Preventing Conflict in Resource-Rich Countries - A Discussion Paper
This paper is a response to the pressing need to “conflict-sensitize” the World Bank’s Extractive Industries Value Chain in order to gain greater understanding regarding EI conflicts’ underlying issues and dynamics, and practical preventive measures to mitigate these potential conflict risks along the links of the EI value chain.
In essence, this paper proposes the adoption of the Extractive Industries Value Chain as a framework for conflict prevention to guide and prioritize conflict-sensitive policy reforms and operations supported by the World Bank, UN and other development partners in resource-rich countries. It is clear, however, that more combined and coordinated work on this topic is needed to materialize the potential of the value chain for preventing and mitigating resource-related conflicts.
Through literature review, interviews and preliminary observations from four country examples (Chile, Peru, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo), the paper illustrates the importance of working along a conflict-sensitive value chain to help policy-makers and other stakeholders to identify potential conflict risks/triggers and mitigation/prevention measures along the five links of the EI Value Chain.