Extractivismo, conflictos y ecocidio en África: el caso de la cuenca del río Congo (República Democrática del Congo) y del delta de Níger (Nigeria)

Abstract

Africa accounts for 33 percent of the planet’s natural resources: minerals, foodstuff s and energy sources. However, those resources do not contribute to an improvement in living conditions of Africans. Instead of a blessing, those resources have become a curse, as is the case of the Niger Delta. Africa also possesses significant forest resources. The jungles of the Congo River watershed make up the second-largest tropical biodiversity region after the Amazon. Unfortunately, the survival of these jungles has been threatened by the effects of mineral and agricultural exploitation, wars of depredation, and the activities of multinational logging companies. In contrast, protection efforts gain new territory with the creation of national parks and protected areas, the application of jungle management regulations and efforts of reforestation, and with greater adoption by mining and oil multinationals of their social and environmental responsibilities. The problem is structural and requires the adoption of another model of development, based on post-growth and eco-development, in place of the current ecocide.