Congo's Environmental Paradox: Potential and Predation in a Land of Plenty [Paperback]

Congo has the natural resources the world needs. Its forests count in the fight against global climate change and its mining sector helps satisfy our addiction to the latest high tech gadgets. Congo’s farmers could feed all of Africa’s population of over a billion people. The Inga hydroelectric site has the potential to light up the entire continent. These realities are redefining the country’s strategic place in a globalized world. Telling a different story about power and nature,Congo’s Environmental Paradoxexamines the dynamics of this huge country’s forest, mining, land, water and oil sectors in an integrated way. It connects the dots by emphasizing resource diversity, interlinkages and the complex nature of these sectors. Congo’s incredible natural wealth has the potential to contribute to development in this troubled central African country—but structural problems, cultural factors, poor governance and predation remain serious challenges. Clearly written, full of environmental facts and analyses, this volume is a must-read for anyone interested in development and the political economy of natural resource management in Africa.

Theodore Trefonis a senior researcher at the Belgian Royal Museum for Central Africa and a  lecturer in environmental governance at ERAIFT/University of Kinshasa. He has published a number of articles and books in French and English, includingCongo MasqueradeandReinventing Order in the Congo.
 

Boxes, tables and figures
Acknowledgments
Map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

1. Introduction: potential in a land of plenty
2. Forrest of wealth and mystery
3. Food and agriculture
4. Water: an uncertain ebb and flow
5. Oil: plenty for some, nothing for most
6. Mining: rise, decline and renaissance
7. Conclusion: uncertainly and predation in a land of plenty

Notes
Bibliograplc)