THE ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF NATURAL RESOURCES: …

THE ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF NATURAL RESOURCES: KEY POINTS FOR REFORMERS IN EASTERN EUROPE, CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

EAP Task Force

THE ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF NATURAL RESOURCES: Key points for reformers in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia

ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

The OECD is a unique forum where governments work together to address the economic, social and environmental challenges of globalisation. The OECD is also at the forefront of efforts to understand and to help governments respond to new developments and concerns, such as corporate governance, the information economy and the challenges of an ageing population. The Organisation provides a setting where governments can compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and work to co-ordinate domestic and international policies. The OECD member countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Commission of the European Communities takes part in the work of the OECD.

EAP TASK FORCE

The Task Force for the Implementation of the Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe (EAP Task Force) was established in 1993 at the Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference in Lucerne, Switzerland. Its Secretariat was established at the OECD. Since its creation, the EAP Task Force has proven to be a flexible and practical avenue for providing support to environmental policy reforms and institutional strengthening in the countries of the region. More detailed information about Task Force activities can be found on its website at: env/eap

This report is also available in Russian under the title:

:

? OECD (2011) No reproduction, copy, transmission or translation of this publication may be made without written permission. Applications should be s ent to OECD Publishing: rights@ or by fax (+33-1) 45 24 13 91. Permission to photocopy a portion of this work should be addressed to the Centre Fran?ais d`exploitation du droit de copie, 20 rue des Grands -Augustins, 75006 Paris, France (contact@).

FOREWORD

Natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable, and ecosystem services are a part of the real wealth of nations. They are the natural capital out of which other forms of capital are made. They contribute towards fiscal revenue, income, and poverty reduction. Sectors related to natural resources use provide jobs and are often the basis of livelihoods in poorer communities. Owing to this fundamental importance of natural resources, they must be managed sustainably. Government plays the essential role in putting into place policies that ensure that resources contribute to the long-term economic development of nations, and not only to short-term revenue generation. High-quality institutions in the present, and planning for the future, can turn the socalled resource curse into an opportunity.

The current paper discusses both the economic importance of natural resources and how, by creating an adequate incentive framework, governments in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) can contribute towards maintaining the economic benefits of natural resources use in the long-term. The raising demands to establish institutions that reconcile economic and environmental objectives of natural resources use in a way that does not marginalise the poor was the starting point for developing this document. Its preparation was part of a project in Georgia though the results of work on synthesising international experience will clearly benefit other Eurasian countries in transition and emerging economies more generally. Decision-makers in environmental, economic, and sector-specific ministries in EECCA are the main target audience for this document. Being a capacity development tool by its nature, the document responds, among other things, to the need of permanently re-investing into individual capacity building against the background of high staff turnover within public administration bodies in EECCA.

The paper is one of the outcomes of the OECD work to support the integration of environmental and economic policies in the Eurasian transition economies, which is carried out under the umbrella of the Task Force for the Implementation of the Environmental Action Programme (EAP Task Force). It draws from several OECD publications, including, most importantly, two OECD Environmental Outlooks, the OECD Green Growth Strategy and the Natural Resources and Pro-Poor Growth book, published as part of the OECD`s Development Assistance Committee`s Guidelines and Reference series.

The EAP Task Force was established at the Lucerne Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference in 1993 in order to assist the environmental reconstruction of transition economies based on sound economic, governance, and financing principles. OECD, with its significant experience of policy integration, was considered well placed to provide such assistance. The main mission of the EAP Task Force since its establishment has been: (i) promoting the integration of environmental considerations into the processes of economic, social and political reform; and (ii) upgrading institutional and human capacities for environmental management.

The paper was developed in early 2011 by a team of experts put together by Prospect C&S s.a., Belgium. The lead author was Alexios Antypas (Central European University, Budapest, Hungary), supported by Robert Atkinson, Remo Savoia (Prospect C&S) and Stephen Stec (Central European University). Angela Bularga from the OECD secretariat provided general guidance as part of this process.

Financing for this work was provided by the government of Norway, as part of their support to governance and environmental reforms in Georgia.

5

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download