or so, and it seems likely that they will continue to play a large role in the future. It should not be surprising that certain parties have taken an interest in this mineral-resource rich area, as the DRC is known for having the richest concentration of minerals and precious metals in the world (Van de Giessen, 2005). It has been said, quite rightly, by Oona King that “making the riches of the DRC work for its people and not against them is a vital factor in achieving sustainable peace and development” (Burge & Hayes, 2003, p. 3).
The Current State of Conflict
As mentioned previously, the eastern area of the DRC is today considered one of the most volatile areas on the continent. According to the International Rescue Committee, an excess of 900,000 people have been forced to flee the fighting in the eastern area just in the past year alone. Further, of the almost 2 million people that are displaced in the eastern area, most end up in overcrowded and unsanitary camps. There, they are unable to work and have little food, water, or medical care. Estimates range, but the conflict continues to result in approximately 45,000 deaths every month. Most of these deaths are the result of non-violent and easily preventable causes such as malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, and malnutrition. This ongoing conflict is known as the worst emergency to unfold in Africa in recent decades, and has so far claimed the lives of an estimated 5.4 million people, although this number is often considered to be much higher, and continues to rise (Biro, 2010).
The price of the mineral coltan rose rapidly in 2000, making coltan mining specifically a very lucrative business. One group alone is noted as having received $200,000 per month from diamond mining, and over $1 million per month from coltan mining, so the extreme profitability of coltan is evident. Thus, it is not surprising that between the years 1999 and 2001 coltan production increased from 147 tonnes to 1,300 tonnes (Van de Giessen, 2005, p.12). Mineral mining is a critical issue in this discussion, and will be addressed in greater detail further on.
 | |
| Map of both parks discusses. Retrieved from http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMGO825WVD_index_1.html |
Within the DRC there are five different parks classified as World Heritage Sites. Two in particular are important when considering the current conflict, first due to the proximity to the eastern border and thus its vulnerability to refugee camps, and in the second case due to the presence of the mineral coltan. The first case is that of Virunga National Park, which borders the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and the Rwenzori Mountains National Park in Uganda. Covering 790,000 hectares from the Virunga Mountains to the Rwenzori Mountains in the eastern DRC, it was founded in 1925 as the first national park in Africa, and in 1979 was classified as a World Heritage Site (UNEP-WCMC, 2008, pg. 2). According to the United Nations Environment Program, Virunga National Park has been suggested as having the greatest diversity of any park in Africa. This is both in terms of biological diversity and diversity of habitats, which includes steppes, lava plains, bamboo forests, and swamps, from the snowfields of the Rwenzori to the volcanoes of Virunga. There is of course a wide variety of flora and fauna present within this park as well, including giant herbs unique to these mountains, birds, hippopotamuses, and gorillas (Ibid, 2008).
This region, which was historically a refuge for innumerable species, has faced serious environmental impacts due to the conflict surrounding and within its area. In 1994, following the war in Rwanda and the resulting arrival of almost 1.5 million refugees, the park was placed on the list of World Heritage in Danger. At this point the park staff were unable to patrol the park borders, and between 1996 and 2004, 150 of the 500 park rangers were killed (Ibid, 2008, p.5). This large influx of people led to extreme amounts of uncontrolled deforestation and poaching. It is estimated that 9000 hippopotamuses were killed, and about 600 metric tons of wood per day was cut for fuel. Within the first two years of the refugee crisis, it is believed that between 105 km² and 113 km² of forestland had been impacted by deforestation, including 5% of the gorilla forest habitat. By 2001, 150 km² of forestland had been cut down. Between 2007 and 2008 alone 12 gorillas and 14 elephants were killed for meat. Over the course of 10 years, the hippopotamus population was reduced by 90% (Ibid, 2008, p. 5-7).
As of 2008 staff had begun patrolling some areas again, although this continues to be a very dangerous thing to do, as heavy outbreaks of fighting still occur. Coffee and tea cultivation now occur in the central area of the park, along with logging for profit and for fuel wood. All of these activities of course contribute to continued environmental degradation in the area. Fishing villages within the park have also grown, and now threaten to overexploit the fish stock. Further, human and medical wastes are being dumped in the park. Unsurprisingly, there is currently a large concern for the future of this park (Ibid, 2008).
Conflict Minerals in the DRC
There are four principal minerals which are often illegally mined in the DRC. These consist of: tantalum (produced from coltan), tungsten (produced from wolframite), tin (produced from cassiterite) and gold. The reasoning behind labeling these as ‘conflict’ minerals stems from the fact that armed groups profit from this trade in several ways. Firstly, they are known to control the illegal mines, and coerce miners to work in hazardous conditions for minimal or no pay. Secondly, armed groups are able to extract bribes from buyers both local and international as well as the transporters. Further, the groups are able to sustain conflict through the earnings from this trade, in terms of purchasing weapons etc. (Enough Project, 2009).
