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The majority of developing countries in the Global South are evidently rich in natural resources, but paradoxically blighted by excruciating poverty and conflicts. This paradox of deprivation and war in the midst of plenteous resources has been the subject of great debate in international political economy in contemporary history. This book contributes to the debate by examining the underlying structures, actors and contexts of rentier politics and how they often produce and aggravate conflicts in the various extractive economies and regions of the Global South. The book critically explores the theories of rentier economies and natural resource conflicts, as well as the practical ramifications of rentier politics in the Global South with all their resonance for political economy and security in the Global North. Contents: Extractive economies and conflicts in the global South: re-engaging rentier theory and politics, Kenneth Omeje; Rentier politics, extractive economies and conflict in the global South: emerging ramifications and theoretical exploration, Usman A. Tar; Anatomy of an oil insurgency: violence and militants in the Niger delta, Nigeria, Michael Watts; Nationalization versus indigenization of the rentier space: oil and conflicts in Nigeria, Ukoha Ukiwo; Greed or grievance? Diamonds, rent-seeking and the civil war in Sierra Leone (1991-2002), John M. Kabia; Politics and oil in Sudan, Peter Woodward; São Tom nd Príncipe: the troubles of oil in an aid-dependent micro-state, Gerhard Seibert; Rentier politics and low intensity conflicts in the DRC: the case of Kasai and Katange provinces, Germain Tshibambe Ngoie and Kenneth Omeje; Thugs' paradise, agencies' guinea pig and the natural resource intrigue: the civil war in Liberia, T. Debey Sayndee; Resource exploitation, repression and resistance in the Sahara-Sahel: the rise of the rentier state in Algeria, Chad and Niger, Jeremy Keenan; Oil sovereignties in the Mexican Gulf and Nigerian Niger delta, Anna Zalik; Extractive resources and the rentier space: a South American perspective, Julia Buxton; Rentier states and war-making: the United Arab Emirates and Iraq in comparative perspective, Rolf Schwarz; Rethinking the rentier syndrome: oil and resource conflict in the Persian Gulf, Dauda Abubakar; Index. Kenneth Omeje, University of Bradford, UK

In the process of urban–rural integration, rural depression poses a severe challenge to urban-rural coordination and regional sustainable development. Exploring development pathways for resource-dependent rural areas is an important measure to implement rural revitalization. Mining industry, shows beneficial in boosting the economies whiles brings ecological, physical/psychological and social problems to local community members. Therefore, efforts should be made to rural sustainable development in mining resource- dependent regions. Taking the traditional mining-industry Shanxi Province in North China as research case, this paper seeks to investigate the crucial factors influencing rural transformation development (RTD) of mining regions and explore development pathways for resource-dependent rural areas. First, rural economic-labor coupling mode and rural development type of 30 mining industries-based counties were determined based on the proposed rural economic-labor elasticity coefficient, followed by the hot spot analysis for understanding the spatial correlation of different coupling modes. Then, non-parametric test was applied for feature difference test. Finally, mining rural areas transformation pathways were given by using land use transfer matrix and chord diagram. Results indicated that the mean value and rank mean value of each indicator of different rural development types were basically consistent in the distribution form, while coupling modes showed a distinct difference. This research can provide important references for rural transformation promotion, rural revitalization and sustainable rural development of resource-dependent regions, especially for developing countries.

On a global scale, the demand for mineral products has increased substantially with economic development. Consequently, the mining of mineral resources results in the production and accumulation of a large number of tailings, causing many problems with respect to mining, the environment, and the economy. In the mining process, tailings must be reasonably treated to prevent them from entering the water cycle through rivers. The storage of tailings under water can effectively hinder the chemical reactions that they undergo. Therefore, it is a critical practice to store these substances in ponds or impoundments behind dams. However, tailings dams frequently fail, resulting in the discharge of significant quantities of tailings into the natural environment, thereby causing grievous casualties and serious economic losses. This paper discusses reasons including seepage, foundation failure, overtopping, and earthquake for tailings dam failures and explores failure mechanisms by referring to the available literature. This research has determined that the failure of tailings dams is closely related to the state of the country’s economy. Most of the tailings dam breakages in developed countries occurred decades ago. In recent years, the proportion of tailings dam failures in developing countries has been relatively high. Considering the serious damages caused by tailings dam breakage, it is important to understand the main reasons and mechanisms for their failure. The purpose of this review is to provide a reference for the design and construction to the building of the tailing dams and to reduce the occurrences of their failure.

The increasing demand to leverage mining for economic development poses severe risks to rural communities, especially in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to its negative impacts. This study assesses the processes of mining-induced environmental degradation and displacement through the lens of two villages in Turkey and highlights the need for ecosocial work within these contexts. A qualitative case study design was adopted, involving 18 individuals from both villages who were recruited through snowball sampling. The data, collected through in-depth interviews and participant observation, were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis with the help of MAXQDA 24 software. The findings reveal that mining-related environmental degradation has adversely affected not only the ecosystems of the villages but also their social and economic structures. Moreover, the study identifies the need to address multiple and overlapping challenges experienced by villagers in relation to displacement, including both material and psychosocial difficulties. This research is the first attempt to provide an empirical foundation for ecosocial work interventions at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels in the context of rural, mining-affected communities in Turkey. As such, it offers valuable insights into how ecosocial work can engage with these levels of intervention in rural settings.

The escalating global energy demand, driven by heavy reliance on fossil fuels, worsens environmental degradation and triggers socio-economic shifts in extraction and refinery hubs. In Colombia, the energy matrix is predominantly fossil-based (76%), with hydroelectric power accounting for 70% of electricity generation. However, renewable energy sources only contribute 2% to the national energy mix. To reduce emissions by 20% by 2030, Colombia has presented an energy transition roadmap. The need for bioenergy production in Colombia arises from the residual biomass availability, the potential to provide sustainable energy access, and the potential to mitigate climate change impacts, while addressing energy poverty and enhancing energy security. This study presents an overview of biogas production in Colombia, emphasizing the need for financial resources to overcome barriers. Policy incentives, awareness campaigns, and research and development play a vital role in fostering social acceptance, technology adoption, and optimizing biogas production processes. Collaborative efforts among the government, private sector, and local communities are recommended to ensure wide-scale adoption of biogas, promoting economic, social, and environmental sustainability. By enabling informed decision-making, this research supports the transition to renewable energy sources and the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs), with a particular focus on bioenergy. The aim of this study is to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with biogas production in Colombia, including technical, economic, social, and environmental aspects, and provide recommendations for promoting its sustainable implementation and widespread adoption in the country.

Among developing countries in Asia, Indonesia has realized the importance of transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources such as solar power. Careful consideration must be given to the strategic placement of solar power installations to fully leverage the benefits of solar energy. This study proposes a methodology to optimize the site selection of solar power plants in Indonesia by integrating Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (F-AHP), and Fuzzy Measurement of Alternatives and Ranking according to Compromise Solution (F-MARCOS) models. The proposed methodology considers quantitative and qualitative criteria to evaluate potential locations for solar power plants. In the first stage, DEA is used to identify the most efficient locations based on quantitative measures such as solar radiation, land availability, and grid connectivity. In the second stage, qualitative factors such as technological, economic, environmental, and socio-political aspects are evaluated using F-AHP to prioritize the most important criteria for site selection. Finally, F-MARCOS ranks potential locations based on the selected criteria. The methodology was tested using data from Indonesia as a case study. The results show that the proposed hybrid model optimizes Indonesia’s solar power plant site selection. The optimal locations can contribute to a cost-effective long-term renewable energy supply nationwide. The findings from this study are relevant to policymakers, industry stakeholders, and researchers interested in renewable energy development and site selection. However, to promote sustainable solar energy development, governments and local authorities must also enact supportive policies and mechanisms that encourage the adoption and growth of renewable energy technologies in Indonesia.

