Two weeks ago, we took a look at news from the Congo involving “conflict minerals”: armed groups have exploited the mining of materials such as tin, tungsten, gold, and tantalum, and the people who live near these resources, to fund their fighting. Since then, I’ve had a chance to communicate with David Sullivan, a research associate with the Enough Project, about the issues surrounding the situation in the Congo. David addresses the multiple atrocities — human and environmental — surrounding the trade of these materials, and the actions you can take to ensure electronics manufacturers are aware of these issues.
sustainablog: Oftentimes, situations like these arise from limited economic opportunities. What other means of making a living are available (or could become available) to people in the Eastern Congo? Are there options for these people that couldn’t be as readily exploited by armed groups in the area?
David Sullivan: Impoverished Congolese miners and their families are often entirely dependent on their meager income from mining, and they currently have few viable economic alternatives to lift them out of this indentured servitude. What could be the most promising alternative to mining is agriculture, but the threat of violence often forces Congolese farmers to abandon their fields to flee for safety.
Efforts to end the trade in conflict minerals absolutely must be accompanied by international support for livelihoods and economic opportunities in eastern Congo. Rebuilding roads is a key opportunity, so that other sectors can benefit from trade. Infrastructure projects with guaranteed labor at decent wages can help lure miners out of conflict mines and create opportunities for demobilized combatants. Larger firms can raise miners’ living standards if independently verifiable mechanisms are put in place to ensure that the corporations are not contributing to armed groups, and health, safety, and labor standards are observed at mining sites. International investment should be stepped up in agricultural development initiatives in eastern Congo, which mining has displaced in recent years. Good models for agricultural investments in mining areas exist in Sierra Leone. Other livelihood initiatives, such as small business development projects, should also be promoted. All projects should be designed in close partnership with miners themselves, and should also be followed up with education initiatives for miners.
Do you recycle your cell phones? It’s a great practice for insuring that toxic materials in those old phones don’t make their way into the environment. But what about the other side of the cell phone lifecycle? Do you know where the materials come from?
It turns out that many of the minerals in that phone have an ugly story behind them, similar to that of blood diamonds. TakePart.com, a project of Participant Media, produced the PSA above as part of a larger campaign to educate the public about the role “conflict minerals” such as tin, tungsten, gold, and tantalum play in funding armed groups fighting in the Eastern Congo. According to Raise Hope for Congo, a campaign of the Enough Project,
The conflict in eastern Congo, the deadliest in the world since World War II, is being fueled by a multi-million dollar trade in minerals that go into our electronic products from cell phones to digital cameras. Over five million people have died as a result of the war, and hundreds of thousands of women have been raped in eastern Congo over the past decade. The armed groups that are perpetuating the violence generate an estimated $144 million each year by trading in [the above-mentioned] four main minerals…
An undercover investigation by Endangered Species International has disclosed the horrific scale of the endangered species market in the Republic of Congo.
The nonprofit found that hunters source 95% of bushmeat around the Kouilou region, one of the most biodiverse areas in the country. In additon to gorilla meat, the investigation discovered the sale of other at-risk species like the forest hinged tortoise, draft crocodiles, blue duikers, and white-bellied pangolins.
In an inspiring testament to the resiliency of life even amidst war and conflict, the Congo’s critically endangered population of Mountain Gorillas increased over the last 16 months, including 10 new births.
The new babies were part of an overall population increase of 12.5% in UNESCO-listed Virunga National Park, where habituated Mountain Gorilla numbers jumped from 72 to 81 since the region’s last census in 2007. The report brings hope to the troubled nation, which has been wrought with bloodshed and political turmoil for decades.
But despite the encouraging news, serious threats still remain. In the months leading up to the last census, 10 of the Park’s apes were slaughtered by unidentified poachers during a violent insurgency. Some of the dead were discovered shot execution-style in the back of the head. It was the bloodiest year on record for the gorillas since famed primatologist Dian Fossey first began her efforts to save them in the 1960’s.
Conservationists were thrilled last month that thousands of African Western Lowland gorillas - 125,000 by head count estimates - may have found a safe haven in a mud swamp and probably escaped predators.
This could have doubled the number of the endangered primates thought to survive worldwide.
But it never dimmed the fact that the great apes are still heading toward extinction if the activities of mad rebel groups operating with abandon in the forests and mountainous regions of Africa continue unchecked.
Mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei) are the worst hit among the three subspecies according to their habitant in different parts of Africa. Others are the Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) and the Eastern Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla grauere).
Yesterday, Congo’s government chose to withdraw more than 1,000 troops from an area in eastern Congo near Virunga National Park. Despite an ongoing conflict, the military has agreed to depart in an effort to help protect the park’s valuable natural resources, which include the endangered mountain gorilla. Last week the army engaged a rebel group led by Laurent Nkunda in communities near the park’s borders. Nkunda’s group is still residing in the park, and has been there for almost a year now.
The big environmental news coming out of Peru this past week was that a huge waterfall previously unknown to the greater world was “discovered” in the country’s Amazon Rainforest region. The word “discovered” is in quotes because a community that lives near to the waterfall had known about its existence according to Andina News, but had chosen to keep their knowledge a secret to help protect the area from damage. Obed Cabanillas Silva, the explorer who “found” it, thinks that it might be taller than Peru’s Gocta waterfall (pictured to the left).
The Gocta Fall is third tallest waterfall in the world, although its status is disputed. It is 771 meters high (~ 2529 feet). If its measurements are accurate, only Venezuela’s Angel Falls and South Africa’s Tugela Falls are taller. It was also “discovered” in 2005, although local communities knew about its existence as well. According to Peru’s El Commercio newspaper (via Wikipedia), “local people feared the curse of a beautiful blond mermaid who lived in its waters if they revealed its whereabouts.”
Only several days after the news of the this new waterfall’s discovery was announced, an expedition has departed to see and document the waterfall. The group includes a topographer, photographer, and representatives from local communities. While this expedition’s hasty departure is not surprising, the “discovery” of the spectacular waterfall leaves me with two conflicting feelings.
The war-torn and ravaged nation of the Democratic Republic of Congo is a rather confusing issue. A rapid-fired crash course on the subject brings up some interesting facts, however. This nation has basically been at war since 1998, and the result has been an estimated 3.5 million deaths. There are more residents classified as internally displaced persons (IDP’s) than established citizens. OK, that may be a stretch but not by much.
Oddly enough in the nomadic camps throughout this nation, we find citizens from the entire region, as the populations of these camps are composed of people from Angola, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Sudan and of course the Republic of Congo. So what on earth is going on here, in a nation that recently saw an outbreak of Ebola deep in its jungle recesses? Well, to understand anything of the area is to understand what makes the Congo go around. This nation is home to a vast array of precious metals and resources: found here are reserves of cobalt, copper, uranium, timber, gold and silver to name but a few. It is the control over these resources that brings about the constant battles within the Congo. On any given day, from 6-10 different factions are battling for control. Within this number are local indigenous peoples who are simply trying to stay alive.
Terror and terrorism is alive and well here, as the battles are waged at the expense of anyone in the vicinity. The groups battling have no honor; they are simply armed groups of masquerading hired thugs. They instill fear in the populous with rape and rampage. According to the UN, 90,000 people were forced to flea their homes in September alone. The ongoing warfare has prevented 150,000 people from receiving food aid from the UN World Food Programme.
Editor’s note: While I highlighted the group sessions and activities in my coverage of the Symi Symposium in Paros, Greece, last month, I also had the great pleasure of meeting a number of people engaged in important and interesting work on environmental protection and restoration. One of those individuals was Gerd Leipold, the executive director of Greenpeace International. Gerd and I were originally going to do a
Blood Diamond exposed to the movie-going masses the horrors of the diamond industry's operation in the West African country of Sierra Leone. Four West African countries, Angola, The Congo, Guinea and Sierra Leone, where the diamond trade is bloodiest, produce about 20% (PDF) of the world's rough diamonds. The growing global market for diamonds reached nearly $70 billion dollars in 2005 fueled largely by the insatiable appetite of US consumers who
Two weeks ago, we took a look at news from the Congo involving “conflict minerals”: armed groups have exploited the mining of materials such as tin, tungsten, gold, and tantalum, and the people who live near these resources, to fund their fighting. Since then, I’ve had a chance to communicate with David Sullivan, a research associate with the Enough Project, about the issues surrounding the situation in the Congo. David addresses the multiple atrocities — human and environmental — surrounding the trade of these materials, and the actions you can take to ensure electronics manufacturers are aware of these issues.
By Anthony J. Gerst
Editor’s note: While I highlighted the group sessions and activities in 
