Full report - International Alert

16 • Women’s Bodies as a Battleground: Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls During the War in the Democratic Republic of Congo2The Socio-Economic, Political and MilitaryContext in South Kivu2.1 South Kivu: an area of contrastsThe province of South Kivu, in the south-east of the former province of Kivu-Maniema hasa population of 1,500,676 and covers an area of 64,915 km 2 which is just over one-quarterof the former Kivu-Maniema province (256,805 km 2 ). It is divided into three demographicareas:- an area of high-density population, comprising the territories of Idjwi, Kabare,Walungu and Uvira;- an area of medium-density population, comprising the territories of Kalehe,Mwenga and Fizi;- an area of low-density population, corresponding to the Shabunda Territory.The landscapes and peoples of South Kivu are varied and there are striking contrastsbetween the types of terrain, soils, climate and flora as well as in the different ways of lifebetween the highlands of the eastern part of the province and the territories close toManiema (Mwenga, Shabunda), which mark the edge of the great Congo Basin. The freshclimate of the higher lands (18°C at Bukavu) is in marked contrast with the equatorial heatof the low-lying western lands (25°C at Kitutu). While the low-lying lands of Mwenga andShabunda are covered in rainforest, the highlands in the east include a landscape of savannahand prairie, but they also have the Kahuzi-Biega forest, which is the source of the main riversin Kivu-Maniema. By and large, the land in Kivu is relatively good, although soils of volcanicorigin, which are exceptionally fertile, cover just 1% of the province.The human population of the province is ethnically and culturally diverse. Numerically, themost important ethnic groups are the Shi and the Rega. Average population density is lessthan 10 inhabitants to the square kilometre. Districts with a density of over one hundred persquare kilometre cover scarcely 4% of the province’s land area. However, more than 50%of the population is concentrated on 9% of the land area (in Idjwi, Kabare, Walungu).The people of South Kivu are mostly farmers and those who are of Rwandan descent raiselivestock. There are differences in the ways that the various groups carry out everydayactivities, such as trading, cultivating the soil and building rural dwellings.2.2 Administrative divisions of South KivuThe province is divided into eight territories and their basic economic activities areagriculture, raising livestock and fishing, as shown in the table on the next page.