Original report from Washington
28 September 2009
[Editor’s note: VOA Khmer recently spoke with specialists in the field of natural resource management in developing countries and learned that Cambodia is not alone in struggling to use natural resources to benefit its citizens. The resource curse, where natural riches fail to help the poor, is a worldwide scourge, the global experts told VOA Khmer in numerous interviews. Below is PART FOUR of the original VOA Khmer weekly series, airing Sundays in Cambodia.]
Whether a country is at war or peace, natural resources can reduce economic growth, because when a lucrative resource is exploited, other means of production are forgotten, experts say. Meanwhile, without transparent management, revenues from natural resources can widen income disparities and engender corruption.
And while it’s true that natural resources can transform an economy, an adequate state apparatus is needed to implement effective and efficient management strategies, experts say.
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