Environmental and social risks of Chinese official development finance in Africa: The case of the Lamu Port project, Kenya

Abstract

Unlike traditional donor countries, China has not established compulsory environmental and social risk (ESR) mitigation mechanisms for its Official Development Finance (ODF) projects. This article seeks to examine the various stakeholders’ relations concerning the ESR induced by Chinese ODF-funded projects with a case study in Kenya. Much of the current research has not analyzed stakeholders of Chinese ODF-funded projects in Africa, especially the local communities. This paper looks at the Lamu Port project, a major infrastructure project in Kenya, to understand the perceptions of various stakeholders – the Chinese government, the Kenyan government, Chinese companies, media, NGOs, researchers, and most importantly the local communities – on the ESR of this particular Chinese ODF-funded project, and examines their relations so as to explore whether there is consensus on who should mitigate the ESR. Understanding these factors is critical for taking action to mitigate ESR resulting from the growing number of Chinese ODF-funded projects.

Keywords: China; Africa; Official development finance; Environmental and social risk mitigation