The Plundered Planet: Why We Must—and How We Can— Manage Nature for Global Prosperity

Abstract

Paul Collier's book The Plundered Planet: Why We Must-and How We Can-Manage Nature for Global Prosperity, follows his earlier book, The Bottom Billion, which described the plight of the worlds poorest peoples. In the current book Collier asserts that "The countries of the bottom billion have one lifeline: nature.", and that "Technology turns nature into an asset…[and]…gives those assets the potential to be valuable to society." His overall theme is "how the natural world […] can be harnessed to transform these poor societies without placing unreasonable demands on the rest of us." The book consists of 11 chapters divided into 5 parts. Part I describes the dilemma of the bottom billion, emphasizing those living in Africa, and the potential of Africa's natural resources to promote economic growth and development. Part II outlines a four step approach a resource rich but economically poor country could follow to exploit its resources most effectively. In summary, these steps are: finding the asset; deciding who captures its value; deciding how much to spend on acquiring other assets; and deciding what to do with the remainder of the proceeds. Collier summarizes the obligations of today's society to posterity by stating: "We are not curators of the natural world, preserving nature as an end in itself. […] We are custodians of the value of natural assets. We are ethically obliged to pass on to future generations the equivalent value of the natural assets that we were bequeathed by the past." He demonstrates clearly the necessity for well crafted, enforceable-and enforced-regulations regarding resource exploitation and the disposition of the proceeds so as to provide equitable benefits to all of a nation's citizens. Parts III and IV provide examples of possible approaches to resource exploitation; Part III explores fisheries while Part IV addresses agriculture. Since world fisheries are close to exhaustion, he suggests that the natural assets of the oceans be managed by the United Nations, which could then auction off fishing rights each year, thus ensuring a level of fisheries sustainability. Regarding agriculture, Collier embraces the use of genetically modified crops and large-scale commercial agriculture and dismisses the use of "peasant…" agriculture, which he links-pejoratively-with organic agriculture and the environmental philosophies of Prince Charles. Part V introduces the Natural Resource Charter, which Collier has spear-headed and the purpose of which is to advocate for appropriate resource development and to cripple the efforts of unscrupulous exploiters. He ends by discussing whether governments or local citizenry can best achieve desired change; arguing that governments may be too dysfunctional to be effective change-makers and local individuals and groups may be better. However, success depends on leadership and an informed and motivated citizenry that will have to navigate a minefield of competing interests. This interesting book is worth reading if only to get the perspectives of a highly regarded economist with expertise in African development issues. The economic aspects of many of Collier's suggestions for resource exploitation appear sensible to me, but I am not an economist. The bottom billion face overwhelming problems, and I think Col-lier genuinely wants to improve their lot.