Project description

Title: Regional resource governance in the extractive sector in the fragile states of West Africa
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Liberia, Sierra Leone (Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea)
Overall term: 2009 to 2015

Context

The political and social conditions in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea, which together form the economic organisation Mano River Union, are strongly influenced by the presence of mineral resources in the region. Some of the revenues from exploiting these resources were used to finance civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Even today, the extraction of minerals continues to have a partially destabilising effect. The states still have to cope with institutional weaknesses, corruption and a lack of transparency, while the social and ecological costs of production contribute to dissatisfaction and conflicts in the mining areas.

Due to the growing significance of the extractive sector in these states, in terms of their sustainable development there is a growing discrepancy between potentials and actual impacts. As a result, the likelihood of conflicts arising in the already fragile region continues to increase. However, these countries are in a position to mobilise development capital themselves too by exploiting their deposits of diamonds, bauxite, iron ore, oil, gold and rutile, as well as tropical timber.

Objective

In the fragile states of West Africa, under the influence of the state, the private sector and civil society, conditions for the exploitation of mineral resources in ways that benefit the population at large have improved.

Approach

The project is advising the partner countries on how to manage their natural resources more efficiently and more sustainably by altering the political and economic incentive structures. Targeted support for actors at local, national and regional levels should help to improve the state of public revenues and produce greater benefits from the minerals sector in terms of poverty reduction and sustainable development.

The project uses a comprehensive capacity development strategy that combines HRD, organisational and network development measures with strategic government-level consulting services. At the local level, the project works with stakeholders in the extractive sector to transform potential conflicts between the mining companies and communities into development-oriented cooperation. At the same time, it is attempting to kick-start a regional dialogue and encourage exchanges on the governance of resources within the structure of the Mano River Union. The project promotes a human-rights-based approach and cooperates with all the important actors in the public and private sectors, and from civil society and the regional institutions. The main areas of its work are:

• Transparency and accountability in the spirit of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)
• Development of national sector strategies
• Creation of local development plans in selected extraction areas, using participatory methods
• Regional dialogue on the governance of raw materials within the Mano River Union

Results achieved so far

With support from the project, Sierra Leone's Ministry of Mines & Mineral Resources has set up an IT-based license management system. Thus it has been able to include 80% of all the mining concessions in a government database and to compare these with relevant payments made. The resulting Online Mining Repository has been made accessible to the general public.

In Liberia, a national strategy has been developed for strengthening local supply chains in the mining sector, and the process of revising the country's mining laws has started. The project continues to support the successful activities of the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

Four resource centres have been opened in the project countries, providing access to academic publications on the mining industry. Some 12 local development plans have been compiled by communities located in mining areas with high potential for conflict. Following advisory inputs from the project, a number of development-oriented objectives for the mining sector have been integrated in the Mano River Union Strategic Plan 2010–2020.

Further information

• Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
  www.eiti.org
• Website of the Government of the Sierra Leone
  www.statehouse.gov.sl
• Sierra Leone Online Mining Repository
  Website of the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Mines & Mineral Resources
  www.slminerals.org
• Website of the Government of Liberia
  www.emansion.gov.lr