Africa’s mineral fortune. The science and politics of mining and sustainable development / Минеральная удача Африки. Наука и политика горнодобывающей промышленности и устойчивого развития

For many centuries Africa’s rich mineral endowment has shaped the fortunes of its peoples and the environment. Beginning in the early twenty-first century, the commodities price boom and concerns about human impacts on the environment have seen increasing value placed on the continent’s renewable and non-renewable natural resources. Operators explored and extracted mineral and energy resources at an unprecedented pace during the boom, with regulators scrambling to keep up. The limitations of the so-called commodities super cycle soon became apparent to Africa’s policymakers and investors alike, however, prompting a need for revised approaches to resource governance in the past five years.1 At the same time, competing land and water uses, deforestation, and loss of biodiversity remain key concerns for climate change mitigation and environmental conservation. This raises an enduring question: How does Africa develop its mineral fortune sustainably, both in environmental and in socio-economic terms? The concentration of low-income, resource-dependent countries in Africa places it at the center of global debates about sustainable development and the extractive industries. <...>