Michel Rademaker

Arnold Tukker

Marjolein de Ridder

Rob Weterings

Ton Bastein

Natural resources, including minerals, water, energy and arable land, are the basis of human society. Throughout the 20th century, the growing population has led to an increase in the use of fossil fuels by a factor of 12, and to the extraction of 34 times more material resources. As a consequence, Earth’s climate is changing, fish stocks and forests are shrinking, the prices of energy resources and critical materials are rising, and species are becoming extinct. If the population grows as expected and the mean per capita consumption doubles by the year 2050, it is most probable that humanity will experience the limits to growth.

Key issues and best practices in Resource Efficiency

Resources for our Future

Artur Usanov

Masuma Farooki

Willem Auping

Stephanie Lingemann

Luis Tercero Espinoza

Magnus Ericsson 

Henrike Sievers

Maren Liedtke 

This report evaluates the links between coltan trade and violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and examines the potential for recent legislation to break such links and reduce conflict.

Coltan, Congo and Conflict

Maarten Gehem

Sijbren de Jong

Frank Bekkers

Supply and demand of resources are connected in multiple and complex ways. This interconnectivity has been framed as the global resource nexus. This study focuses on the nexus of five essential natural resources: land, food, energy, water, and minerals. In order to meet the demand for resources from present and future generations, strategic thinking about interdependencies between the supply of and demand for resources is paramount. This report provides insight into the complex interaction between resource supply and demand, global megatrends such as economic growth, climate change, urbanization and demographics, and broader nexus variables such as human resources, technology, governance, social and political factors and instability. Comprising case studies on soy from Brazil, cocoa from Côte d’Ivoire and palm oil from Malaysia, the report illustrates how the nexus dynamics create various risks to the sustainable security of supply of agricultural commodities that are of high importance to the Dutch agri-food sector. The results of this research can be used to strengthen existing initiatives for sustainable supply chain management, and to facilitate policy making in this field. To this end, the report contains a chapter with recommendations on how policymakers can use the global resource nexus framework proposed in this report.

IMPACT ON SUSTAINABLE SECURITY OF SUPPLY OF AGRI-FOOD IMPORTS FOR THE NETHERLANDS

The Global Resource Nexus

Nathalie Olah

Pim ten Haaf

Hans Bolscher

Anticipating Future Global Challenges through Strategic Responses

SOY SUPPLY SECURITY FOR THE NETHERLANDS

Which minerals are critical for the transition to renewable energy? How will future energy and mineral demand develop? And what will be the implications for international relations?

The Geopolitics of Mineral Resources for Renewable Energy Technologies

Katarina Svatikova

DEEP SEA MINING HITTING THE BOTTOM OR TAKING OFF?

Kamal Eldin Salah

Willem Th. Oosterveld

Tim Sweijs

Stephan de Spiegeleire

Dana Poláčková

Scott Ward

Rik Rutten

Nathalie Olah 

Analyses of the international security environment typically provide somber overviews of the various drivers and manifestations of conflict and instability around the world. Recent developments such as the terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut and elsewhere, a Middle East in flames, a resurgent Russia, incessant violence in West Africa or turmoil in South China Sea only reinforce this view. By framing our analysis of the security environment in these terms, debates about how to anticipate and respond to these current and future threats invariably focus on those forces of instability and conflict: how to identify threats and enemies and then eliminate them. This report is based on the premise that this conflict-centric mindset has led to portfolio choices in terms of strategies (‘what do we do and how do we do it?’), capabilities (‘what do we do it with?’), and partners (‘who do we do it with?’) that have been excessively onesided. This report argues that there is an alternative, complementary way of framing security that is equally real and equally actionable for defense and security organizations (DSOs4 ): a resilience-centric one.

INDIVIDUAL EMPOWERMENT, SOCIETAL RESILIENCE AND THE ARMED FORCES

SI VIS PACEM, PARA UTIQUE PACEM

Marjolein de Ridder

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