Causes of conflicts in mineral resources

INTRODUCTION

Minerals, Are naturally occurring substances obtained usually from the ground. According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), “valuable minerals become conflict minerals when their control, exploitation, trade, taxation or protection contributes to, or benefits from, armed conflict.” Conflict minerals have varied commodity values and occur in many geographical locations: for example, diamonds in Western Africa, amber in Russia, and gold in Indonesia. While minerals such as gold and diamonds hold significant value as gems, all minerals generate revenue and power for governments, rebel groups, or whoever owns the land or has the ability legally or illegally to extract them. Furthermore, conflicts over minerals do not necessarily stay within boundaries; neighboring countries sometimes compete for resource wealth and thus exacerbate conflict or prevent peace building. Diamonds are the conflict minerals that have received the most attention (USAID, 2002).

Mineral resource conflicts, These are disagreements and disputes over access to, control and use of mineral resources available in a particular area within a specified period of time (FAO, 2000).

 These conflicts often emerge because people have different uses for mineral such as gold, diamond, silver, copper, and so others. For example in Simanjiro District, Tanzania where conflict exists in mineral resources, there are Bantu as immigrant and masaai as a pastoralist.

Disagreements also arise when these interests and needs are incompatible, or when the priorities of some user groups are not considered in policies, programmes and projects. Such conflicts of interest are an inevitable feature of all societies. In recent years, the scope and magnitude of mineral resource conflicts have increased and intensified. These conflicts, if not addressed, can escalate into violence, cause environmental degradation, disrupt projects and undermine livelihoods (UNECA, 2002).

Causes of conflicts in mineral resources

Have always been with us, due in part to the multiple and competing demands on resources and Conflicts can arise if users groups are excluded from participating in natural resource management. They also occur if there are: contradictions between local and introduced management systems; misunderstandings and lack of information about policy and programme objectives; contradictions or lack of clarity in laws and policies; inequity in resource distribution; or poor policy and programme implementation. Conflict will always exist to some degree in every community, but it can often be managed and resolved.

Policies imposed without local community participation, Conflicts have been associated with the contradictions between local and the introduced management systems, laws and policies, in resources distribution, poor policy and program implementation with respect to natural resources use. For example, some governments have long relied on centralized management strategies based on centralized control by administrative units and technical experts. These policies and practices frequently fail to take into account local rights to, and practices regarding, natural resources. For example, the introduction of new policies and interventions without local input may end up supplanting, undermining or eroding community institutions governing resource use (FAO, 1997).

Inadequate or poor information sharing, effective sharing of information on policies, laws, procedures and objectives can enhance the success of programmes and reduce conflicts especially in this mineral resources. For example the expanding mining activities in the district are being carried out parallel to the main land use activity for which this area is best suited. In contrast; lack of information on the intention of the planning agencies may lead to suspicion and mistrust (Conca and Geoffrey, 2002).

Lack of effective mechanisms for conflict management, for mineral resource management programmes to be effective, mechanisms for participatory conflict management and resolution need to be incorporated from the outset into their design and implementation. These mechanisms should ensure that open or smoldering conflicts are constructively dealt with to reduce the chances of their escalation. In some organizations, such mechanisms cannot be easily installed because existing legislation or policy does not permit it (Bannon and Paul, 2003)

Growing competition over natural resources especially minerals, minerals are increasingly subjects to intense competition. In most cases several factors are responsible for this including demographic change example population growth due to migration and urbanization, market pressures includes in the increase in commercialization, intensification and privatization of local economies, environmental changes that force people to alter their livelihood strategies examples flood, drought (Stabrawa,2003)

Ways to overcome the conflicts of mineral resources use

Increase participation dialogue and partnership, beyond sharing information local communities and miners should actively participate in decisions that affect their live. For example when government planned to establish a certain place to be a center of exploitation of mineral recourses must inform and participate of the community on that issue. Participation and involvement diminish grievances and the potential for conflict in two important ways includes local can voice concerns that might be unknown or ignores by decision –makers located elsewhere and consensus based decision meet needs of all stakeholders and distribute responsibility (Tyler, 2006).

