Natural Resource Reform at Home – Not Walls – Will Stem the Tide of Migrants

Apr 21, 2017 | Michael Jenkins and Emily E. Harwell
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The answer to stemming the flow of migrants from troubled countries is not concrete walls and stricter laws – as British Prime Minister Theresa May and US President Donald Trump would have us believe. There’s no silver bullet to this complex challenge, but a more promising solution is to help improve the economy and rule of law in the migrants’ home nations.

The reasons emigrants embark on dangerous and expensive journeys abroad are complex and varied – although personal safety and economic security are the most visible driver of the need to move. However, one of the most prevalent causes – and one that gets the least amount of attention – is the violent competition over natural resources in migrants’ home countries and the revenue they generate.

In countries such as Myanmar, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe, autocratic states have protected their power through the control of revenues from natural resources ranging from timber, precious gems and gold, to oil and gas – and using the proceeds to buy off political interests and finance military conflicts within their own country to retain power. The funds are not used for the basic services and infrastructure that governments are supposed to provide. The lack of access to such services, especially when coupled with armed conflict and a failed state, has led to grinding poverty that drives an increasing number of people to flee lives engulfed in constant insecurity and hardship. There is growing evidence that even the upheaval and massive exodus from Syria had roots in widespread water mismanagement and droughts that drove millions from their rural lands, contributing to the political uprising and today’s vicious conflict.