East Africa’s vast wealth in minerals could power the world and elevate millions out of poverty. But new data shows a paradox; that as mining sites expand, they are steadily eroding forest cover and exposing communities to environmental risks, raising concerns that the region’s economic gains from earth may come at a significant ecological cost.

 

The revelations came as leaders of the G7 gather in Evian, France, from June 15 to 17 to discuss cleaner ways of accessing critical minerals. Now experts warn that countries in East Africa should strengthen supervision of mining and processing to avoid negating economic gains with environmental damage.

The region has lately become the focus of a search for critical minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite, as world economies turn to low-carbon energy amid demand for new technologies in war, transportation and communication, as well as artificial intelligence.

From the outset, it has meant East Africa’s mineral wealth is a revenue boom. Rising exports of ores, particularly copper and precious metals, have emerged as a key driver of economic growth in the East African Community (EAC), helping push the region’s total international merchandise trade to $46.3 billion in the first quarter of 2026.

According to the report, total trade expanded by 30.7 percent, rising from $35.4 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2025 to $46.3 billion during the same period this year.

The trend is, in fact, continental, with sub-Saharan Africa already attracting new investments in global critical mineral production. An Economic Outlook report by the International Monetary Fund earlier in April, said the Democratic Republic of Congo alone accounts for over 70 percent of global cobalt output and approximately half the world’s proven reserves.

South Africa, Gabon and Ghana collectively account for over 60 percent of global manganese production, and Zimbabwe, alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali, hold substantial lithium deposits that are yet to be explored. Other countries such as Guinea, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia already have proven reserves of copper, iron and aluminium.“With growing demand, proceeds from critical minerals are poised to rise significantly over the next two decades,” the IMF says, adding that global revenues from the extraction of copper, nickel, cobalt and lithium are estimated to total $16 trillion over the next 25 years. “Sub-Saharan Africa stands to reap over 10 percent of these cumulative revenues, which could correspond to an increase in the region’s GDP by 12 percent or more by 2050.“Given the volatile nature of commodity prices and the unpredictability of the future direction of technological innovation, these estimates have a high degree of uncertainty, but the general direction is certainly encouraging.”New estimates reported in the journal Nature show that the region’s paradox of economic gains and losses through environmental damage could be severe, with mining expansion posing a threat to tropical forests across the continent.“Mines extracting cobalt and copper, key energy transition minerals, caused the highest amount of additional deforestation,” said scientists in their report, Mining triggers extensive additional deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa, published in the journal on June 3.“Embedding offsite deforestation levels into environmental impact assessments for new mining projects will be key to ensuring zero-deforestation or no-net-loss supply chains for critical minerals and reducing future mining-driven forest losses in sub-Saharan Africa.”The researchers used data from across the continent, studying post-deforestation land use around 16,627 mines from 2001 to 2020. They found that 187,000 hectares of land had been cleared for mining. They estimated that mining had triggered an eight percent increase in deforestation within one kilometre of a mine compared to areas where no mining had occurred.

”Further findings show that in places where a mining boom is already underway, such as in the Democratic Republic of Congo, extraction has posed threats to land rights and the well-being of indigenous peoples, which could also fuel conflict.“Countries must strictly enforce Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). The race for critical minerals should not take precedence over environmental protection,” Dr Claude Kabemba, an African policy analyst and thought leader on mining governance, critical minerals and economic transformation, told The EastAfrican. He added that mining companies should be required to demonstrate how they will minimise deforestation and mitigate environmental damage throughout the life of a project.“In addition, governments should undertake comprehensive economic, environmental and financial valuations before approving mining projects. Such assessments should determine whether the benefits of mining outweigh the long-term value of preserving forests and maintaining intact ecosystems. Where the environmental and social costs exceed the expected gains, conservation should take precedence over extraction.”Ahead of the G7 meeting, that change may not be immediate, he warned, especially since the motivation is to outdo China, rather than to improve clean sourcing.“Therefore, the G7 must support Africa’s ambition for resource-based industrialisation if the minerals are to benefit local people.”The solution, he added, is to have the right leadership, leaders who put Africa’s interests above their own when negotiating mineral contracts.“African countries must find ways to sanction leaders who sell their minerals cheaply or negotiate deals that do not serve the public interest.“We also need to create a club of African critical mineral producers that agrees on a common governance framework for managing these resources. Any leader who departs from these agreed standards should be publicly named and shamed by their peers.”In DRC, home to nearly 60 percent of the Congo Basin forests, the challenge is balancing its immense mining potential with the preservation of one of the world’s most important reservoirs of biodiversity and carbon.

