【East Cameroo】Mining Extractivism in East Cameroon and Socio-Environmental Controversies: What Prospects for the Peaceful Development of Local Communities?

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Editor’s Note

This article examines the concept of extractivism—the intensive exploitation of natural resources driven by geopolitical and economic imperatives. It explores the doctrine’s roots in liberal capitalism and its role in global resource security strategies.

Figure 4. Emprise foncière de l’exploitation minière artisanale semi-mécanisée dans la région de l’Est-Cameroun en 2018.
Introduction

Extractivism refers to a tendency towards the overexploitation of land and subsoil resources; a doctrine of “extracting at all costs” (Thomas, 2013). It is simultaneously the result and the downside of liberal capitalism, underpinned by the geostrategy of controlling and securing the supply of mineral and energy resources for major powers through mining companies (Saint-Aubin, 2019; Aït-Hatrit, 2015; Federal Republic of Germany – Federal Ministry of Education and Research, 2013; Pitron, 2012; Paillard, 2011; Sauvé, Batellier, 2011; Triest, 2011).

For over a decade, the Cameroonian government has undertaken a policy of exploiting mineral resources to serve the country’s development for its “2035 emergence” (MINEPAT, 2009b; MINEPAT, 2009a; Lickert, 2013). This will culminated on December 14, 2020, with the creation of the National Mining Company (SONAMINES)1, which replaces the former Support Framework for Artisanal Mining (CAPAM). However, based on current geological knowledge of Cameroon, the Eastern Region is the most endowed with mines and hosts the majority of mining activities (Tchindjang et al.).

“The Cameroonian subsoil is of interest to mining companies in a context where the country has made mining a pillar of its development. The Eastern Region, the most endowed with minerals, is thus experiencing an intensification of mining activities while their externalities are fueling controversies between companies, authorities and local communities.”

Local development issues are questioned in a governance context marked by corruption, the opacity of mining activities and abuse of authority. So what are the determinants of the controversies in the wake of mining extractivism in East Cameroon? This article is built around the theories of political ecology and governance. It analyzes the determinants of socio-environmental controversies related to mining in East Cameroon. State of the art and field surveys reveal that the environmental harmfulness and social failures of mining activities are fueling the demands of local populations in a context where the authorities are labeled as corrupt.

1 Decree No. 2020/749 of December 14, 2020, establishing the National Mining Company.

Figure 2. Proportion par type d’exploitation minière dans l'Est-Cameroun.
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⏰ Published on: January 01, 2021