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Land grabbing “from below”? Illicit artisanal gold mining and access to land in post-conflict Côte d’Ivoire

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  • Van Bockstael, Steven

Abstract

The illicit artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) of gold (“orpaillage”) in Côte d'Ivoire/Ivory Coast is considered an “epidemic” by the Ivoirian government, which sees it as harming the country’s efforts to attract large-scale mining investment. Rural ‘traditional’ communities are often portrayed as helpless victims of the ‘greed’ of artisanal miners, who come from all over the West African subregion, and whose actions destroy valuable farmland. In analysing this issue as “land grabbing from below”, this article emphasises the agency of local landowning communities in their interactions with artisanal miners, thereby de-obscuring the negotiated nature of artisanal mining. Often, mutually beneficial agreements are concluded, in which local government officials often play a brokerage role. We find that the variation in compensation and levels of local control over mining activities are strongly linked to the strength of neo-customary land ownership structures and the respect they can command from strangers, as well as whether or not the artisanal miners are acting on behalf of, or are supported by, powerful political and security interests.

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  • Van Bockstael, Steven, 2019. "Land grabbing “from below”? Illicit artisanal gold mining and access to land in post-conflict Côte d’Ivoire," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 904-914.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:81:y:2019:i:c:p:904-914
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.04.045
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