UNCTAD
X Exhibition
Bangkok, Thailand, 12-19
February 2000
Contents/Exhibits
Sustaining resource-based development
The world wide web and sustainable resource development
Managing price risk
New materials, new strategies
Promoting FDI in Jordanís mining sector
UNCTAD'S Biotrade Initiative
Regional framework for mineral development
Sound resource recovery
Trade,
environment and development
SUSTAINING RESOURCE-BASED DEVELOPMENT 
A
disturbing paradox of economic development has been the tendency for resource-rich
countries to advance more slowly than resource-poor countries. Over the
past few decades, most developing countries that are highly dependent
on natural resource exports ñ especially of minerals ñ have experienced
rates of economic growth that are below the average for developing countries
as a whole. For many of these countries the level of income per head has
actually been falling. What
policies do these countries need to adopt in order to benefit from their
comparative advantage in natural resources?
This
question has been studied in a number of organizations and research institutions,
notably in UNCTAD and the United Nations University (UNU). The results
emerging from this work indicate that the development path for resource-dependent
countries is highly challenging and complex. The challenge is particularly
difficult - and urgent - for countries dependent on non-renewable resources.
UNCTAD is working together with the UN Department of Economic and Social
Affairs as well as the UNU on capacity building and policy networking
for sustainable resource-based development. This project, supported by
the UN Development Account, will help resource-dependent countries to
optimize policy design and implementation at both the national and local
level.
THE
WORLD WIDE WEB AND SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Resource
development is influenced by a great variety of actors including explorers,
investors, industrialists, workers, land owners, local communities, government
officials, NGOs and intergovernmental agencies. Identifying and harmonizing
the views and aspirations of these various actors is a prior condition
for sustainable development. This task requires, at a minimum, the establishment of a transparent, interactive mechanism for knowledge
networking open to all the actors involved.
Modern
information and communications technology, notably the World Wide Web,
facilitates such networking tasks.
UNCTAD
has been working with the International Computing Centre in Geneva to
pioneer an open, interactive Web site on natural resources and related
sustainable development issues. A pilot site on mineral resources is already
operating with the collaboration of UNEP and others (www.natural-resources.org/minerals).
The Offshore Oil and Gas Environment Forum (oef.unep.ch/)
is hosted and managed by UNEP. Other governmental and non-governmental
institutions with relevant expertise in natural resources are invited
to participate as managing partners in this new networking endeavor which
is also open to the general public.
MANAGING
PRICE RISK
For
many countries, converting their wealth of natural resources into income
for their population has been an illusive dream. Part of the problem -
not the whole story - is that natural resources are expensive to exploit
and heavy financial outlays are required for their transformation and
marketing. Another problem is the volatility of commodity prices and the
difficulty of predicting income streams from the exploitation of natural
resources.
In
order to mitigate these problems, UNCTAD works on new financial instruments
for commodity production and trade. Structured commodity finance and related
financial engineering tools can enable access to lower-cost and longer-term
finance than would otherwise be possible. Market-based instruments for managing
price risk enable companies and governments to "lock in" a secure
price for their future production. However, these financial instruments
can be complex, are often poorly known and their use can be hampered by
unfavourable rules and regulations. To counter these obstacles, UNCTAD provides
analytical reports, policy advice and training, for example through its
annual African Oil Trade and Finance conferences.
NEW
MATERIALS, NEW STRATEGIES
Since
fire was first used to help man evolve from the Stone Age through the
Ages of Bronze, Iron and Aluminium, the range of materials produced or
synthesized from natural resources has continued to expand. New materials
have replaced traditional materials and traditional suppliers have had
to evolve new strategies to survive and compete.
Recent - perhaps revolutionary - advances in the science of materials,
mainly centered on nanotechnology and molecular restructuring, focus on
common and abundant matter such as sands or plant resins to create new
materials with properties sometimes far superior to existing materials.
When
will such new materials become available on a commercial basis ñ in two
or twenty years? What existing materials will they compete with? What
perspectives do these new materials offer for the sustainable development
of natural resources? What strategies should be adopted by existing resource
developers ñ both companies and countries? Such questions are being addressed
by UNCTAD in collaboration with the academic community, scientific researchers,
resource companies and other agencies. The aim is to provide resource-dependent
economies with the information needed to anticipate events and manage
development risks over the longer term.
The
Government of Jordan is particularly keen to promote foreign investment
into the mining sector, which is considered to be highly promising in
view of Jordan's sizeable phosphate, potash and Dead Sea minerals deposits.
While aiming to increase current mining levels, the policy emphasis
is on the development of high value-added mineral-based goods. Foreign
investment of this type could play a crucial role in reducing Jordan's
dependence on the services sector, in shifting the industrial focus away
from the capital city of Amman and in diversifying the manufacturing base.
To
this end, UNCTAD is assisting the Government of Jordan to pursue a
three-phase strategy involving: (i) a review of the legal and fiscal
framework of the mining and minerals sector; (ii) a comprehensive analysis
of the competitiveness of the mining and minerals sector, culminating
in the preparation of an Action Plan for its promotion; and (iii) the
implementation of the Action Plan through a series of training measures
aimed at strengthening Jordan's capacity to promote the mining sector
and to target appropriate investors.