The supply chain for these conflict minerals is fairly simple, working in four steps: 1) beginning in Eastern Congo, where armed groups control the mines, transit routes and weapons. 2) The minerals are brought to refiners and smelters across the eastern border into Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya. 3) They are then brought to East Asia, where smelters and chemical processing companies process the minerals into metals, and then manufacturing companies are able to place the metals onto circuit boards. 4) Finally these products reach Europe and North America, where they are sold to consumers (Ibid, 2009).
It is widely known that the international competition for resources such as these play a large role in the continuation of war and the lack of state stability within the DRC, with coltan in particular being key (Montague, 2002, p.104). Columbite and tantalite together create the mineral coltan, which conducts the electric charge in high-tech equipment from cell phones to jet engines. The sharp increase in demand for this mineral in 2000 can be attributed to high consumer demand for electronic gadgets such as BlackBerrys, PlayStations, and more recently iPhones. Although it is but one of several minerals mined and traded illegally, it has arguably been the most lucrative, while creating and sustaining extensive conflict. Although conflict certainly existed in the eastern DRC prior to the coltan trade, as mentioned earlier the current situation in the area can arguably be largely attributed to this (Ibid, 2002). DRC is not the only producer though. Coltan is also found in Australia, Brazil, Canada and China. Australia is the largest producer, although it is known that DRC has the largest reserve. This means that even though there is a plan for mining expansion in Australia, demand for coltan has continued to grow at a steady rate, making the supply in the DRC strategically important. (Burge & Hayes, 2003, p. 11)
The Case of Coltan in Kahuzi-Biega National Park
Kahuzi-Biega National Park was declared a World Heritage Site in 1981. It is environmentally similar to Virunga National Park, yet has one major difference - the presence of coltan. This fact has created a unique circumstance within the park, as its intrinsic environmental value is often cast aside in favour of potential profit due to the situation of extreme poverty, lack of opportunity, corruption, conflict and valuable resources combining to create perfect conditions for exploitation. The eastern DRC has between 70 to 80% of the world’s coltan reserves. According to the United Nations Environment Program, during the year 2000 intensive coltan mining took place in Kahuzi-Biega due to an extreme price rise of coltan from $90 per kg in 1999 to $830 per kg in December of 2000. This created a gold-rush condition, which translated into extreme exploitation and continues until today. Miners in this area work for very low pay, often due to military coercion (UNEP-WCMC, 2008, p. 5).
The presence of so many people has led to large amounts of hunting and deforestation, the true extent of which is not fully known. Miners and armed groups rely on what is known as bushmeat to survive. This often consists of eastern lowland gorillas which only exist within the DRC, 86% of which are in Kahuzi-Biega, and although the total wildlife toll is unknown, as of 2003 over half of this gorilla population was gone (Burge & Hayes, 2003, p.35). The total impact of coltan mining on the environment within Kahuzi-Biega is unfortunately quite far from being fully understood, and increased research in this area is recommended. It is known though that generally the environmental degradation which goes along with activities such as this can be drastic due to the large amount of waste created from mining as well as soil contamination (Dudka & Adriano, 1997). Socially the impacts are well understood; the majority of the people within this park are rebel militia, and this has translated into social devastation for the surrounding people, vacant schools, abandoned farms, and an AIDS epidemic. By 2001 95% of the park was in the hands of rebel militia groups, which were being subsidized by the coltan trade. That same year, the park was deemed too dangerous to visit (Ibid, 2008, p.5).
Social Impacts of Conflict
With this kind of on-going violence, there will be extensive unfavorable social repercussions, including a lack of opportunity for education, health care issues, and children being used as soldiers. Another disturbing result is the increased levels of gender based violence, specifically against women and children. This is seen as using women as weapons of war; or more specifically, the use of rape as a weapon. It is currently argued that the eastern DRC is the most dangerous place in the world to be female, as it is the epicenter of sexual violence against women (Enough Project, 2009; United Nations Human Rights, Para. 5). The local health clinics in the South Kivu province estimate that about 40 women are being raped daily in the region (United Nations Human Rights, Para. 6). It is likely that this number is an underestimation, due to fear of the ramifications that might be associated with reporting an incident. A former commander of UN peacekeeping forces in the eastern DRC suggested that groups at war use rape as a weapon because it has the power to destroy communities completely. He goes on to say that “it has probably become more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in armed conflict” (Ibid, Para. 7). This issue of sexual violence directly relates to the issue of conflict minerals. This is due to military and rebel groups using rape as a psychological weapon against both men and women, as well as children. Groups are known to go in to villages near mineral mines, and through the use of brutal sexual violence create a situation in which either the villagers flee, or are psychologically traumatized and thus easily manipulated into working the mines.
