China in Africa, environmental governance and civil society: the case of the Kua Forest in Burkina Faso

Abstract

ABSTRACT Along with China's rapidly expanding economic links with Africa, Chinese projects on the continent are increasingly the subject of environmental controversies. The decision by Burkinabé authorities to declassify a portion of the Kua forest – a state forest – to house a new Chinese-sponsored hospital engendered an environmental polemic. Civil society actors’ persistent opposition to the project compelled the government to adopt a more participatory approach, conduct an environmental impact assessment and, finally, find a different location for the hospital. This article examines the contribution of the domestic political context to the rise of the movement and its successes. It shows that, in environmental conflicts surrounding Chinese projects in Africa, the domestic political context within which civil society contestation takes place explains the outcome of their mobilisation, hence the nature of environmental governance in these projects. The paper also reflects on China’s lack of engagement with African civil society.