Governance of Africa's Resources Programme: Overview

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The Governance of Africa’s Resources Programme (GARP) aims to improve policies governing Africa’s abundant natural resources. It considers the following sectors: fossil fuels, mineral resources, forestry and fisheries. That Africa is rich in natural resources is not news.  The continent’s rubber soled the automobile revolution and its copper helped connect the world during the telecommunications one. Even the uranium used to manufacture the atomic bomb dropped during the Second World War was sourced from Africa. Today, Africa’s natural resources are no less strategic than in the past.

The continent’s non-renewable resource-riches include cobalt (used in gas turbine engines) and tantalum, tin and tungsten (the so-called ‘three Ts’, used in cell phones, laptops and blackberries). New discoveries of oil – arguably still the most strategic resource of today – has contributed to remarkable GDP growth in several African states and more are coming on-stream. The early years of the 21st century have rightly been described as a boom period for Africa’s extractive industries. Yet it is the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), rather than growth figures alone, which should be a benchmark of transparent, accountable governance of the revenues derived from these resources. The recent financial crisis also illustrated the dangers of economic dependence on the export of primary commodities. Related to this is the challenge of ensuring that the benefits derived from these non-renewable, extractive resources do not end when the resources run out.

The way in which the world is changing is reflected in the fact that oil’s biggest contenders for the title of ‘the most strategic resource of today’ are the renewable resources. The looming threat of global warming has placed the continent with the 2nd largest block of rainforest (the Congo Forest) at the centre of international climate negotiations. The reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries is considered one of the high priority options for mitigating climate change, as reflected in the fact that it was one of few areas in which substantial progress was made at Copenhagen in December 2009. Africa’s 356 000 km of coastline, its many rivers and lakes currently yield fish that feeds the continent and beyond. However, the sustainability of this yield is proving uncertain as overexploitation coupled with ecosystem disturbances are leading to a collapse of much of the world’s fish stocks. Overexploitation of fish stocks can be traced among other factors to such things as illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing, whereas ecosystem disturbances are often linked to climate change, among other factors.

In the wake of the global financial crisis and the growing threat of climate change, the need for Africa’s natural resources to be better governed is therefore greater than ever. Uncertainty – both of climate and of markets – needs to be factored into building resilient institutions of governance. The Governance of Africa’s Resources Programme takes this into account as it provides quality policy-input to relevant stakeholders. The programme aims to contribute to the improved governance of Africa’s fossil fuels, mineral, forestry and fisheries sectors so as to:

• Stimulate broad-based economic development on the continent;
• Maximise the long-term benefit that Africa’s resources will have for her people;
• Limit the unsustainable degradation of Africa’s environment.

Staff

Funding