Natural Resources
The research programme Natural Resources brings in-depth research on the exploitation of natural resources and puts into perspective issues such as the redistribution of rents, poor governance and corruption, and the financing of conflicts.
Recent publications
Natural resources News
Kufatilia wins the 2021 Stop Slavery Award
The 2021 Stop Slavery Award attributed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation was granted to Ulula for the project Kufatilia, in the category “collaboration”. Kufatilia is an artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) incident tracker developed by IPIS and powered by Ulula. It is a tool for Congolese civil society organisations to report and monitor incidents in Eastern DRC
Kufatilia – Towards a more responsible gold supply chain in eastern DRC
Artisanal and small-scale gold is widely used in the electronics industry. But gold is also the predominant conflict mineral in eastern Congo, where it is illegally traded to fund armed actors. Artisanal gold is difficult to trace, and because of its volume it can be easily smuggled. Few gold mines in eastern Congo are officially
Supporting mining cooperatives in Beni
The population of Beni Territory has been victim of deadly violence since 2014, following the presence of national and foreign armed groups such as the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebellion and Mai Mai groups. The stabilisation project ‘Ensemble pour Beni’ aims to address insecurity and promote stability in the territory through a variety of initiatives,
Transparent, independent and participatory: How can a platform support a network of CSO in Congo?
On the occasion of the 2020 GeONG Forum, IPIS presented its project Kufatilia. In a video, IPIS explained how this phone-based participatory platform helps Congolese CSOs reporting and monitoring incidents in the mineral supply chains.
Story Map of ASM Sites in the DRC
Explore IPIS’ eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) webmap with a guided narrative. In its new story map, IPIS presents data gathered on eastern DRC’s artisanal mining sector and highlights key information from its reports investigating the interactions between natural resources and conflict dynamics in the region.
IPIS’ project Matokeo among the winners of the ASM Grand Challenge
On October 1st, IPIS and its partner Ulula were awarded a $118,000 price for their project “Matokeo” during the ASM Grand Challenge Award Ceremony.
IPIS’ successful handover of the Regional Mineral Database to ICGLR
IPIS finalised the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Regional Database on Mineral Flow and successfully handed it over to the organisation. Once operational, this web-based database will be gathering and updating data on mine sites, chain of custody, and exporters.
IPIS on BNNR’s Training Day: “Natural Resources: Stakes, Consequences, Alternatives”
On Saturday, October 3rd 2020, the Belgian Natural Resources Network (BNNR) will welcome you for a day of training on the stakes of natural resources, the consequences of their exploitation and the alternatives to be built.
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