Natural Resource Governance Femke Brouwer Parliamentary Specialist

What motivates NRGI’s Work? Source: Brookings Institution

Tackling the Development Challenge of the Decade A man-made resource curse persists for about 1 billion people living in poverty in the midst of abundance Resource curse not predetermined Yet most resource-intensive countries face a major ‘governance deficit’ In those countries, the poor are not benefiting from their resource riches

Resource Governance Index A measure of transparency and accountability of the oil, gas and mining sector in 58 countries 2012 data 173 questions 50 indicators 100 experts

Resource Governance Index Results Satisfactory (71-100) Partial (51-70) Weak (41-50) Failing (0-40)

What is Natural Resource Governance? Natural resource governance is the making and implementing of choices concerning the exploitation of a country’s natural resources for the benefit of its citizens

Factors influencing Extractive Governance Good or bad resource curse outcomes Attributes of governance and political system Natural resource wealth Attributes of governance and political system Attributes of natural resource wealth Attributes of governance and political system The big problem…

Attributes of Governance and Political System Quality of institutions Breadth of political base Leadership Independence and size of the private sector Political Consensus Good or bad resource curse outcomes Attributes of governance and political system

Attributes of Natural Resource Wealth Centralization of power and wealth Power is exercised through allocations Discourages democratization Blurred lines public and private sector Accountability is compromised Attributes of natural resource wealth Attributes of governance and political system

The Big Challenge Good or bad resource curse outcomes Attributes of governance and political system Natural resource wealth Attributes of governance and political system Attributes of natural resource wealth Attributes of governance and political system The big problem…

What can we do? Political and economic outcomes Existing attributes: resource wealth, political system, historical legacies, etc. Natural resource governance Focus here

What can we do? Analyze the political-economy context Understand the problem we want to fix Shift incentives in favor of success

Ways to Improve Natural Resource Governance Building an enabling context for extractive governance Improving policy making and building the right incentives Voluntary multi-stakeholder initiatives: EITI and OGP Mandatory reporting initiatives

Results Work with Oversight Actors Strengthened legislation in terms of accountability and transparency clauses Improved multi-stakeholder linkages Enhanced extractive knowledge of CSO representatives, MPs and parliamentary staff Increased multi-stakeholder action to improve government performance

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