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21 – 22 October 2019
European University Institute, Florence
Theatre, Badia Fiesolana – Via dei Roccettini 9 – San Domenico (FI), Italy
Several important trends point to the increasing risk of conflicts over or related to natural resources in the MENA region, and its immediate neighbourhood in the coming years. These indicators include protracted civil wars, in which competition over the control and management of natural resources has increasingly become a key element, both as a driver of conflict and as an instrument for its perpetuation; friction between local populations, state authorities and international actors over their conflicting interests in issues such as investment, transparency and local development; the growing scarcity of water and land resources and the impact this is having on local and regional security; and broader challenges and transformations linked to geopolitical changes, energy transition and climate change.
This conference will bring together a select group of international experts from the worlds of academia and practice to analyse how natural resources are affecting the stability of the MENA region and their potential to do so in the future, taking into account issues related to geopolitics and governance, as well as changes taking place in the natural resources sector itself. The final policy roundtable will conclude the conference with a focus on identifying connections, drawing comparisons and discussing innovative new directions for policymaking.
Scientific Committee:
Luigi Narbone| MEDirections Director
Virginie Collombier | MEDirections Scientific Coordinator
Christopher Frattina | MEDirections Research Associate
To attend the Keynote Lecture on Geopolitics and the future of energy and natural resources by Prof. Andris Piebalgs, Tuesday 22 October (14.30-17.30) you are kindly invited to REGISTER HERE.
Watch the photo-gallery
