Natural Resources and Violent Conflict - WaterWiki.net

146 crossin, hayman, and taylorcommodity data between trading partners, data on stockpiling, detailson registration and capacities of processing and treatment centers,policing effort, and offenses detected. It is apparent in the work ofGlobal Witness that widespread resource mismanagement has beenfacilitated by the extension of bureaucratic controls by central governmentsover resources, without the corresponding development ofeffective feedback and information systems.In establishing any system of tracking, it is also necessary to keepin mind the international market incentives that drive opportunitiesto offend. Labeling sustainably produced timber and fish is unlikelyto reverse rampant depletion if massive overcapacity existswithin an industry. In such situations, simply head-hunting individualmalfeasants will not touch the pressures of supply and demand thatdrive offenses.Traffic in controlled commodities should be made “conditional” onthe provision of adequate data sharing that it is within the boundariesspecified by a specific commodity tracking regime. The burden on thestate as direct sole manager of resources should be lessened throughefficiently managing resource externalities in the collective interest andthrough individual or collective privatization, in which the resourcesare given to the owner who most values them. Placing management ofresources in the hands of local collectives may be an effective way toaddress problems of both poverty and compliance with controls.Computer and tagging technology can play a major role in efficienttracking and information exchange. For example, most corner grocerystores are able to keep a near real-time inventory of their merchandisethrough the use of bar codes, so there is almost no excuse for the primitivepaper-only systems that are currently used for all internationalcontrols.Lessons from first-generation commodity control agreements shouldnow inform second-generation agreements. Assembling all 10 factorsof a successful CTR implies a higher level of international cooperationthan currently exists. This exercise may also involve building institutionsthat are not simply the creatures of their constituent governmentsand for governments to yield some of their sovereign authority.Appendix 4.1. DiamondsThe primary purpose of the Kimberley Certification Process Scheme isto establish an international certification scheme for rough diamondsbased primarily on internationally agreed minimum standards forcertificates of origin and on national certification schemes. 23 It aims to