Resource war

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A resource war is a type of war caused by conflict over resources. In a resource war, there is typically a nation or group that controls the resource and an aggressor that wishes to seize control over said resource. This power dynamic between nations has been a significant underlying factor in conflicts since the late 19th century. [1] Following the rise of industrialization, the amount of raw materials an industrialized nation uses to sustain its activities is heightened. [2]

Contents

History

Chincha Islands War

Illustration of the Chincha Islands of Peru, circa 1859 The Chincha Islands, Peru - Illustration for The Illustrated Times, 1859.jpg
Illustration of the Chincha Islands of Peru, circa 1859

One of the most prolific examples of resource war in history is the conflict over Chincha Island guano in the late 19th century. The Chincha Islands of Peru are situated off of the southern coast of Peru, where many seabirds were known to roost and prey on fish brought there by the currents of the Pacific Ocean. [3] The guano of these seabirds is incredibly dense in nutrients and became a sought-after resource as a fertilizer. [4] Soil that was nutrient rich allowed for higher crop yields, which subsequently translated to better sustenance of the population and overall improved economic performance. Known colloquially as "white gold", guano from the Chincha Islands began to catch the interest of Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other industrial powers at the time. [5]

The international interest for that resource resulting in a number of conflicts including the Chincha Islands War between Spain and Peru and the War of the Pacific between Chile, Bolivia, and Peru. [6] Although the primary inciting force of the conflict originated over possession of the nutrient-rich guano, Spain also attempted to exercise prior colonial control over Peru during its aggressions during this conflict. The Chincha Islands guano became a resource of imperialism with foreign nations inciting conflict and establishing dominion over it. In 1856, United States President Franklin Pierce passed the Guano Islands Act with the exclusive purpose of addressing American scarcity over guano. [7] Under the Guano Islands Act, any piece of uninhabited land that harbors a guano deposit could be claimed as a territory of the United States to extract the resource. [8] The legislation acted as a workaround for the United States to access Peruvian seabird guano since direct trade was not an option because of a treaty between Peru and the United Kingdom. [6]

Perspectives

Geopolitical

Under the geopolitical lens for interpreting resource wars, the main rationale behind resource conflict is strategic. It assumes that control over the resource provides a particular advantage to that nation and interprets hostile attempts to take over the resource as a means to acquire that advantage for themselves. Resources that are deemed strategic shift over time and pertain to what is required for economic expansion or success at the time. Examples of this include timber during the seventeenth century for naval development or oil during the twentieth century onward for enabling military technology and transportation. [9]

Environmental security

Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon at an NDP convention in British Columbia, circa 2007 Thomas Homer-Dixon.jpg
Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon at an NDP convention in British Columbia, circa 2007

Also known as the environmental scarcity or political economy, the environmental security perspective interprets resource conflict as a response to resource scarcity. A notable proponent of the environmental security perspective is Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon, a Canadian political scientist and professor at the University of Waterloo. The work of Homer-Dixon focuses on two different phenomena regarding the effect of resources on violent conflict: resource scarcity and resource abundance. Under the environmental security perspective, resource scarcity perpetuates conflict by inciting pressures on a society that is dealing with resource deprivation. According to Homer-Dixon, populations struggling with resource scarcity are also impacted by overpopulation and inequitable resource allocation. [10] Overpopulation and inequitable resource allocation can make resource scarcity even more pronounced, creating a cyclical instability in the society. [10]

Conversely, countries with natural resource abundance are impacted in a different way. Countries that are wealthy in resources have been shown to have disproportionate economic growth, less democracy, and overall insufficient development outcomes. [11] This permeates from an overdependence on their resource from an economic standpoint, where authoritarian traits may begin to take effect. [10] This creates pressure on the citizens as a whole due to undermined governance of the nation and volatile economic state if the resource fluctuates heavily in price. [12] This phenomenon is known as the resource curse.