In order to resolve this should be taken seriously by states, international organizations and NGOs, Precedent and good practices need to be catalogued and expertise should be more effectively marshaled and standard revisited. For example, publishes an annual corruption index and provides practical advice on how to address corruption. Knowledge of natural resource minerals government and the potential for resources based and confidence building measure could have more prominent place in the conflict resolution toolbox (World Bank, 2011).

There should be the practical policies to the organization, state, or investors to provide direct and indirect benefits to the communities where mineral resources are found, a particular resource regime that have legal rights to own and utilize should have a tendency of benefiting the communities around. For example, a company or organization that extract minerals in a particular area should provide services to the communities like water, electricity supply, building schools, hospitals and the like, that will make the communities not conflicting with exploit the resources found in their area.

Reduce Macroeconomic Dependence and Vulnerability, Vulnerability caused by overdependence on mineral exports can be addressed by Macroeconomic policies that smooth out the economic impacts of swings in mineral prices. For example the government should find a solution that would at least partially satisfy everyone to reduce depends on more on such resources even to take all control of such recourses. Such mechanisms link aid to state revenues, making it conditional on government commitments to limit public expenditures when prices are high and to establish regulations to hinder fraud and corruption, as in the case of Chile’ Copper Stabilization Fund (World Bank, 2011). Microeconomic policies that support economic diversification and these include providing micro-credit to entrepreneurs and small businesses and reducing bureaucratic barriers to establishing a business and entering the formal economy.

Empowering Local Communities through Information Access, the local people should be provided with notification and information on the resource regime system that specify whom to posses, utilize and manage a particular resource. So, the mineral conflicts that are occurring among local people with state or an organization should be reduced. For example the government takes all authority on mineral resources site to supply all information about the all issue of minerals.

CONCLUSION

Generally, Growing demand for natural resources and the increasing complexity of conflicts make conflict management and resolution more difficult; however, in a world of globalization there is also more incentive for states and communities to work together to establish peace. Since natural resources are necessary for life and growth, it is not surprising that resource scarcity, environmental degradation, and unsustainable consumption sometimes contribute to or cause violent conflict. Nonetheless, there are ways to address natural resource issues that will prevent, manage, or resolve such conflicts.

REFERENCES

Bannon, I & Paul, C (2003) Natural Resources and Violent Conflict: Options and Actions. Washington, D.C.: World Bank,

Conca,K&Geoffrey, D.D (2002).Environmental Peacemaking. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson Center Press,

Lare, M. T. (2002) Resource Wars: the New Landscape of Global Conflict. New York:

Lewicki, Roy J.et al,(2005) Making Sense of Intractable Environmental Conflicts: Concepts and Cases. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Lujala, P .et al. (2005). A diamond curse? civil war and a lootable resource. Journal of Conflict Resolution.

Stabrawa,A. (2003): Environmental endowment and conflict: The case of diamonds in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). UNEP Division of Early Warning and Assessment & Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University.

Tyler, S.R (2006).Co management of Natural Resources Local Learning for Poverty Reduction. Ottawa, ON: International Development Research Centre,

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) (2002): Compendium on best practices in small-scale mining in Africa. Addis Ababa.

World Bank (2011). World Development Report: Conflict, Security and Development. World Bank, Washington

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2002) .Conflict Toolkits for Intervention USAID’s toolkits show how development assistance can reduce conflict. See “Forests and Conflict,” “Land and Conflict,” and “Minerals and Conflict

FAO. (1997). Compilation of Discussion Papers Made to the Electronic Conference on Addressing Natural Resource Conflicts through Community Forestry, January-May 1996. Community Forestry/FTPP Conflict Management Series. Rome