Elizabeth Feleke , Regional Program Manager for West Africa at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies’ West Africa office based in Dakar, Senegal, authored a chapter in a recently-published book about African environmental and human security.
Ms. Feleke wrote Chapter 8, “From Greed to Grievance: Natural Resources and Conflict in Africa” in African Environmental and Human Security in the 21st Century.
According to the book, resource endowments have played a prominent role in numerous African conflicts. Controlling these resources is a strategic priority for both governments as well as armed non-state actors who use these revenues to finance their military operations thereby exacerbating and prolonging conflict.
Poor resource management can strain traditional mechanisms for resolving tensions and conflict accelerates resource depletion, creating a cycle of environmental degradation and insecurity. Cooperative governance mechanisms to manage resources, such as the Nile Basin Initiative, can not only prevent insecurity but utilize Africa’s resource abundance as a means of sustainable development.