Natural Resource Conflicts

natural resources

materials and energy found nature that are essential or useful to humans.

Geopolitics

The importance of geographical factors in international politics

environmental security

The maintenance of the regenerative capacity of life-supporting ecosystems in order to safeguard essential conditions for peace and sustainable development.

% of Interstate Wars fought over issues of natural resources since 1640?

more than 50%

necessary natural resource

those resources which are essential for survival (food, water, air)

substitutable natural resource

those resources which can be exchanged to maintain survival (corn, wheat, rice, potatoes etc)

Boundary Resources

natural resources that are located within a fixed border of a country

transboundary resources

natural resources that span the borders or two or more states.

second order effects

the unintended effects from policy decisions that are not calculated or foreseen. For example: the concern that depleting natural resources will ALWAYS be a transboundary issue (for example-deforestation may contribute to climate change for ALL)These effects can lead to further conflicts over resources that transcend national boundaries.

economic invisibility of nature

Pavan Sukhdev’s notion that resources that are “free” like are taken for granted and eventually lost because we fail to understand how they are part of a bigger ecosystem and are extremely expensive to replace.

mean species abundance

The amount of the biomass available in the environment (the less of it available (due to things like topsoil erosion) means less capacity for life.

Green Carbon

The carbon trapped in living plants (as a result of photosynthesis) taking the CO2 out of the air and turning it into plant matter.

Blue Carbon

Coastal and aquatic carbon trapped in marine life (phytoplankton, seaweed) and in sediment that falls to the bottom of bodies of water.

Black Carbon

incomplete inorganic combustion of fossil fuels (contains soot and is black in color) absorbs visible sunlight reflected off the earth’s surface creating a greenhouse effect, causes respiratory problems

Brown Carbon

the combustion of biomass that is organic (and is brown in color) is a contributing factor to climate change, and causes respiratory problems.

3rd generation human rights

the rights to development, to peace, to a healthy environment, to share in the natural resources that are common to humankind, to communication and humanitarian assistance.

GDP per capita

an economic metric that breaks down a country's economic output per person. Economists use GDP per capita to determine how prosperous countries are based on their economic growth GDP per capita is calculated by dividing the GDP of a nation by its population.

TEEB

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) is a global initiative focused on “making nature's values visible”.TEEB aims to demonstrate the economic benefits of biodiversity and ecosystem services to promote better decision-making.

resource curse

aka “Dutch Disease” where a country that has an abundance of natural resources can still have a low GDP per capita

the classic theory of evil

when a country discovers a natural resource foreign investors buy that currency to obtain the natural resource which causes the currency to increase in value. This creates a problem for exportable goods as they also become more expensive meaning not as many people will buy them and they lose sales. Meanwhile the increased currency from natural resources will cause the government to spend on the local economy (infrastructure) and workers will move from exporting industries in search of better paying jobs in the local economy.

evil usurper theory

How a country rich in natural resources can still have a stagnant economy because the government uses the income from those natural resource sales to keep its people happy, bribe local officials, all in an attempt to keep and maintain power.

Houthis

Insurrectionist Yemeni Shia group that is looking to take power during the Civil War.

Shia Muslims

A sect of Islam that believes in the leadership of Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. Shia Muslims make up a significant portion of the population in countries like Iran and Iraq.

Sunni Muslims

A sect of Islam that believes in the legitimacy of the first four caliphs as rightful leaders. Sunni Muslims constitute the majority of the Muslim population worldwide and especially in Saudi Arabia.