Natural Resources in Peace Agreements
This book chapter explores how provisions on natural resources in peace agreements can be stepping stones to peace and improved natural resource management in post-conflict contexts.
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Mediators during peace negotiations and peacebuilders in the post-conflict phase need to be aware of the potentials and limitations of provisions on natural resources in peace agreements. It is possible for these provisions to be tailor-made and also to be good indicators of the case-specific links between natural resources and economic, political, cultural, and environmental factors. The limitations of natural resource provisions in peace agreements are often related to cross-border trade, which calls for regional or global regulatory frameworks outside the scope of a peace agreement. Natural resources provisions in peace agreement can therefore be seen as stepping stones to peace, but not necessarily to sustainable peace.