Coltan Revisited: Consumer Influence, Miner Support, Lessons for Logging?

Summarized from two reports to BCTF, Extracting Hope for Bushmeat and Timber Certification, by Rina Aviram, Margot Bass, and Keri Parker. For the full reports, please visit Key Documents page. Additional information is from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund – UK websites (www.dianfossey.org and www.dianfossey.net ) and the Forest Stewardship Council website (http://fscoax.org).

Columbo-tantalite, or ‘coltan’, is a mineral ore used in electrical capacitors. The market for coltan has increased dramatically in recent years to meet demands for mobile phones and portable computers. Coltan is found in many countries throughout the world but when demands escalated in the late 1990’s, miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda increasingly entered national parks to dig it up using simple tools in unsafe conditions. The effects were devastating for wildlife, especially elephants and gorillas in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park and the Okapi Wildlife reserve in eastern DRC, because miners relied on bushmeat for subsistence.

Action committees in Europe have led effective advocacy campaigns to stop companies from purchasing coltan from areas where the bushmeat trade has escalated. Many companies have claimed that they are not purchasing coltan from war-torn countries. However markets are such that when demand is high, spot markets develop where there is no chain of custody and no way to confirm coltan’s origin.

Karen Hayes of Flora and Fauna International is working with the Global Compact Group, the corporate wing of the UN, to develop markets for ethically sourced coltan as an investment for peace in DRC. The goal of the project is to get support from large western companies that use coltan, such as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and Nokia, to buy the mineral from environmentally and socially responsible operations in DRC. The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund (UK), independent of Global Compact Group, aims to work with mining specialists and industrial concerns to introduce artisanal mining cooperatives with environmental safeguards and better working conditions. By developing and linking responsible buyers with responsible producers through monitoring and a system of tagging, these efforts hope to create ethical mining markets that can support communities, create stability and reduce miners’ dependence on bushmeat.

The telecom industry, including Vodafone, ATT and Bell Canada, has been very supportive of these efforts and has been contributing funds for the UN initiative. They have agreed to unite their efforts to pressure their suppliers, while coltan processors are also showing support and are putting pressure on producers. Aerospace and medical industries will be targeted to join these efforts as well. Officials are therefore optimistic that there will be adequate financial incentive to implement these plans.

Lessons for Logging?
There are obviously differences between the coltan industry and the logging industry in that coltan mining areas are transient and do not have defined boundaries. However there are aspects of this model that lend lessons for the timber industry.

It is interesting to note that the collective influence of the telecom, aerospace, medical and coltan processing industry have been enlisted to implement the abovementioned initiative. Consumers generalize issues, and therefore positive measures taken by one company may not be sufficient to encourage consumer support. It may be important to consider this in terms of logging. Collective logging industry efforts to improve environmental standards may be a powerful way to attract consumer attention.

Losses of charismatic megafauna in DRC as a result of coltan mining, and the resulting negative press and consumer pressure, have been major driving forces behind these initiatives. PR and consumer attention have been important incentives for improving logging operations, as they are for coltan mining. It is important to consider the impact the far end of the supply chain can have on industry practices. Efforts to track wood from environmentally responsible operations, such as the Forest Stewardship Council’s chain of custody, can help promote the sale of wood from environmentally sound logging operations, similar to what is planned for the coltan industry.

Logging certification has been slow to come to Africa, and existing certification schemes generally rate poorly in addressing wildlife management issues. Fortunately, there are criteria outlined by the African Timber Organization and other African industry groups that could be strengthened without starting from scratch. And, although their certification criteria need improvement with regards to wildlife indicators and management, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), probably the most well known third-party certification body, plans to open a Regional Office in West Africa this year.

The power of public awareness and consumer pressure is turning around the coltan disaster, by informing consumers of their buying power, making producers socially accountable, and working with suppliers to improve the lives of miners and wildlife. These kinds of interventions are already occurring with the logging industry – FSC labeling is commonplace, Home Depot is buying responsibly, and WCS is working with CIB and MFE to stop bushmeat hunting and trade in CIB concessions near Noubalé-Ndoki National Park in the Republic of Congo (PROGEPP effort).