Overall, the project aims to foster private sector development
through good governance, focusing especially on the pro-active developmental
role which can be played by Jordan's Natural Resources Authority and the
Investment Promotion Corporation.
UNCTAD'S
BIOTRADE INITIATIVE
Many
developing countries are endowed with rich and highly diverse biological
resources. These resources provide a wide range of products and services,
such as watershed protection, carbon sequestration, eco-tourism, products
derived from bioprospecting, intermediate products (e.g. natural dyes,
oils, biochemical compounds, medicinal extracts) and final products (e.g.
timber, handicrafts, nuts, fruits, medicines). Some of these resources
have been a source of innovation for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology,
cosmetic and agrochemical industries, among others. For many developing
countries, biodiversity is an important natural resource in itself, a
resource whose potential for sustainable development is a challenge to
be addressed at the national and international level.
UNCTAD
addresses this challenge through its BIOTRADE
Initiative.The mission of the Initiative is to stimulate investment
and trade in biological resources and further the three objectives of
the CBD: (1) the conservation of biodiversity; (2) the sustainable use
of its components; and (3) a fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising
out of the utilization of biological resources. This is pursued by enhancing
the capability of developing countries to make sustainable use of biodiversity
and produce new value-added products and services for both international
and domestic markets. The BIOTRADE Initiative aspires to fully integrate
the private sector, Governments, local and indigenous communities, and
other relevant players in a mutually beneficial framework.
REGIONAL
FRAMEWORK FOR MINERAL DEVELOPMENT
The
exploitation of mineral resources generates substantial benefits for developing
countries in the form of export revenues, government tax income and employment.
But mining also raises problematic issues for sustainable development.
It can entail disruptions to traditional production activities and to
the life style and culture of local populations; it may also induce sudden
population movements and increased demands on other scarce natural resources,
such as energy and water, and result in damage to ecosystems. Moreover,
individual mineral deposits are finite: when exploitation ceases local
communities are forced to find alternative occupations and livelihoods;
and this in turn can lead to further social dislocation and increased
pressure on the natural environment. These problems tend to become exacerbated
in a developing country context where the institutions, techniques and
financial resources needed to deal with them may be absent.
In
order to help developing mineral economies to address these problems,
UNCTAD has developed a comprehensive framework for regional planning consisting
of a geographical information system (GIS) and an economic model. The
model tracks the exploitation of natural resources and its interaction
with the rest of the economy and the environment of the region. Results
from the model are integrated into the GIS, which is used to facilitate
discussions among the various stakeholders (the mining company, government
authorities and civil society). The framework has been applied in the
Namaqualand region of South Africa, where UNCTAD has cooperated with the
Government of the Northern Cape Province in exploring development alternatives
against the background of an anticipated reduction in mining sector employment.
SOUND
RESOURCE RECOVERY
Recovered
or ìsecondaryî material accounts for a large and increasing share of total
material consumption. For most of the key ferrous and non-ferrous metals,
secondary material now accounts for 40 to 50 per cent of consumption.
In the case of lead, scrap recovery provides about 55 to 60 per cent of
world consumption. Rising final disposal costs and the lower energy and
fixed capital intensity make resource recovery and recycling both economically
and environmentally desirable. Since a good number of recoverable natural
resources are part of waste streams, sound resource recovery has to link
the sustainable management of natural resources with sound management
of waste.
UNCTAD
has been conducting a project on the sound recovery of lead in the Philippines,
based on a multi-stakeholder approach. The project aims are: enhancing
the collection and sound recycling of used lead-acid batteries, while
reducing collection and recycling costs; developing a coherent and comprehensive
national strategy for sustainable management of lead; devising economic
and supportive regulatory instruments for enhancing the efficient use
of lead; and building national managerial and technical capacity to implement
sustainable lead management and meet the objectives of the Basel Convention
on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste.
TRADE, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
UNCTAD
has developed a comprehensive technical co-operation programme aimed at
strengthening the capacities of developing countries to deal effectively
with trade and environment issues. The programme is implemented through
global, regional and country projects. Activities consist of policy-oriented
studies, seminars, training, and the promotion of multi-stakeholder institutional
arrangements to design and implement policy action. In implementing activities,
the UNCTAD secretariat cooperates closely with the WTO, UNEP, UNDP, ITC
(WTO/UNCTAD), other institutions and civil society. (See www.unctad.org/trade_env/)
The
immediate objectives of the programme are:
- To
facilitate dialogue between trade, environment and development communities;
- To
strengthen capacities for trade and environment policy analysis and
co-ordination in developing countries;
- To
assist developing countries in taking advantage of new trading opportunities;
- To
support the effective participation of developing countries in international
deliberations on trade and environment;
- To
facilitate the integrated examination of trade, investment, technology,
finance and sustainable development objectives at the national and international
levels.
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UNCTAD Exhibition X