The Effects of Resource Conflict on Sustainable Development: the Case of Eastern Drc, ‘1998-2010’

Abstract

This study seeks to investigate the effects of resource conflicts on sustainable development in DRC.Itaims at understanding sustainable development in the context of resource conflict and the role played by the different actors in exploitation of these natural resources. The study looks at the historical overview of the conflict in DRC especially the contributions of the regimes that have exercised their control over the region from 1998 to 2010.It uses the greed versus grievance theory as the analytical tool for the study. Hence the study supports the notion that abundance in natural resources combined with weak governance fuels conflicts in resource rich Eastern DRC. The study reaches a number of conclusions. Among them is the fact that resource conflict in eastern DRC is one of the several destabilizing phenomena commonly cited as defining many of the conflicts in the Great Lakes region hence unsustainable development in the region. The study, while recognizing the existing methodologies and practices that have been used to solve conflicts in Eastern Congo, suggests that other corresponding ideas like sustainable development should be developed and utilized. This will ensure that resource based conflicts in eastern DRC are eradicated and the future of the generations to come is insured.