Congo Basin, Bonus: Pollution & impunity in the DRC

Update: 2024-05-13

Description

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), pollution from extracting minerals commonly used in the energy transition like cobalt and copper is on the rise, and miners generally ignore their legal obligations to clean it up. Cases of such pollution have killed and displaced people and caused major health problems, say residents and community organizations.

The DRC is estimated to hold 64% of the world's cobalt reserves (3.5 million tons of cobalt, plus 31 million tons of copper) and could benefit from these metals by becoming a major player in the energy transition. But the state-owned mining company, Gécamines, is itself not immune, and is also a shareholder in several other companies, some of which are accused of these same rights abuses.

In the investigation you're about to hear, Mongabay visited several villages in Lualaba Province affected by pollution and human rights violations, to assess the state of the unresolved damages.

This story is supported by the Pulitzer Center's Rainforest Investigation Network.

If you missed the first six episodes of our podcast series on the Congo Basin, please subscribe to Mongabay Explores wherever you get your podcasts from, and follow the links below:

Forest elephants are the ‘glue’ holding Congo rainforests together

What would it cost to protect the Congo Rainforest?

A just energy transition requires better governance & equity in the DRC

Big potential and immense challenges for great ape conservation in the Congo Basin, experts say

Congo Basin communities left out by ‘fortress conservation’ fight for a way back in

Mongabay Explores the Congo Basin: The ‘heart of the world’ is at a turning point

Find the first three seasons of Mongabay Explores – where we explored Sumatra, New Guinea, and more – via the podcast provider of your choice, or locate all episodes of the Mongabay Explores podcast on our podcast homepage here.

Image: Ruined homes and shops in Kabwe Village. In 2018 an accident caused by Mutanda Mining, a subsidiary of Anglo-Swiss company Glencore, cost the lives of 21 people here. They company has not completed the compensation process for the victims. Photo by Didier Makal for Mongabay.

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Timecodes:

(00:00 ) Introduction

(01:27 ) Bye bye Kabombwa

(02:50 ) Fleeing pollution in Gécamines and Musonoïe

(04:55 ) Mines, the economic lifeblood of the DRC

(08:48 ) Forgotten victims, stolen livelihoods