Africa's natural resource sectors are experiencing unprecedented levels of foreign investment and production. Hailed as a means of reducing poverty and reliance on foreign aid, the role of foreign corporations in Africa's extractive sector is not well understood and important questions remain about the impact of such activities on people and on the environment. With reference to global governance initiatives aimed at promoting ethical business practices, this volume offers a timely examination of Canada-Africa relations and natural resource governance. Few Canadians realize how significant a role their country plays in investing in Africa's natural resource sector. The editors and contributors consider the interplay between public opinion, corporate social responsibility, and debates about the extraction and trade of Africa's natural resources.

There is no question that Africa is endowed with abundant natural resources of different magnitudes. However, more than a decade of high commodity prices and new hydrocarbon discoveries across the continent has led countless international organizations, donor agencies, and non-governmental organizations to devote considerable attention to the potential of natural resource-based development. Natural Resource-Based Development in Africa places a particular emphasis on the actors that help us understand the extent to which resources could be transformed into broader developmental outcomes. Based on a wide variety of primary sources and fieldwork, including in-person interviews and participant observations, this collection contributes to both scholarly and policy discussions around the governance and economic development roles of local entrepreneurs, transnational firms, civil society groups, local communities, and government agencies in Africa's natural resource sectors. Natural Resource-Based Development in Africa explores the impact that these actors have on regional trends such as resource nationalism and local procurement policies as well as grassroots-related issues such as poverty, livelihoods, gender equity, development, and human security.