Mongabay Newscast14 Okt 2021

Extracted, exported and forgotten: the global race for resources and the DRC

The world economy demands clean energy and cheap commodities and these are being extracted at a furious rate in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

So the DRC is benefiting from all this activity, right?

Though extremely rich in natural resources, thanks to political instability plus a centuries-long legacy of commercial and colonial resource extraction, the value mainly accrues to the country's east and west, where corporations and governments benefit the most.

Joining the show to discuss are Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute, who describes how Western investors like university pension funds and corporations profit from oil palm plantations where human rights violations and environmental abuses are common.

Then Christian-Geraud Neema Byamungu, a Congolese researcher who focuses on natural resource governance, tells us about how the growing demand for cobalt to make electric-car batteries has led to increased mining, the Chinese companies that dominate the DRC's mines, and why the contracts between those companies and the DRC are being called into question.

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Home Planet Fund succeeds in conservation by investing in local knowledge

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22 Sep 51min

'Big Cats' highlights the remarkable power of photojournalism

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15 Sep 47min

A health crisis for Peru's recently contacted people brings planetary health to the fore

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8 Sep 38min

Christiana Figueres and Garik Israelian on Jane Goodall's legacy and the search for truth

A new award has been created in honor of late conservation icon Jane Goodall by the board of the Starmus Festival, an international gathering of scientists and artists to be held from Oct. 17-22 in Te...

1 Sep 51min

In Bhutan, the pursuit of happiness extends to the food system

Bhutan is a Himalayan kingdom sandwiched between China and India. Forty percent of its 800,000 citizens work in the agriculture sector. The mountainous country is famous for its breathtaking landscape...

25 Aug 33min