The Conflict of Natural Resources

The large quantity of natural resources also causes disagreement, particularly during periods of explosion as each section of people gets involved in the fight to have a share of the bonus and this seems to be a universal scenario. Disagreements in excess of natural resources are bound in all over especially when one takes a critical look at the issues. The sufficing examples are oil in Nigeria, diamonds in the Democratic Republic of Congo, land in Zimbabwe and water in the Horn of Africa. The struggle for possession, running, and to be in charge of natural resources has displaced many settlements. This conflict has led to the destruction of many lives and properties. In Nigeria, 19,000 men and more than 17,000 women and 17,000 children were killed in 32 months, 53,787 deaths in all, 280,000 people were forced to flee their homes, 25,000 houses were razed, and 1,300 herds of cattle had been slaughtered during the battles as a result of the violence in Plateau State emanating from land conflict. In Niger Delta Region, the allotment of oil revenues and the ecological impact of oil discovery have been grave to the disagreement in the region.

On Tuareg in North Africa and the Sahe Migration, extractive industry reserves, and disputes over earth possession for decades convoluted within Tuareg communities and their family members. In DR Congo, there is a conflict over the mineral deposit there. In the East African Community, there is Conflict over the Nile Resources. Conflicts over the Nile River have provoked belligerent ambassadorial relations since its running is fundamental and considered interest for the 10 countries that rely on the water to irrigate crops, power hydroelectric dams, and sustain mounting populations.

Asia citizens have diverse uses for natural resources such as forests, water, pastures and land. Water shortages joint with the unquenchable demands of burgeoning populations, industry and agriculture has brought conflicts in Asia. In Southeast Asia, violent conflicts occurred as a struggle to forest resources and forest lands. Governments and insurgent groups in numerous Asian countries have used tropical timber to finance armed disagreement, whereas lower-level disagreement over forests takes place in nearly all of the tropical developing countries of the region. 

One can now see that instead of natural resources being a blessing to us it has turned out to be a curse on us. If this is not been checked, the possibility is that the world may be consumed by the fracas which conflicts over natural resources brings.

Policies and programes on how to tackle this emerging trend of conflicts arising from the struggle for natural resources must change if the world is to experience global peace.