From the extraction of tar sands in North America and Congo to large-scale land purchases in Asia and Africa, it is a fact that resources are a godsend. But the distribution of profits is not fair and poverty can not be reduced. This report introduces the notion of Resource Politics and offers a new perspective combining democracy, ecology and human rights, which would be the basis for fair and sustainable Resource Politics. It is the result of a participatory approach.
The process lasted two years and brought together young people from 29 countries who have examined resource issues in their respective regions in 10 « future workshops » organized across the world. Then, the delegates of each workshop spent two days in Berlin with the team of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, discussing and developing the ideas emerging from the workshops further. The entire process was followed by 11 internationally renowned environmentalists and human rights experts. The report is deeply inspired by the outcomes of the regional future workshops, the different views of the delegates and of the environmentalists and experts. It is the result of a subjective selection by the two main authors. It does not aim to reach consensus – which does not exist – but to be the first step in the exploration of a new perspective in the management of resources.
This report is published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation created by friends and family of the Nobel Prize for Literature, close to the German Green Party, whose primary objectives are to defend democracy and human rights, and fight against the degradation of the environment.
