Institute for Environmental Security

"Illegal Trade in Natural Resources - What can Brussels do?"

On 29-30 September 2010 the Institute for Environmental Security is organising an international conference on illegal trade in natural resources. The event, held at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in Brussels, will seek to promote EU-based solutions for combatting illegal trade in natural resources... » More information

The 'Pathfinder 2010' Project

The exhaustion of natural resources is recognised as one of the main problems affecting our planet today and has been a critical concern of the international community for several years. Simultaneously, the growing number of armed conflicts involving natural resources call for new mechanisms for ensuring stability. Natural resources in developing countries are essential for poverty alleviation but they can be misused to create the dynamics of localised armed conflicts and also black and grey international commercial transactions.

'Pathfinder 2010' aims at finding ways of restricting the trade of illegally extracted natural resources in conflict-ridden fragile states. To achieve this, Pathfinder focuses on importing states and promotes the creation of new legal mechanisms which importing and transit states could use to restrict illegally obtained natural resources from entering their national markets and thereby to 'dry up' funds that are used by armed groups to finance conflict. More information: » Pathfinder Programme - 2010 Objectives

Preliminary Research: Focus on the DRC

» Provincial actions to control and reduce illegal trade of natural resources in the Province of Equateur, DRC - December 2009 (Download pdf)

» The U.S. Lacey Act: An import ban on illegal timber. A model for other countries? A model for banning other illegally extracted natural resources? - December 2009 (Download pdf)

» What business practices are used to get a conflict-zone natural resource into the international market at the best possible price? The case of the DRC - December 2009 (Download pdf)

» An outline of trade flows of legally and illegally extracted natural resources from fragile states: The case of coltan in the Kivus, DRC - December 2009 (Download pdf)