China in Africa, environmental governance and civil society: the case of the Kua Forest in Burkina Faso

ABSTRACTAlong with China's rapidly expanding economic links with Africa, Chinese projects on the continent are increasingly the subject of environmental controversies. The decision by Burkinabé authorities to declassify a portion of the Kua forest – a state forest – to house a new Chinese-sponsored hospital engendered an environmental polemic. Civil society actors’ persistent opposition to the project compelled the government to adopt a more participatory approach, conduct an environmental impact assessment and, finally, find a different location for the hospital. This article examines the contribution of the domestic political context to the rise of the movement and its successes. It shows that, in environmental conflicts surrounding Chinese projects in Africa, the domestic political context within which civil society contestation takes place explains the outcome of their mobilisation, hence the nature of environmental governance in these projects. The paper also reflects on China’s lack of engagement with African civil society.RÉSUMÉParallèlement à l’expansion rapide des liens économiques de la Chine avec l’Afrique, les projets chinois sur le continent font de plus en plus l’objet de controverses environnementales. La décision des autorités du Burkina Faso de déclasser une partie de la forêt de Kua – une forêt classée – pour y installer un nouvel hôpital financé par la Chine a suscité une polémique environnementale. L’opposition persistante des acteurs de la société civile au projet a contraint le gouvernement à adopter une approche plus participative, conduire une étude d’impact environnemental et, enfin, trouver un autre emplacement pour l’hôpital. Cet article examine la contribution du contexte politique national à l'émergence du mouvement et à ses succès. Il montre que, dans les conflits environnementaux entourant les projets chinois en Afrique, le contexte politique national dans lequel se déroule la contestation de la société civile explique le résultat de la mobilisation de cette dernière, et par conséquent la nature de la gouvernance environnementale dans ces projets. L’article analyse également le manque d’engagement de la Chine avec la société civile africaine.KEYWORDS: China in Africaenvironmental protectioncivil societyactivismBurkina FasoMOTS-CLÉS: Chine en Afriqueprotection environnementalesociété civileactivismeBurkina Faso AcknowledgementsI am grateful to the three anonymous reviewers, the editor and Joagni Paré for their helpful comments on the early versions of the paper. I also thank Professor Philip Hsiaopong Liu, for continuously encouraging me to put my ideas into writing.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.Notes1 This terminology is used in order to avoid giving the impression that the entire civil society of Burkina Faso participated in the movement or was unanimous on the matter. Although the movement actors comprised predominantly civil society organisations, a small number of opposition political parties also took part. The role played by the latter is discussed throughout the paper.2 See Coenen et al. (Citation2021) and Liu (Citation2021) for an exhaustive list of these guidelines.3 The Taoudeni Basin is very large. It extends across Mali, Mauritania, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Burkina Faso, Sénégal and Sierra Leone, and slightly into Algeria. The southeastern border of this basin constitutes the sedimentary unit of the Western part of Burkina Faso (Dakoure Citation2003).4 Eaux et Forêts agents are a paramilitary body in charge of the protection of forest resources. Their department is under the charge of the Ministry of Environment.5 Note that the CNAF is an advisory committee and its decision is not binding.Additional informationNotes on contributorsAsma Amina BelemAsma Amina Belem is a PhD candidate at the Graduate Institute of Development Studies, National Cheng-Chi University. She specialises in the field of economic and social development. Her current research focuses on the political economy of Chinese aid and investments in Africa, particularly on environmental governance, medical assistance and infrastructure cooperation.