Conflict resources

Conflict resources are natural resources extracted in a conflict zone and sold to perpetuate the fighting. [13] There is both statistical and anecdotal evidence that the presence of precious commodities can prolong conflicts (a "resource curse"). [14] [15] [16] An unfortunate irony is that many countries rich in minerals are impoverished in terms of their capacity for governance. Conflict, corruption and bribery may be seen as the typical costs of doing business. [17] The extraction and sale of blood diamonds, also known as "conflict diamonds", is a better-known phenomenon which occurs under virtually identical conditions. Petroleum can also be a conflict resource. Other commodities are also involved in financing conflict.

History

The concept of "conflict resource", or "conflict commodity" emerged in the late 1990s, initially in relation to the "blood diamonds" that were financing rebellions in Angola and Sierra Leone. [18] Then "conflict timber" financed hostilities in Cambodia and Liberia. [19]

Conventions

The concept was first officially discussed by the UN General Assembly in the context of 'conflict diamonds': [20] The UN Security Council has since referred to conflict resources in several resolutions, particularly resolutions 1533 and I698.97. [21]

Since 1996 the Bonn International Center for Conversion has tracked resource governance and conflict intensity by country. [22] Aside from fossil fuels, metals, diamonds, and timber it tracks the governance of other primary goods that might fund conflicts, including: poppy seeds and talc (Afghanistan), rubber (Côte d'Ivoire), cotton (Zambia), and cocoa (Indonesia).

Several countries and organizations, including the United States, European Union, and OECD have designated tantalum, tin, tungsten, and gold connected to conflict in the DRC as conflict minerals and legally require companies to report trade or use of conflict minerals as a way to reduce incentives for armed groups to extract and fight over the minerals.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural resource</span> Resources that exist without actions of humankind.

Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. On Earth, it includes sunlight, atmosphere, water, land, all minerals along with all vegetation, and wildlife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blood diamond</span> Diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance conflict

Blood diamonds are diamonds mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army's war efforts, terrorism, or a warlord's activity. The term is used to highlight the negative consequences of the diamond trade in certain areas, or to label an individual diamond as having come from such an area. Diamonds mined during the 20th–21st century civil wars in Angola, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau have been given the label. The term conflict resource refers to analogous situations involving other natural resources. Blood diamonds can also be smuggled by organized crime syndicates so that they could be sold on the black market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Resource depletion</span> Depletion of natural organic and inorganic resources

Resource depletion is the consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished. Natural resources are commonly divided between renewable resources and non-renewable resources. Use of either of these forms of resources beyond their rate of replacement is considered to be resource depletion. The value of a resource is a direct result of its availability in nature and the cost of extracting the resource, the more a resource is depleted the more the value of the resource increases. There are several types of resource depletion, the most known being: Aquifer depletion, deforestation, mining for fossil fuels and minerals, pollution or contamination of resources, slash-and-burn agricultural practices, soil erosion, and overconsumption, excessive or unnecessary use of resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Homer-Dixon</span> Canadian political scientist

Thomas Homer-Dixon is a Canadian political scientist and author who researches threats to global security. He is the founder and Executive Director of the Cascade Institute at Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia. He is the author of seven books, the most recent being Commanding Hope: The Power We Have to Renew a World in Peril.

The resource curse, also known as the paradox of plenty or the poverty paradox, is the phenomenon of countries with an abundance of natural resources having less economic growth, less democracy, or worse development outcomes than countries with fewer natural resources. There are many theories and much academic debate about the reasons for and exceptions to the adverse outcomes. Most experts believe the resource curse is not universal or inevitable but affects certain types of countries or regions under certain conditions.

Environmental security examines threats posed by environmental events and trends to individuals, communities or nations. It may focus on the impact of human conflict and international relations on the environment, or on how environmental problems cross state borders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Witness</span> International NGO

Global Witness is an international NGO established in 1993 that works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide. The organisation has offices in London and Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo</span>

The mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo produces copper, diamonds, tantalum, tin, gold, and more than 63% of global cobalt production. Minerals and petroleum are central to the DRC's economy, making up more than 95% of the value of its exports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peak phosphorus</span> Point in time of the maximum phosphorus production

