Countries with non-renewable natural resource wealth face special opportunities and special challenges. If used well, these resources can create greater prosperity for current and future generations; if used poorly, they can cause economic instability, social conflict and lasting environmental damage.

The purpose of the Resource Charter is to assist the governments and societies of countries rich in non-renewable resources to manage those resources in a way that generates economic growth, promotes the welfare of the population in general and is environmentally sustainable.

The Charter was initiated by an independent group of economists, lawyers and political scientists. It is a draft, a living document that needs the input and expertise of citizens, advocates and leaders.

The authors believe that the exploitation of natural resources should be carried out to help a country meet its broader social and economic goals, not as an end in itself. This means having a vision of how the resource sector fits in a country’s economic future. For some countries, the best use of resource endowments may be to leave it in the ground for future use; for others, it may be to extract rapidly to generate revenues to sustain the investment necessary for growth and to meet urgent human needs. Whatever a country’s ultimate development goals, we believe there are certain practical guidelines that can help it maximize the opportunities provided by resource wealth for social and economic development.

The Charter is directed primarily at policy makers in resource-rich countries. These are not the only important actors: international companies, intergovernmental organizations, civil society groups, and the governments of resource-importing states all have roles which affect the ability of societies to harness their endowments. Still, the most important decisions rest with the governments of resource-rich countries themselves, since they have both the sovereign right, and the moral responsibility, to use the country’s natural wealth for the benefit of their people. Nonetheless, resource companies and their home governments play a critical role in supporting or weakening effective policy; thus, while not the primary audience for the Charter, their role vis-à-vis producing countries is addressed.