FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: In Atlanta, Soyia Ellison, soyia.ellison@cartercenter.org
In Lubumbashi, Erik Kennes, erik.kennes@cartercenter.org
LUBUMBASHI — Â鶹´«Ã½ announced today that it is unveiling innovative modifications to the to make the interactive and to provide previously inaccessible information on local development planning related to mining projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Center’s Extractive Industries Governance project’s website, launched in 2011, provides the most comprehensive source of information on the DRC mining sector. As of today, the site contains over 1,300 documents and data on more than 100 mining companies operating in the DRC. It is an invaluable reference for government officials, corporations, academics, civil society organizations, and most importantly, Congolese citizens — all of whom can use the data for research, policy, and development planning.
With support from the German Corporation for International Cooperation’s Good Governance in the Mining Sector program, and in collaboration with the web development firm MapHubs, the website upgrades add new detail on existing private and public sector plans for local development in Katanga. The improvements also allow users to toggle geographic data on the Congo Mines map.
Those interested in the mining sector can visualize this important information, from the precise location of mining operations, to the geographic areas covered by mining permits, to the locations of social projects undertaken by mining companies.
The added data and increased functionality of the site will help facilitate collaboration between the DRC’s provincial government entities and mining companies. Mining companies will be able to harmonize their sustainable development plans with those created by local government, increasing the likelihood that the DRC’s sustainable development objectives are achieved.
By increasing the transparency and accessibility of information on DRC mining operations, Â鶹´«Ã½ and its partners enable more detailed monitoring of a sector that provides more than
95 percent of the DRC’s export earnings, which can help ensure that those earnings act as a catalyst for development in the DRC.
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