Peak phosphorus is a concept to describe the point in time when humanity reaches the maximum global production rate of phosphorus as an industrial and commercial raw material. The term is used in an equivalent way to the better-known term peak oil. The issue was raised as a debate on whether phosphorus shortages might be imminent around 2010, which was largely dismissed after USGS and other organizations increased world estimates on available phosphorus resources, mostly in the form of additional resources in Morocco. However, exact reserve quantities remain uncertain, as do the possible impacts of increased phosphate use on future generations. This is important because rock phosphate is a key ingredient in many inorganic fertilizers. Hence, a shortage in rock phosphate might negatively affect the world's food security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guano</span> Excrement of seabirds or bats

Guano is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a lesser extent, sought for the production of gunpowder and other explosive materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water scarcity</span> Lack of fresh water resources to meet water demand

Water scarcity is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity namely physical and economic water scarcity. Physical water scarcity is where there is not enough water to meet all demands, including that needed for ecosystems to function. Arid areas for example Central Asia, West Asia, and North Africa often experience physical water scarcity. Economic water scarcity on the other hand, is the result of lack of investment in infrastructure or technology to draw water from rivers, aquifers, or other water sources. It also results from weak human capacity to meet water demand. Much of Sub-Saharan Africa experiences economic water scarcity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guano Era</span>

The Guano Era refers to a period of stability and prosperity in Peru during the mid-19th century. It was sustained on the substantial revenues generated by the export of guano and the strong leadership of president Ramón Castilla. The starting date for the guano era is commonly considered to be 1845, the year in which Castilla started his first administration. It ended shortly after the war between Spain and Peru in 1866.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water resources</span> Sources of water that are potentially useful

Water resourcesare natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slightly over two-thirds of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. The remaining unfrozen freshwater is found mainly as groundwater, with only a small fraction present above ground or in the air. Natural sources of fresh water include surface water, under river flow, groundwater and frozen water. Artificial sources of fresh water can include treated wastewater and desalinated seawater. Human uses of water resources include agricultural, industrial, household, recreational and environmental activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boundary Treaty of 1866 between Chile and Bolivia</span> 1866 treaty between Chile and Bolivia

The Boundary Treaty of 1866 between Chile and Bolivia, also called the Mutual Benefits Treaty, was signed in Santiago de Chile on August 10, 1866, by the Chilean Foreign Affairs Minister Alvaro Covarrubias and the Bolivian Plenipotentiary in Santiago Juan R. Muñoz Cabrera. It drew, for the first time, the border between both countries at the 24° South parallel from the Pacific Ocean to the eastern border of Chile and defined a zone of bipartite tax collection, the "Mutual Benefits zone", and tax preferences for articles from Bolivia and Chile.

Peak minerals marks the point in time when the largest production of a mineral will occur in an area, with production declining in subsequent years. While most mineral resources will not be exhausted in the near future, global extraction and production has become more challenging. Miners have found ways over time to extract deeper and lower grade ores with lower production costs. More than anything else, declining average ore grades are indicative of ongoing technological shifts that have enabled inclusion of more 'complex' processing – in social and environmental terms as well as economic – and structural changes in the minerals exploration industry and these have been accompanied by significant increases in identified Mineral Reserves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1521</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2003

United Nations Security Council resolution 1521, adopted unanimously on 22 December 2003, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia and West Africa, the council established a monitoring body to oversee international sanctions against Liberia. It was the final Security Council resolution adopted in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 1579</span> United Nations resolution adopted in 2004

United Nations Security Council resolution 1579, adopted unanimously on 21 December 2004, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia, the Council extended arms, timber and travel sanctions against the country for twelve months and a diamond ban for six months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining in Sierra Leone</span>

The mining industry of Sierra Leone accounted for 4.5 percent of the country's GDP in 2007 and minerals made up 79 percent of total export revenue with diamonds accounting for 46 percent of export revenue in 2008. The main minerals mined in Sierra Leone are diamonds, rutile, bauxite, gold, iron and limonite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water resource policy</span>

Water resource policy, sometimes called water resource management or water management, encompasses the policy-making processes and legislation that affect the collection, preparation, use, disposal, and protection of water resources. The long-term viability of water supply systems poses a significant challenge as a result of water resource depletion, climate change, and population expansion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ichaboe Island</span> Island in ǁKaras Region, Namibia

Ichaboe Island is a small rocky island off Namibia's Diamond Coast. It is recognised by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBAs) for its seabird breeding colonies.