Researchers estimate that approximately 39,000 hectares of forest were directly cleared by the physical footprint of mining operations. This destruction includes open pits, tailings facilities, internal roads and other infrastructure directly associated with mining activities.

However, the greatest concern does not lie in these direct losses.

The study shows that the true impact of mining extends far beyond its physical footprint. The establishment of a mine attracts populations, encourages the clearing of new agricultural land, stimulates urban growth and drives the development of additional infrastructure. These changes result in significantly higher levels of deforestation around mining areas.

According to the authors, every hectare of forest directly destroyed by mining operations results in the loss of an additional 58.1 hectares of trees through secondary activities. This figure is considerably higher than those recorded in other heavily affected countries such as Mozambique, 52.4 hectares, the Central African Republic, 50 hectares, and Angola, 49.2 hectares.“Indirect impacts from mining have become one of the leading threats to Africa’s tropical forests,” the researchers noted in the report.

This reality is particularly alarming for the DRC, whose forests play a crucial role in the global fight against climate change. With approximately 155 million hectares of forest cover, the country represents a vast carbon sink capable of absorbing significant amounts of greenhouse gases.

During that period, the area covered by primary rainforest declined by 6.6 percent. These losses are mainly linked to agriculture, logging, urban expansion and the growth of mining. Each year, approximately 500,000 hectares of forest disappear in the country.

Several factors are driving this trend, including population growth, rising demand for charcoal, urban expansion and traditional farming practices, which continue to exert significant pressure on forested landscapes.

As the world’s leading producer of cobalt, DRC supplies approximately 76 percent of global output. Annual production reaches nearly 220,000 tonnes. The DRC is also among the world’s largest copper producers, with annual production exceeding three million tonnes.

Most of this activity is concentrated in the provinces of Haut-Katanga and Lualaba, which serve as major engines of the national economy.

In response to these challenges, President Félix Tshisekedi has repeatedly warned against illegal and unregulated mining.

President Tshisekedi has ordered stronger oversight of mining sites and implementation of tougher measures aimed at combating illegal mining.

Among proposed actions are the systematic seizure of equipment used on illegal sites, strengthening of the General Inspectorate of Mines and prosecution of those responsible for unlawful mining.

The government has also suspended several operations near protected areas in order to preserve ecosystems that are exceptionally rich in biodiversity.

This political commitment forms part of a broader strategy aimed at maintaining the DRC’s status as a “solution country” in the global fight against climate change.

In recent years, Congolese authorities have launched a large-scale reforestation programme targeting the planting of one billion trees. According to the Ministry of Environment, nearly 894 million trees have already been planted, helping to restore approximately 733,094 hectares of forest.

However, experts acknowledge that these efforts remain insufficient compared with the current pace of deforestation.“We must restore more forests if we are to offset the losses recorded each year,” explains Paul Djali, head of the Reforestation Division at the Ministry of Environment.

Deforestation in mining areas is especially significant because the region also relies on agriculture. According to the EAC report, while minerals remained the dominant export category, agricultural commodities continued to play a critical role in supporting the region’s external earnings.

Coffee, tea and other major cash crops generated substantial foreign exchange revenues, benefiting from improved commodity prices and stronger demand in international markets.

The strong export performance saw export earnings rise by 33.3 percent to $24 billion, outpacing import growth, which increased by 28.1 percent to $22.4 billion.

The trend has been such that where minerals are discovered, farming communities are pushed further away.

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