Coal plays a crucial role in global economic development and remains the most common and widely distributed fossil fuel worldwide. As the world's largest developing country, China's mining and utilization of coal resources have contributed significantly to the country’s rapid economic growth. Inner Mongolia is an ecologically fragile arid and semi-arid area of China. The exploitation of opencast mining has seriously hindered the sustainable use of regional land and the residents' well-being. Using ENVI-based remote sensing images from 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020, this study employed a random forest algorithm to divide land utilization types into construction land, vegetation, cultivated land, bare land, and water areas and analyzed the characteristics of land use and ecosystem service value changes over the past 20 years. The results were as follows: (1) Construction land in the mining area changed minimally from 2000 to 2020; vegetation and water bodies showed a decreasing trend, whereas bare and cultivated lands showed an increasing trend. Bare land exhibited the largest change in area proportion and water bodies the smallest. (2) The total ecosystem service value of the mining area declined from 10.939 to 9.527 billion Yuan. Vegetation ecosystem service value was the highest, followed by cultivated land and water, with the bare land ecosystem service value the lowest. (3) On a spatial scale, the total ecosystem service value of the Shengli mining area decreased year by year, indicating that land use changes in the mining area do have an impact on ecosystem service value.

This article examines the impact of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) on livelihood in mining communities in Rwanda (Rutsiro) where wolframite and coltan are mined. The paper discusses the development of ASM and other entrepreneur activities, in particular agriculture. With ASM activities, there is environmental degradation on the one hand but also an improvement in the well-being of the local population on the other. The 3T (tin, tungsten, tantalum) minerals extracted by ASM are used in the electronics industry for products such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops, which are mainly consumed in the developed world. Based on questionnaires and structured research with miners, it was determined how ASM affects their lives, or whether there is a deterioration or improvement in their well-being. The research builds on previous field research in Rwanda. Because of mining, communities in the mining areas have access to health care, they can pay tuition fees, insurance, etc. On the other hand, the lives of miners are endangered by respiratory diseases, accidents in mines, landslides in mining areas, and other negative environmental impacts. The extraction of these minerals, however, may lead to a worse quality of life for the miners responsible for the extraction in developing countries. This different view is also illustrated by the fact that miners themselves often do not know what 3T minerals are used for. ASM benefits miners from an economic perspective but may worsen their quality of life due to unsuitable working conditions. This study covers a broader understanding of socioeconomic impacts of ASM and tries to point out the lack of awareness about the mining of minerals important for the daily use of modern technologies. This article would like to contribute to the larger debate about the lack of awareness of the origin of 3T minerals.

As an alternative for sustainable transportation and economic development, biofuels are being promoted as renewable and climate-friendly resources of energy which can help to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, some pollutant emissions and mitigate the climate change impact from transport. With the successful development of the biofuel industry, the location selection for biofuel production plant is one of the major concerns for the governments and policymakers. Finding locations for the construction of new biofuel production plants includes several dimensions of sustainability, including economic, social and environmental; therefore, this selection process can be considered a complex multi-criteria decision-making problem with uncertainty. As an advanced version of fuzzy set, picture fuzzy set (PiFS) is one of the comprehensive tools to handle the uncertainty with the account of truth, abstinence and falsity membership degrees. Thus, this work proposes a new decision-making methodology based on the weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) approach and similarity measure with picture fuzzy information. By using picture fuzzy numbers, the proposed methodology can effectively address the uncertain information and qualitative data that often occurs in practical applications. In this methodology, a picture fuzzy similarity measure-based weighting model is proposed to find the criteria weights under picture fuzzy environment. For this purpose, a new similarity measure is introduced to measure the degree of similarity between picture fuzzy numbers. Moreover, the rank of the options is determined based on an integrated WASPAS approach under a PiFS context. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework, a case study of biofuel production plant location selection is presented from the picture fuzzy perspective. Further, a comparison with existing methods is conducted to test the validity and applicability of the obtained results. The sensitivity analysis is performed with respect to different values of decision parameter, which proves the stability, robustness, and practicality of the proposed approach. The presented picture fuzzy WASPAS approach feasibly enables the policymakers to identify the most desirable location for a biofuel production plant by considering the social, environmental and economic aspects of sustainability.