Resource Politics

Lunar Landscape

Envisaging an end of the oil boom, the Nigerian government is trying to revive the solid mineral sector. Tin has been mined in Plateau State since the British colonialists started to look for minerals in 1904. But the sector took a dip in the 1970s when business and government attention was drawn to oil. However, illegal tin mining has continued unabated and unregulated in Plateau State, and many miners have lost their lives in the unsafe pits. A short documentary by Kenneth Gyang.

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Lunar Landscape - Heinrich Böll Stiftung Abuja Office

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i-resource

i-resource is a video witness series that allows young Nigerians to follow their curiosity and investigate their questions and issues around oil, land, forest, water and other resources.

Drilling for Water or Digging Up a Drought?

In different parts of Nigeria, as hundreds of ‎new buildings spring up daily, holes are drilled deep into the land for clean water. Land experts say this indiscriminate borehole drilling could cause land subsidence or collapse in the future, and could also contaminate ground water. Should citizens have the right to get their water wherever they can? Or should the drilling stop - and where would the water come from in this case? i-resource explorer Ugochi Anyaka has taken a look inside the boreholes in Lagos.

This is Our Forest, not the UN’s

REDD+ is a programme of the United Nations aimed at protecting forests and preserve them as carbon sinks. According to ‘The Polluter Pays’ principle, industrialised countries with high greenhouse gas emissions pay for communities elsewhere to protect their forests in order to absorb excessive emissions. In Nigeria, there are several REDD+ projects and controversy is growing whether the communities actually benefit from the programme. i-resource explorer Andrew Iloh jumped onto a motor bike in remote Cross River State to meet the people of Ekuri community.

Resource Politics – A commented link list

Articles and publications sorted according to the resource they focus on. Due to the nexus between the different resources, most of the studies touch upon more than one resource.

Stop cutting down trees!

Getting young and enthusiastic converts to join the fight against climate change, global warming and unsustainable environmental practices requires taking the message to their door steps. A conversation club in Gembu, Taraba state introduces young scholars to the realities and concepts of environmental protection. Watch video

DOSSIER

Memorandum: Resource Politics for a Fair Future

How could a just and democratic resource politics look like that respects both planetary boundaries and human rights? The Memorandum “Resource Politics for a Fair Future” is the outcome of a two-year international dialogue process of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Read more>>

VIDEO

The Baker and the Tree

The State of Jigawa in the North of Nigeria is investing in Re-Greening the Sahel with a huge afforestation program. Yet bakers cut tons of trees every year to feed their bread ovens. Does anybody know a smart solution for traditional bakeries? How to feed bakeries with alternative sources of power? The film and cooperation with Jigawa State administration is part of the work of Heinrich Boell Foundation West Africa.