Mining governance, conflict transformation and sustainable development in DRC

This programme analyses and enhances socially accountable governance of mineral resources in eastern DR Congo. DRC has enormous mineral wealth, yet this results in violence, poverty and corruption rather than economic growth. The government, and international donors, have embarked on a programme to regain control over the sector and convert it into a lever for development. The mining sector mainly consists of artisanal informal mining, where millions of people find their livelihoods, in marginal, poor and often violent conditions. The mining reform formalizes this sector, which leads to questions on how mining families can improve their livelihoods, and how conflicts with agriculture and other claims on resources can be resolved. The mining reform also encourages large scale industrial mining, international mining companies increasingly operate in DRC. This raises questions on the competition between industrial and artisanal mining, and the long-term effects for mining communities, that will become dependent on so-called corporate social responsibility programmes for their survival. The research contributes to debates concerning the resource curse and the contested role of mining in development. It uses the concept of institutional multiplicity to make an integrated analysis of conflict and development in the governance of mining in DRC. The main questions are: How is the governance of mining in eastern DRC organised, and what are the effects of current reforms? How does violence interact with practices of accountability and non-violent claim making? How can reform initiatives be strengthened to make mining governance more effective and socially just? Taking a multi-sited ethnographic approach, the programme consists of 4 projects. Two projects deal with the local organization and interrelations of artisanal and large-scale mining and the effects of ongoing reforms on mining communities, one deals with changing roles of women. The other projects deal with mining reform on provincial and national levels, and with the effects of international initiatives to make the mineral trade in DRC more accountable and transparent. The research results in 3 PhD?s (2 from DRC) and the publication of academic papers. The programme?s collaboration with key stakeholders will ensure that it is continually adapted to their needs. The project?s key findings will be translated into policy recommendations and briefs aimed at policy-makers, and education materials aimed at the communities affected by mining reform. The research will moreover strengthen and build academic and stakeholder networks. It will bring together scholars from different disciplines and fields of expertise.