From Fragility to Resilience: Managing Natural Resources in Fragile States in Africa (Summary Report)
Publisher: African Development Bank Group
Author(s): Ilona Coyle & Carl Bruch
Date: 2014
Topics: Extractive Resources, Governance, Land, Programming, Renewable Resources
Natural resources have the potential to catalyze transformative change in Africa. In the African Development Bank’s Ten Year Strategy (2013-2022), the Bank envisions the next decade as an opportunity for Africa to become the world’s next emerging market with growing internal and external demand for African products “if Africa can seize its potential in water, agriculture, renewable energy and other sectors, especially oil, gas and minerals.”
Natural resources, for the purposes of this report, include extractive resources (oil, gas, and minerals), renewable resources (arable land, forests, fisheries, and livestock), land, and water. They provide employment, food security, export revenues, and a basis for private-sector development. They are essential for basic services as many of them form the pillar on which local livelihood systems are built. They have cultural and social values. If managed inclusively and equitably, resource revenues can be the foundation for transformative change: when oil was discovered in São Tomé and Príncipe, the signature bonuses for nine offshore blocks constituted more than twice the country’s annual budget.
Nevertheless, many African states affected by fragility and conflict have struggled to leverage their resource wealth to realize practical development gains for their populations. Fragile states are still often hampered by widespread poverty, frequent conflict, poor governance, weak administrative capacity, high perceptions of corruption, and challenging climates for doing business—much of which relates to natural resource management.
This Flagship Report is the first to examine how fragile states in Africa can work towards addressing the causes and drivers of fragility by better managing natural resources across sectors. It is a reference for African fragile states, Bank staff, and development partners that highlights key challenges, themes, opportunities, and approaches for managing natural resources in fragile states. Delving into key natural resource sectors, crosscutting issues, and programming approaches, it provides options for designing and implementing natural resource–related initiatives in ways that build resilience. This Report provides a broad vision drawing upon experiences to date; further efforts (such as checklists and resource-specific guidelines) are necessary to translate this vision into operational reality.