(3 minute read)
As Chinese, American, and other foreign companies search for copper and cobalt essential for the global energy transition, villagers say access to their own land is being restricted.
In the southeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the race for strategic minerals is tightening its grip on community forests, leaving local residents worried about their land, livelihoods, and environment.
In Lukutwe, a village in Haut-Katanga province, community members say mining expansion is increasingly encroaching on protected forest concessions legally managed by local people. As Chinese, American, and other foreign companies search for copper and cobalt essential for the global energy transition, villagers say access to their own land is being restricted.
The president of the Lukutwe community forest concession points to a road cutting through the forest. He says mining operators have installed barriers, preventing residents from passing freely and monitoring their own concession.
Forest rangers say the pressure is mounting. One ranger recalls how a powerful individual arrived with heavy machinery, claiming to have bought the community’s forest even though the villagers hold official documents. He says the attempt amounted to a land grab.
Beyond access, residents warn of environmental damage. A member of the community forest committee says mining waste dumped into the Lwafi River during the dry season has killed fish and destroyed farmland. Once-fertile tomato fields now produce rotten, insect-infested crops, making farming impossible.
As the DRC’s mineral wealth fuels global demand, communities like Lukutwe say they are paying the price—caught between protecting their forests and the pressures of a booming mining industry.