Opportunities for Change
Crises such as this rarely, if ever, have the potential for a silver bullet solution. Yet there are certainly steps that can be taken in order to disconnect minerals from conflict, as well as place an emphasis on creating a more environmentally sustainable and socially peaceful situation in the region. With such a rich mineral base, proper control and management of these resources can potentially help to alleviate the poverty felt by so many. This in turn would lessen the need for unsustainable environmental practices which exist now. In order to create a situation in which minerals are no longer able to underpin conflict, several opportunities are offered as part of an overall strategy. Firstly it must be noted though, that although banning minerals from the DRC is often cited as an option, due to the potential economic gain so desperately needed by the Congolese people, this is not a viable solution. Instead, a potential strategy must include increased transparency in the supply chain, and improved regulation of both the mines as well as the trade. Further, the international community has the potential to be a strong voice in the fight for conflict-free products, and so consumers must demand transparency and ethical products, as companies will have little choice but to comply. Consumers must also be willing to pay a fair market price for products which are ethically sourced. Here though it must be noted that the role of corporate social responsibility is also a key factor, as corporations should not wait for consumers to demand socially and environmentally ethical products before changing their practices.
Conclusion
It is clear that the situation within the eastern DRC is dire and complex; however, dealing with the issue of illegal mineral trade holds immense potential for overall improvement. Increased regulation, improved transparency, international support and corporate social responsibility are argued as options which have the potential to significantly contribute to the peace process in the area. It is also suggested that increased research in terms of environmental impacts within this region take place. Furthermore, as the current situation is largely predicated on economics, business intervention could play a large role in creating stability and decreasing conflict (Burge & Hayes, 2003). It must be remembered that this is not a local issue – it is a global one. Apart from the global partnership or moral values which we should all see as important, there is no arguing that the forests of the DRC matter to every person on the globe, as they provide what has been called the second lungs of the earth, after the Amazon. By demanding transparency and accountability consumers are able to break the cycle of conflict sustained through the trade in minerals. Regulated mining could mean sustainability and increased peace, not only for so many Congolese people, but also for the immense and invaluable biodiversity which is slowly being pushed aside.
For a brief synopsis of Conflict Minerals in the DRC, please watch this excellent video created by the Enough Project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF-sJgcoY20
Reference List:
Biro, P. (2010). Congo: Caught in the Crossfire. Retrieved October 25, 2010 from International
Rescue Committee site: http://www.theirc.org/news/congo-caught-crossfire-photos-irc%E2%80%99s-peter-biro-7611
Central Intelligence Agency, (2010). The World Factbook. Retrieved October 25, 2010, from the
Central Intelligence Agency site: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html
Dudka, S. & Adriano, D.C. (1997). Environmental Impacts of Metal Ore Mining and
Processing: A Review. Journal of Environmental Quality. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI. 26(3) pp. 590-602.
Enough Project Team & Grassroots Reconciliation Group, (April 2009). A Comprehensive
Approach to Congo’s Conflict Minerals. Retrieved November 10, 2010, from www.enoughproject.org/files/publications/Comprehensive%20Approach%20to%20Congo%27s%20Conflict%20Minerals.pdf
Hayes K. & Burge R. (2003). Coltan Mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo: How
tantalum – using industries can commit to the reconstruction of the DRC. Fauna and Flora International, Cambridge, UK.
Mongabay (2006). Democratic Republic of Congo (Formerly Zaire). Retrieved October 25,
2010, from the Mongabay site: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/20zaire.htm
Montague, D. (2002). Stolen Goods: Coltan and conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
SAIS Review 22(1): 103-118.
United Nations Environment Programme – World Conservation Monitoring Centre (2008).
Kahuzi-Biega National Park. Retrieved October 23, 2010, from the unep-wcmc site www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/pdf/Kahuzi-Biega.pdf
United Nations Environment Programme – World Conservation Monitoring Centre (2008).
Virunga National Park. Retrieved October 23, 2010, from the unep-wcmc site: http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/pdf/Virunga.pdf
United Nations Human Rights (n.d). Rape: Weapon of War. Retrieved October 25, 2010, from
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights site: http://www.ohchr.org/en/newsevents/pages/rapeweaponwar.aspx
Van de Giessen, E. (2005). Peace Park amid Violence? A report on environmental security in the
Virunga-Bwindi region. Institute for Environmental Security. The Hague, Netherlands.
