The Marange Development Trust was founded by communities affected by diamond mining in Zimbabwe. They successfully challenged the mining company in court, who were forced to halt operations.
Mission and Purpose
The Marange Development Trust was founded by two villages in the Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe. The aim of the trust is to combat the negative impacts of mining on affected communities.
Origins and Development
In 2008, the Zimbabwean government and private companies began mining in the Marange diamond fields, displacing communities throughout the region. In 2015, several of these companies were united to form the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC). With the help of the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA), two communities founded their own organisations to combat the negative impacts of mining, including the Marange Development Trust (MDT).
Organizational Structure, Membership, and Funding
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Specializations, Methods and Tools
Marange Development Trust utilizes participatory decision-making procedures [1].
Major Projects and Events
The Trust began by monitoring the mining companies’ operations and gathered information on violations. In August 2017, the MDT filed a lawsuit against the ZCDC, on the grounds that it had not conducted an environmental impact assessment (EIA). The lawsuit was ultimately successful, with the ZCDC forced to halt operations pending approval of an EIA certificate, and to enter a memorandum of understanding with the affected community.
Analysis and Lessons Learned
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Publications
See Also
References
[1] Kusena, B. (2020). Community-Based Organisations and the Development Agenda in Zimbabwe: The Case of Marange Development Trust, 2014–2017. In Lahai, J. I. and Ware, H. (Eds.) Governance and Societal Adaptation in Fragile States. Online: Palgrave MacMillan
External Links
Notes
The first submission of this Participedia entry was adapted from a research project by the Institute of Development Studies, 'Linking Participation and Economic Advancement’ licensed and reproduced under Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0).
Original source: https://www.eldis.org/keyissues/mapping-participation-economic-advancement