Paper short abstract:

This paper deals with large-scale land use by mining companies and the multiple politics of contention around this, using the case of an MNC in South-Kivu, eastern DRC.

Paper long abstract:

Our paper deals with large-scale land use by mining companies in the case of South-Kivu, eastern DRC. A very large part of the territory in eastern DRC has been given into concession to larger mining companies. Inevitably this creates cohabitation challenges, as is the case in the concession of the Canada-based multinational Banro. Based on the Banro case, this paper makes three arguments. First, we argue that the commercialization of land by selling it to international investors is related to a reconfiguration of national politics. For the Congolese state it is a strategy to extend its governance into areas previously out of state control. Second, we argue that Banro's arrival implies a negotiation with local elites, including customary chiefs. As such, giving large parts of land into concession to companies is also connected to a reconfiguration of local politics. Third, transnational norms and regulations shape these reconfigurations at the local level. However, reference to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and voluntary standards remains a discourse, whereas in the local arena different practices prevail. For the case of multinational company Banro we demonstrate how its presence affects communities, how strategic alliances between the company and local elites are formed and how these are contested by parts of the local population.

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