The roots to peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Conservation as a Platform for Green Development

Bibliographic Data

ID4030976
AuthorsRichard Milburn (King's College London, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume90
Issue4
Pages871-887
Publication date2014-07-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-5850 • E-ISSN: 1468-2346
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/1468-2346.12145
OpenAlexW2058993629
LanguageEN
Citations received5

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is endowed with an abundance of natural resources, and the presence of high-value resources such as coltan and diamonds is well known. The country is also endowed with a wealth of biodiversity, although the value of this is often overlooked. This article describes the detrimental impact of armed conflict on this biodiversity and the dangers posed by the return of peace, which is likely to result in increased biodiversity exploitation. The resulting loss of key carbon sinks crucial to the global fight against climate change will affect not only the DRC, but also the international community. Biodiversity is therefore identified as a threat to security but also a valuable asset for development, and this article discusses methods to realize the value of biodiversity in the DRC through the benefits of ecosystem services and income generated from monetizing biodiversity. It concludes by arguing that the false dichotomy of conservation and development as separate entities and objectives needs to change so that conservation becomes a central pillar of security and development work in the DRC and other regions of current or recent armed conflict around the world

Democracy · Library science · Political science · Politics · Aquatic Ecosystems and Biodiversity · Cambodian History and Society · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management · Law · Public Administration

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub