Natural Resources Conflict Management Processes and Strategies in Africa

The document examines how natural resources—both through abundance and scarcity—fuel social and armed conflicts in Africa. It argues that traditional peace processes often fail by focusing on 'high politics' (like power-sharing) while ignoring the underlying political economy of resource distribution. Using the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (IC/GLR), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) as examples, the author advocates for integrating natural resource management into diplomatic and mediation frameworks to achieve sustainable peace.

• Natural resources often create a parallel political economy that sustains 'new wars' by providing revenue for paramilitary groups and the procurement of small arms and light weapons, as seen in the illicit diamond trade between Sierra Leone and Liberia.
• Climate change acts as a significant independent variable that exacerbates social conflicts and threatens national security in Africa, though it is not the sole cause of resource conflicts.
• Environmental conflicts can remain latent and unrecognized by communities until a logical connection is established between degradation and the activities of specific social agents.
• Peace processes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have often failed because they ignore the equitable distribution of natural resources and exclude key non-recognized players, such as Laurent Nkunda, who control resource-rich areas like North Kivu.
• The International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (IC/GLR) has attempted to address resource-driven insecurity through the Protocol against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources, which emphasizes good governance and the creation of a certification manual for monitoring resource exploitation.
• In the Horn of Africa, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) faces complex conflicts driven by oil in Sudan, coltan in the DRC, and cattle rustling among pastoralists in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Sudan, all of which are worsened by climate-induced resource depletion.

APA

Mwanika, P. A. N. (2010). Natural Resources Conflict Management Processes and Strategies in Africa. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/216.pdf

Chicago

Mwanika, Philip Arthur Njuguna. Natural Resources Conflict Management Processes and Strategies in Africa. Institute for Security Studies, 2010. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/216.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mwanika |first1=Philip Arthur Njuguna |title=Natural Resources Conflict Management Processes and Strategies in Africa |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=September 2010 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/216.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mwanika2010natural, author = {Mwanika, Philip Arthur Njuguna}, title = {{Natural Resources Conflict Management Processes and Strategies in Africa}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2010}, month = sep, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/216.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }