Resource conflict in Kenya’s titanium mining industry: Ethno-ecology and the redefinition of ownership, control, and compensation

Abstract

The literature on community-mining enterprise conflict is currently dominated by discourses on equity, compensation, land ownership, and environmental degradation. While much debate has dwelled on whether mining is a curse or a blessing, little attention has been given to highlight the meanings that communities attach to the assets being fought over, and the need therefore to review existing laws on mining, and practices to reflect these realities. The displacement of over 3000 residents in Kwale, Kenya to make way for the mining of titanium has raised serious concerns over indigenous resource ownership and control in Kenya’s mining industry, calling for a fresh look at the Kenyan mining law. Using an ethno-ecological approach, this article explains how a community’s loss of land assets can induce a sense of vulnerability which can prefigure conflict. The conflict demonstrates the need for a more sensitive approach to community resource ownership and indigenous mineral control.