The Commissioners responsible for this theme were Michel Camdessus and Meles Zenawi.

Natural resource management was identified at the outset of the Commission’s work as being of key importance to Africa’s development, both in terms of its crucial role in the lives and livelihoods of millions, and its importance in supporting and generating economic growth. It soon became clear, in doing our background research, that natural resources formed an integral part of the issues to be considered in each of the other key areas. This was also the message consistently received during wide-ranging consultations with various stakeholders. As a result, natural resources issues were incorporated into all the other themes considered by the Commission:

• The issue of natural resources revenue transparency was addressed in the Governance theme. The focus was on promoting increased transparency and accountability in natural resource revenue management, to ensure that natural resource wealth is a blessing and not a curse. A number of natural resource sectors were identified as being of particular importance here; these include the extractives industries (oil, gas and mining), forestry and fisheries.

• The role of natural resources in fuelling and funding violent conflict in Africa was considered in the Commission’s work on Peace and Security. In keeping with this section’s focus on prevention of violent conflict, the emphasis was on finding ways to break the link between natural resources and war.

• The importance of access to safe water and sanitation formed a core part of the Investing in People theme. The focus was on increasing aid to the sector and improving the effectiveness of that aid.

• Investment in water and energy infrastructure was identified as being crucial to generating growth and ensuring that poor people participate in such growth. These issues were dealt with in the Commission’s work on Growth and Poverty Reduction.

• Also in the Growth theme, the need for development policies that are environmentally sustainable was emphasised, to ensure that economic growth is sustainable. Concerns around the impact of climate change in Africa, a major future challenge to development, were specifically addressed in this area of work.

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