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41. Equitable Sharing of Mining Profits: The Best Deal for Tanzania?

Author:
Thomas Scurfield
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:
Tanzania’s unique approach to mining taxation, described as an equitable sharing of economic benefits between government and mining company according to a negotiated split, could leave the country shortchanged. Tanzanian citizens have access to the terms of only one profit-sharing deal, a 50-50 framework agreement for Barrick’s gold mines. The rest remain unpublished, despite laws that require the government to disclose deal terms. The Barrick deal predicates government revenues more heavily on mine profitability than a more typical regime, making these revenues more uncertain. This structure also increases the risk that companies may seek to avoid tax payments. Negotiating the split on a project-by-project basis, without any legal guardrails on the approach, increases the risks of corruption and unfavorable deal terms. The Tanzanian government could eliminate these risks by borrowing provisions from other countries that also require a specific government share of mine profits but take a different approach. However, unless the government has identified benefits from its current sharing mechanism that a more typical regime does not offer, it should not pursue a sharing mechanism and instead focus on improving the underlying regime, such as increasing its flexibility with regards to profits and reducing tax avoidance risks. To gain more trust from citizens, Tanzania’s government should explain how the mechanism works in existing deals.
Topic:
Government, Natural Resources, Tax Systems, Mining, Transparency, Contracts, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:
Africa and Tanzania

42. New Canal Threatens the Peace Between the Taliban and Central Asia

Author:
Bruce Pannier
Publication Date:
07-2023
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI)
Abstract:
Since their return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have managed to reach an understanding with most of the Central Asian governments to preserve a relative calm along the areas of the Afghan-Central Asian frontier. Disputes over water use have suddenly become an issue that could derail ties between Afghanistan and Central Asian states. Specifically, the construction of the Qosh Tepa canal in northern Afghanistan could lead to the loss of water for tens of thousands of people in downstream communities in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. In addition, three people were killed in recent clashes between Iranian border guards and Taliban fighters along the Afghan-Iranian border over rights to water from the Helmand River.
Topic:
Natural Resources, Water, Taliban, Borders, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Iran, South Asia, Central Asia, Eurasia, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan

43. The role of natural resources in the territorial conflicts of Xinjiang and Tibet in the People´s Republic of China

Author:
José Antonio Peña-Ramos, Adrián García Peña, and Chiara Olivieri
Publication Date:
05-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:
Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:
More than 1,437 million people inhabit China. More than 91% are ethnic Han, leaving the rest divided into more than fifty groups officially recognized as minority nationalities. The history of China has seen clashes between some minority groups and the State, even of a secessionist nature. Some of them reach the present day, as in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Tibet. This article examines the weight that natural resources and other geopolitical benefits for the Chinese State can have in both territories. The working hypothesis is that these resources and benefits are essential for China's economic and geopolitical interests.
Topic:
Natural Resources, Economy, Uyghurs, and Energy
Political Geography:
China, Asia, Tibet, and Xinjiang

44. Seguridad Hídrica, Opinión Pública y Decisores Políticos Estudios del Distrito de Aral (Kazajstán)

Author:
Antonio Alonso and Zhaniya Khaibullina
Publication Date:
10-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:
Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:
La desecación del mar de Aral es un problema que ha atraído la atención de multitud de investigadores, pero en muy pocas ocasiones se ha tenido en cuenta la opinión de quienes viven allí. Este artículo presenta los resultados de un trabajo de campo realizado en el Distrito de Aral (región de Kyzylorda, Kazajstán) entre el 31 de agosto y el 10 de septiembre de 2020 sobre la calidad del agua. Esas opiniones son contrastadas con los discursos de los políticos, cómo ven ellos la situación y qué soluciones ofrecen, entre ellas, la creación de organizaciones internacionales. A lo largo del artículo se exponen los distintos enfoques teóricos desde los que se pueden considerar las circunstancias que rodean este problema de la falta de seguridad hídrica en el distrito estudiado.
Topic:
Natural Resources, Water, and Public Opinion
Political Geography:
Central Asia, Kazakhstan, and Aral Sea

45. How the EU and US can advance the green transition along with energy and resource security

Author:
Annika Hedberg and Olga Khakova
Publication Date:
08-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Policy Centre (EPC)
Abstract:
The benefits of enhanced transatlantic cooperation on the green agenda are immense — and waiting to be seized. At the Ministerial Meeting in Sweden in May, the EU and US reiterated their commitment for collaboration. While progress on the EU-US Trade & Technology Council’s (TTC) green agenda has been slow, it is now time to implement this commitment. This Policy Brief provides recommendations for the TTC for turning shared principles into joint action, with a focus on the following three areas: 1. Aligning climate and sustainability ambitions with security and geoeconomic goals; 2. Building on the power of technologies and developing common standards for the green transition and energy and resource security; 3. Ensuring access to resources needed for the green transition. In conclusion, the Paper calls for the TTC to assist the EU and the US in stepping up their joint efforts in addressing environmental challenges as well as enhancing climate action, resource and energy security through trade and technology solutions. It recognises the role the platform should play in opening the transatlantic market for products and services needed to accelerate the green transition.
Topic:
Security, Climate Change, Natural Resources, European Union, Energy, and Green Transition
Political Geography:
Europe, North America, and United States of America

