Identification and mitigation of international conflict risks linked to natural resources

The availability of and access to natural resources such as oil or diamonds can contribute to higher conflict sensitivity in a country or region. To address higher risks of violent due to an increasing demand and unclear supply situation, the need of a comprehensive risk analysis, combined with the development of proactive governance approaches, is needed.

adelphi provided this research project with a systematic analysis of the security relevance of various natural resources and examined options at national and international levels to prevent these risks. The case studies focused on copper and cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Nabucco Pipeline, which provides Europe with gas from Central Asia. Scenarios were developed from this region to outline how resource-related conflicts may be triggered or resolved. Based on the findings, the manner in which dynamic range of environmental technologies (rare earth elements, lithium) may cause new conflicts and what preventive measures can be implemented to avoid such risks were examined.