Dakar, Jan 23 (APS) – The Minister of the Armed Forces, Birame Diop, on Thursday invited African states to adopt effective strategies backed by advanced expertise in the governance of natural resources, at the origin of several conflicts in the continent.
”To achieve this objective, a strategy adapted to environmental and natural resource governance issues is essential. And who says an effective strategy, says cutting-edge expertise,” he said.
General Diop chaired the back-to-school ceremony for auditors of the 2024-2025 class of Masters programs in defense and national security provided by the Center for Advanced Defense and Security Studies (CHEDS).
This year’s inaugural lesson is under the theme: “Environment and governance of natural resources: what security issues and prospects for Africa?” “.
The Minister of the Armed Forces emphasizes that ”faced with the complex and constantly evolving challenges facing us, awareness is necessary. The solutions can only be global and inclusive.
It calls for a synergy of actions in order to “rethink” the way in which natural resources are managed on the African continent.
”The stakes are high. It is about preventing our actions today from jeopardizing the future of future generations. From this perspective, regional and sub-regional cooperation is certainly essential, but it is not enough,” he noted.
The Director General of CHEDS, Brigadier General Jean Diémé, noted a complexity linked to the management of natural resources which are becoming more and more complex and multifaceted.
According to him, “poor governance of these natural resources is the cause of numerous conflicts which create instability in the African continent.”
-”These issues and challenges weigh today on the peace and security of the countries of the region to which are added environmental changes which require integrated responses, through the implementation of a global, coherent and inclusive strategy which reserves a large place for security experts,” he explained.
Professor Cheikh Mbow, Director General of the Ecological Monitoring Center (CSE) delivered the lesson focused on the theme: “Environment and governance of natural resources: what security issues and prospects for Africa? “.
In his communication, he highlighted that a country’s oil wealth can be both an advantage and a disadvantage for its security.
He stressed that with regard to the preservation of the environment, “more and more communities supported by civil society organizations or environmental defenders are opposing mining promoters because of the consequences numerous and profound effects of mining on the environment”.
A reality which makes many analysts think that Africa is not stable because of its natural wealth, said Mr. Mbow for whom “this rhetoric” seems too “simplistic”.
According to him, “the part of truth that emanates from this assertion comes from the fact that the extraction of natural resources in Africa strongly shapes socio-economic and political relations in a context of poverty which weakens our States”.
“The perception, he said, is that the armed conflicts and geopolitical tensions that arise in Africa are closely linked to the presence of resources, particularly in certain countries such as Angola, Libya, Darfur. , Sudan, the Niger Delta (Nigeria), and the Zambezi Copper Belt”.
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