46. 2023 World Water Day: The Future of Water Security in the Middle East and North Africa

Author:
Middle East Institute (MEI)
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Middle East Institute (MEI)
Abstract:
World Water Day, observed annually on March 22, draws awareness to issues of scarcity, sustainability, and safety of global freshwater resources. The security and reliability of water resources are constantly challenged by concerns over adequate availability, sufficient access to clean water, and the consequences of diminished and unsafe water supplies (e.g. to health and food security). The scarcity of water resources in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is primarily a result of the region’s predominant warm desert climate, coupled with limited surface water and groundwater supplies. This natural aridity amplifies the challenge of meeting local drinking water needs, food production, and industrial consumptive use. Yet there are still opportunities to address the scale of the region’s growing water security concerns: such as improving transboundary water relations to alleviate conflicts, reducing reliance on depleting groundwater supplies, ensuring access to safe and clean water to all populations, and expanding adaptation efforts against water-related impacts of climate change. Join us and our expert panel to discuss the critical challenges and potential opportunities available to policymakers and vulnerable local communities as they seek to enhance the MENA region’s water security.
Topic:
Security, Climate Change, Natural Resources, Water, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Middle East and North Africa

47. Water Resource Challenges in MENA

Author:
Mohammed Mahmoud
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Middle East Institute (MEI)
Abstract:
Mohammed Mahmoud, Director of the Climate and Water Program at MEI, hosts a discussion on a variety of water resource challenges across the MENA region with Malak Altaeb, Megan Ferrando, Orestes Morfin, Youssef Wehbe, Zena Agha, and Andrei Covatariu. Questions on water availability, the relationship between water and conflict, future technologies, and more are addressed in the conversation.
Topic:
Climate Change, Science and Technology, Natural Resources, Water, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Middle East and North Africa

48. Strategies to future-proof Zambia: Debt relief and beyond

Author:
Vincent Obisie-Orlu
Publication Date:
07-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:
Debt relief negotiations are currently taking place, with Zambia expected to be the first country to receive debt relief under the newly created G20 Common Framework. However, the process faces challenges, with China and the United States trading accusations of impeding the process. Some of Zambia's creditors have also been unwilling to agree to write off some of the country's debt. Positively, innovative approaches to debt relief have been proposed that would support Zambia's net-zero ambitions and promote sustainable development, such as debt for nature swaps. The integration of Zambia into the European Union's Critical Minerals framework could further support and assist Zambia in attaining a deal. Without a deal, Zambia risks being plunged into further macroeconomic uncertainty at a time when the country needs investment to capitalise on opportunities presented by political stability and structurally higher prices for copper and other critical minerals with which Zambi a is endowed.
Topic:
Debt, Development, Natural Resources, Political stability, Mining, and Macroeconomics
Political Geography:
Africa and Zambia

49. Capital Flight from Natural Resource-Dependent African Countries: Updated Estimates and Analysis for the Cases of Cameroon, Ghana, and Zambia, 1970-2021

Author:
Léonce Ndikumana
Publication Date:
08-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:
This paper is part of a project that investigates domestic and global drivers and enablers of capital flight from Cameroon, Ghana, and Zambia, three countries that are significantly endowed in natural resources. It presents estimates of capital flight from these three countries and discusses the key drivers of the phenomenon. The results show that as of 2021, estimated total capital flight stood at $71.1 billion for Cameroon, $50 billion for Ghana, and $71.5 billion for Zambia. External borrowing and, in the cases of Zambia and Cameroon, trade misinvoicing, are key correlates of capital flight. While external borrowing directly and indirectly drives capital flight, trade misinvoicing constitutes an important mechanism of unrecorded cross-border capital flows. This study contributes to the efforts to uncover the mechanisms and enablers of capital flight from Africa, with the aim of shedding light on possible strategies to curb further capital outflows in the context of efforts to scale up and diversify development financing to support recovery from global crises, the transition to green growth, and sustainable development in Africa.
Topic:
Development, Political Economy, Natural Resources, Capital Flight, and Trade
Political Geography:
Africa, Zambia, Ghana, and Cameroon

50. Europe and securing supplies of mineral resources: from strategic urgency to diplomatic pragmatism

Author:
Yves Jégourel
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Robert Schuman Foundation (RSF)
Abstract:
It is now a well-known and widely documented fact that if we are to make a success of our energy transition, we need to have abundant access to a certain number of mineral resources. Broadly speaking, the goal of decarbonising our world means overcoming four major challenges: - The electrification of applications, and in particular that of motor transport, i.e. speeding up the end of the internal combustion engine in favour of electric motors[1]. - The growth of renewable energies and low-carbon energies in the global power mix: offshore wind, photovoltaic and nuclear power generation, as well as various sources of "sustainable heat". - The development of transmission infrastructures not only for decarbonised or low-carbon electricity, but also for sustainable energy carriers, first and foremost "green" hydrogen. - The constant reinforcement of energy sobriety, which must go hand in hand with the sobriety of the "materials" used - without this requirement undermining the imperative of economic growth and the development that must accompany it[2] –, as well as more recycling and eco-design.
Topic:
Climate Change, Natural Resources, Minerals, Pragmatism, and Energy
Political Geography:
Europe