172 Scarcily and Surfeitso-called formal legal sphere of the state was a predominant element in the
colonial and immediately post-colonial Congo, particularly in the eastern
parts of the country, to the extent of being denominated as 'Systeme D',
'Article Quinze' or 'Debrouillez-vous', As the economy collapsed and the
state's traditional (admittedly minimal) functions withered away, the infor-
mal, often illicit and sometimes violent, economy grew. Mobutu's regime
progressively withdrew from providing basic services to the people, arguing
that they should fend for themselves where the state had proved incapable or
unwilling to do so. In the education sector, parents took charge of their chil-
dren from nursery to university, including contributing to pay teachers' and
professors' salaries.
In the Kivus where the state entirely ceased to provide social services, the
population took things in their own hands to provide the minimum of serv-
ices, with limited support from a small number of international NGOs and
churches. Businesses turned eastwards for their exchange and almost aban-
doned Kinshasa as their reference point for most of their commercial
exchanges. Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania became their
transit or destination points for their goods. However, never before the out-
break of the 'second war' in 1998 in the DRC has this type of economic activ-
ity, resource extraction and exploitation, been so intimately linked to extrac-
tive violence. No wonder that many Congolese perceive these activities as for-
eign in origin and contributing to external occupation and dominance, espe-
cially in the Kivus."
Local rebel administrations are more interested in natural resource
exploitation and appropriation than in initiating any development schemes.
The conjunction of antiquated mining practices, decimated or degraded infra-
structure, the arbitrary doling out of concessions, corrupt and unstable gov-
ernments, and bloody ethnic conflicts have compounded the suffering of the
eastern Congolese communities.
In eastern DRC, coltan deposits are found everywhere in farms, forests,
savannahs, private and government land, in protected and unprotected areas.
In South Kivu Province, coltan is mostly exploited in forests that constitute
critical habitats for biodiversity conservation and communities' welfare,
whereas in the North Kivu a larger number of deposits have been recorded on
unprotected land. The uncontrolled influx of thousands of people for coltan
mining onto different sites has impacted negatively on the environment.
Wildlife is threatened for several reasons, including the availability of
firearms, and the increasing firewood collection in the parks. In addition, the
presence of a high density of population in protected areas increases the
chances of human disease transmission and depletion of wildlife stocks
through poaching.
Although coltan is generally surface mined, the process involves vegeta-
tion clearing and non-selective tree cutting. Many trees and shrubs in the