Recent research has pointed to the significance of environmental variables as structural causes and sustaining factors in struggles for power in the Great Lakes. Contested rights to land and natural resources are significant, particularly in light of land scarcity in many areas and the frequency of population movements. Based on interviews in Goma and Ituri, as well as an extensive review of secondary literature, examines issues in Masisi and Ituri, and includes a number of recommendations for the DRC Government, the international community, and civil society actors. Contains introduction; the local political economy of land access; the issue of border identities; alienation of customary land; side-stepping the land law in Ituri; land and conflict in Masisi after 1998; conclusions and recommendations.

ACTS Eco-Conflicts Policy Brief, Volume 3 Number 4