The complexiTy of resource governance in a conTexT of sTaTe ... - Ipis

The complexity of resource governance in a context of state fragility: An analysis of the mining sector in the Kivu hinterlands
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the Kivu provinces, but the provincial authorities have managed to transform it into a system of
their own making.
In Maniema territory, “artisanal miners” have taken over what was previously industrial production.
Having failed to restart industrial production, several mining companies turned to commercialising
the ores extracted by artisans operating on their own concessions. Maniema benefits little from its
mineral wealth. The neglected transport infrastructure means that most mineral production is flown
out from airstrips across the province to comptoirs in Goma and Bukavu in the Kivu provinces.
Gold mining in Bafwasende and Mambasa territories has largely escaped the scrutiny of the
provincial authorities and state mining agencies, and most of its product is sold in North Kivu.
This is unlikely to change soon since many mining sites in Bafwasende are informally controlled
by armed groups or soldiers within the FARDC. In neighbouring Mambasa territory, a number of
private companies are running semi-industrial operations on the Ituri River without apparently
declaring any production or export figures. Finally, the provincial system for supervising mining
sites, which pre-dates the national Mining Code of 2002, has narrowed the space for state
intervention even further.
Methodology and the research process
The following three chapters are based on documentation from local sources, interviews with
key stakeholders, visits to mine sites in June and July 2010, and focus group discussions. The
stakeholders consulted were traders, local authorities, international observers, local nongovernmental
organisations (NGOs) and civil servants from the many DRC state agencies
responsible for mining, which provided much of the documentation.
Mine-site visits were largely made by local partners engaged by the authors. Teams of local
researchers (two per chapter) collected fresh data by visiting mining locations with GPS devices
and questionnaires. Personnel from local universities and NGOs coordinated the local research.
Each had prior experience in mining research (four out of six cases) or had conducted field work
on other topics with GPS devices (two out of six). In most cases the teams engaged with officials
from the state mining agencies.
Several approaches were used to evaluate the output of local researchers. After a preliminary set
of results was delivered, one of the authors would pay a visit to follow up and work out solutions
to the problems encountered. The track-logs of the GPS devices were checked if there was any
doubt about the teams’ movements. Thirdly, data was cross-referenced against existing maps
and data already in the authors’ possession, or gathered during their field research. In general,
and taking into account the short time-frame and the magnitude of the task, the research teams
performed well and produced original data. Naturally, the data remains incomplete and subject
to change since the mining sector in eastern DRC is in a permanent state of flux.
Each chapter was written by two authors from different backgrounds, who travelled the region
together and peer-reviewed one another’s drafts. The combined chapters were edited by the
International Peace Information Service (IPIS) and the final text reviewed by two independent
experts: one a well-known academic; the other a former head of the UN Group of Experts. The
majority of research work, including field visits, was executed from June–August 2010.
As an integral part of the study, IPIS has published three detailed maps online at:
www.ipisresearch.be/maps/hinterland/Katanga/web/index.html
www.ipisresearch.be/maps/hinterland/Orientale/web/index.html
www.ipisresearch.be/maps/hinterland/Maniema/web/index.html