References

  1. ↑ Acemoglu, D.; Golosov, M.; Tsyvinski, A.; Yared, P. (2012-01-06). "A Dynamic Theory of Resource Wars". The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 127 (1): 283–331. doi:10.1093/qje/qjr048. hdl: 1721.1/70960 . ISSN   0033-5533.
  2. ↑ Bakeless, John (1921). The Economic Causes of Modern War: A Study of the Period: 1878-1918. New York: Moffat, Yard, and Company.
  3. ↑ "The Hard Workers of the Peruvian Guano (The Chincha Islands), 2014". Agence VU'. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  4. ↑ Durfee, Nell (2018-04-27). "Holy Crap! A Trip to the World's Largest Guano-Producing Islands". Audubon. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  5. ↑ Mancini, Mark (2015-08-12). "How an Old Bird Poop Law Can Help You Claim an Island". Mental Floss. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  6. 1 2 Brazeau, Mark (2018-04-04). "Remember the Guano Wars". The Breakthrough Institute. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  7. ↑ Underhill, Kevin (2014-07-08). "The Guano Islands Act". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  8. ↑ Cornell Law School. "48 U.S. COde Chapter 8- GUANO ISLANDS". Legal Information Institute.
  9. ↑ Le Billon, Philippe (2007). "Geographies of War: Perspectives on 'Resource Wars'". Geography Compass. 1 (2): 163–182. doi:10.1111/j.1749-8198.2007.00010.x – via Wiley.
  10. 1 2 3 Homer-Dixon, Thomas (1994). "Environmental Scarcities and Violent Conflict: Evidence from Cases". International Security. 19 (1): 5–40. doi:10.2307/2539147. hdl: 10535/2855 . JSTOR   2539147. S2CID   154212598.
  11. ↑ Smith, Benjamin; Waldner, David (2021-04-30). Rethinking the Resource Curse (1 ed.). Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108776837. ISBN   978-1-108-77683-7. S2CID   233539488.
  12. ↑ Norman, Catherine S. (2009). "Rule of Law and the Resource Curse: Abundance Versus Intensity". Environmental and Resource Economics. 43 (2): 183–207. doi:10.1007/s10640-008-9231-y. ISSN   0924-6460. S2CID   59417490.
  13. ↑ p.8, Conflict and Development: Peacebuilding and Post-conflict Resolution; Sixth Report of Session 2005–06, Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: International Development Committee, The Stationery Office, 2006
  14. ↑ Philippe Le Billon, "Fuelling War: Natural Resources and Armed Conflicts", Adelphi Paper 373, IISS & Routledge, 2006.
  15. ↑ Michael Ross,"How Do Natural Resources Influence Civil War? Evidence from Thirteen Cases", International Organization, 2004.
  16. ↑ James Fearon and David lotinakin "Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War" American Political Science Review, 2003.
  17. ↑ Agbiboa, Daniel Egiegba (2011-11-03). "Between Corruption and Development: The Political Economy of State Robbery in Nigeria". Journal of Business Ethics. 108 (3): 325–345. doi:10.1007/s10551-011-1093-5. ISSN   0167-4544. S2CID   154968679.
  18. ↑ "'Blood diamonds' crackdown deal". BBC News . 28 June 2000. Retrieved 8 October 2020. Peter Hain : without blood diamonds, the war in Sierra Leone could not be financed... In the face of enormous suffering caused by the diamond-fuelled wars in Sierra Leone, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, we have a duty to ensure that we are doing as much as we can.
  19. ↑ "Liberian 'conflict' timber faces trade ban". Greenpeace UK. 7 May 2003. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  20. ↑ UNGA Resolution 55/56 (2001) Archived 2006-11-08 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ↑ Cassill, Deby L. (2014). "What can ants tell us about corporate social responsibility?". Handbook of Research on Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility: 269–287. doi:10.4337/9781783476091.00023. ISBN   9781783476091.
  22. ↑ Accessible through "the BICC Resource Conflict Monitor". Archived from the original on 2011-01-22. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
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