Scarcity and surfeit : the ecology of Africa's conflicts

Oil and Water in Sudan

Ecological conflicts may invol~e:~

control over natural resources;

means to manage or produce the natural resource;

means to add value to the natural resource; and

distribution of income from natural resources production.

In framing this study, it is important to distinguish between the ecological

sources of conflict, and the political and economic sources of conflict. Oil is

essentially an economic resource. It has little value to the traditional peoples

of the region in terms of their survival, representing economic wealth only to

the extent that it can be found, extracted from the ground, processed and

shipped to industrial centres foruse.

Yet the Dinka are the major source of troops for the SPLA/M. Agriculture

and pastoralism are the paramount form of subsistence and wealth for the

Dinka.s2 Some 39% of the country's GDP comes from agriculture and this

sector is the major source of livelihood for the country's people.53 This case

study will explore the impacts of oil exploration and production on the agri-

cultural practices of the Dinka peoples.

Three key issues underpin our analysis of the role of oil production in the

Sudan civil war, including:

access to and control over the oil fields and the land areas they represent;

the right to participate in decision making over the allocation of oil rights

and share in the benefits of oil production; and

environmental impacts of oil exploration and production and social con-

sequences resulting from these.

This study also concerns itself with one broader question. While the linkages
above can often lead to conflict, the link is by no means unbreakable. Many
studies illustrate that vulnerability to economic and ecological shocks
decreases as economic wealth increase^.^^ It is frequently alleged that growth
of national income is a prerequisite for poverty alleviation and sustainable
development, and that natural resource wealth has a clear role in generating
that income. The section below critically analyses this relationship.

Resource Wealth: Cause of Conflict or Source of Stability?

Poverty is the primary source of conflict in Sudan, and conflict in turn
entrenches poverty. Three-quarters of the 20 least-developed countries have
experienced civil conflict in the last decade.ss Conversely, "peace is most
commonly found, where economic growth and opportunities to share in that
growth are broadly distrib~ted."~6