International Natural Resources Law, Investment and Sustainability

Abstract

The question of appropriate use of natural resources inevitably raises competing interests between the resource rich and resource hungry nations. Such conflict of interests are not new. Historically, resource abundant nations have been plagued with issues concerning poor environmental, social and economic outcomes that are often dubbed as the ‘resource curse’. With the rise of developing countries as new sites for global investment, coupled with the many natural resources that provide developing countries with comparative advantages, there is renewed impetus to explore how natural resource investment and its supporting legislative and policy frameworks can contribute to more sustainable outcomes in developing countries. In addition, there is growing consensus that a traditional view of excluding natural resource use in favour of improving environmental objectives does not fully address the development concerns of the developing countries, such as the need to alleviate poverty. International Natural Resources Law, Investment and Sustainability provides a clear and concise insight into the relationship between the institutions that govern foreign investment, sustainable development and the rules and regulations that administer natural resources. In this book, several leading experts explore different perspectives in how investment and natural resources come together to achieve sustainable development in developing countries with examples from water, oil and gas, renewable energy, mineral, agriculture, and carbon trading. Despite varying perspectives, it is clear that several themes are central in considering the linkages between natural resources, investment and sustainability. Specifically, transparency, good governance and citizen empowerment are vital conditions which encourage positive social, economic and environmental outcomes for developing countries. In addition, this book provides new insights into key concepts which underpin international law, including sovereign rights and state responsibility principles. It is clear from this book that in the attempt to reconcile these concepts and principles from separate legal regimes, complex policy questions emerge whereby it is difficult to attain mutually beneficial or succinct outcomes. This book explores how countries prioritise their policy objectives to achieve their notion of sustainable natural resource use, which is strongly influenced by power imbalances that inform North-South cooperation, as well as South-South cooperation in the international investment regime.