Foundations and Future-Proofing a New Era of Resource Governance

In March 2006, the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) was established under the name Revenue Watch Institute (which later merged with Natural Resource Charter to constitute NRGI). Together with the Publish What You Pay coalition and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NRGI formed part of a new global resource governance movement that sought to ensure that people could benefit, not suffer harm, from their natural resources. As we kick off our 20th anniversary, we reflect on how, together with reformers and partners from around the world, we have made important progress, continue to evolve, and must now confront what is required to achieve sustainable development and just energy transitions.

The resource governance movement was founded on the belief that natural resources can and must benefit society as a whole. Twenty years on, the urgency to achieve that mission is greater than ever. So too are the challenges—including violations of sovereignty in pursuit of natural resources—demanding renewed effort and concerted action. Yet we are not starting anew. We can build on two decades of progress and partnership to transform resource governance.

A foundation on which to build 

Established governance norms—who sets and enforces the rules, who benefits and whose voice matters—are under intense pressure today. But after twenty years of investment in the resource governance field, we can be proud that it is their defense rather than their absence that now demands our attention.

Shaping policy—From a broken contract to an informed dialogue

Our work began with the aim of mending the broken social contract between governments and citizens, ensuring that people had a meaningful, informed voice in how natural resources are managed on their behalf. Two decades ago, citizens had little access to the contracts their governments signed with oil and mining companies, and scarce information about beneficial ownership, revenues collected and operations of state-owned enterprises.

Today, thousands of contracts, beneficial ownership registries and National Oil Company data are available. Transparency is widely recognized as a cornerstone of public trust and stable investment thanks to tireless efforts by global civil society, including the members of the Resource Justice Network, as well as international initiatives and industry groups. With new pressures and uncertainties for emerging economies—driven by geopolitics, conflict or the pace of energy transition—our movement has expanded the call for openness and public scrutiny of information to support just transitions for people. And we are closing critical gaps, including on value addition and methane emissions.

Greater data availability and public dialogue have strengthened scrutiny and citizen engagement in major policy decisions. In Ghana, where NRGI has operated since 2010, civil society groups used publicly available information to analyze a government proposal to exchange most future gold royalties for only USD 500 million cash up front. Analysis by NRGI and 25 Ghanaian partners highlighted undervaluation and corruption risks, drawing on years of capacity building on anti-corruption and beneficial ownership. Their findings fueled public debate and media coverage on the global stage, leading Ghana’s Special Prosecutor to suspend the Agyapa deal to conduct a corruption risk assessment. The final report confirmed key risks raised by civil society, and the deal was ultimately halted, protecting Ghana’s gold revenues for future generations.

Investing in people—From emerging leaders to a sophisticated cadre of reformers

When our work began, technical knowledge among decision makers and accountability actors was limited and civil society and media engagement in the sector was often nascent. Over two decades, the resource governance movement has expanded in breadth, depth and sophistication, building bridges among leaders from government, civil society, media, academia, industry and multilateral institutions. NRGI and its partners—including institutions such as the African Centre for Energy Policy, the Université Catholique d’Afrique Centrale, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Universitas Gadjah Mada, the University of Oxford and ETH Zurich—have helped equip thousands of people with the knowledge and tools needed to engage effectively in resource governance policy debates that shape their economies and communities.

Today, governments in many low- and middle-income producer countries are clearer about what they want from natural resources—whether in fiscal terms, local economic development or value addition. Networks of reformers across the Global South are helping shape international dialogue and strengthen collective influence as natural resources become ever more central to global economic and geopolitical competition. And, even as civic space narrows, civil society actors within emerging producer countries are more sophisticated and savvy in holding governments and companies to account.

In Tunisia’s Gafsa region, for example, communities long excluded from decisions about phosphate mining protested poverty, unemployment, and environmental harm, sharply reducing production. Through the Vision Gafsa 2050 initiative, NRGI and partners supported grassroots actors and youth leaders to translate their community concerns into evidence-based policy proposals. With clarity and boldness, they engaged with authorities, ultimately shaping a shared development roadmap for the region.

Shifting power—From a niche issue to an expansive global movement

In response to growing concerns from people in emerging producer countries that the global energy transition risked deepening inequities and injustices long associated with the oil, gas and mining industries, NRGI and our partners sought to expand our reach to connect more closely with the climate community. We invested in understanding the potential impacts on countries whose economies were dependent on the extractive sector, sharing knowledge of how resource governance could support climate action, and helping producer countries to shape their own economic and energy futures as champions of a just energy transition.

Upon our appointment to the UN Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals, NRGI convened a coalition of civil society partners including those focused on climate, human rights, labor and Indigenous Peoples to define a shared agenda. These efforts have helped elevate equity, development and fair resource governance as central to global discussions about the energy transition, including seeing transition minerals addressed in UN climate talks for the first time.

For low- and middle-income countries dependent on oil and gas revenues, the transition away from fossil fuels in a “just, orderly, and equitable manner” is key to their economic and energy futures. NRGI has forged new partnerships with leaders in the climate movement to raise awareness of the need for responsible exit strategies, to manage transition risk in regions where production is declining and support National Oil Company transformation. Working alongside government and civil society partners, our aim is to ensure that any vision of roadmaps for fair and orderly transitions reflects the specific priorities and needs of the Global South.

Toward a new era of resource governance

Our anniversary year comes at a pivotal moment. Longstanding challenges of resource governance—conflict, inequity, poverty and environmental harm—intensify amid war-mongering, resource grabs, rising debt and the climate emergency. The future of economies, technological and military dominance, and energy systems are intimately tied to access to minerals.

We will use our anniversary as a key milestone on our journey to transform resource governance for this new era. This means harnessing our convening power, global reach and technical expertise to support reformers and partners to evolve and act to meet new realities. Together, we will share innovative tools to tackle the most pressing resource governance challenges: governing the critical minerals boom for the benefit of the Global South, enabling oil- and gas-producing countries to manage their resources in the public interest and prepare to thrive in a world beyond fossil fuels, and rethinking resource governance amidst today’s geopolitics and challenges around the future of international cooperation. We will draw strength and inspiration by celebrating those who have helped drive progress in the face of powerful interests, corruption, and limits on civic freedoms. And we will be unafraid to confront the challenges that persist, and the new ones that emerge.

Because how natural resources are governed will shape the future not only of the billion people living in emerging producer countries, but the fate of all eight billion of us who share this planet.