Negotiating Natural Resources for Peace: Ownership, Control and Wealth-sharing
Publisher: Nicholas Haysom and Sean Kane (Center for Humanitarian Dialogue)
Date: 2009
Topics: Dispute Resolution/Mediation, Governance
Countries: Indonesia, Iraq, Sudan
Natural resources (such as oil, natural gas, diamonds, minerals, forests and water) are often a major source of national income, and are also a major cause of conflict and instability if mismanaged or shared unfairly. Countries with weak institutions often struggle to handle the potentially destructive force of corruption and attempts by various actors to capture the wealth generated by natural resources. The governance of natural resources is especially important in the context of divided societies because control over the benefits from local natural resources is often a chief motivator of ethnic or identity-based conflicts.