Latest news with #resourceManagement
The Herald
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald
Colonial-era borders create conflict in Africa's oceans — how to resolve them
Africa has 38 coastal and island nations. Their maritime industries — including energy, tourism, maritime transport, shipping and fishing — play a crucial role in developing these nations. Key to harnessing these resources are Africa's maritime boundaries — lines on a map showing the legal divisions of the ocean between neighbouring coastal states. Some of these boundaries were created by colonial powers and kept after independence. Their purpose was to achieve territorial security and ensure the exclusive exploitation of resources and to maintain navigational freedom. But Africa's maritime boundaries sometimes lead to conflict, prevent co-operation on resource management and create room for maritime crimes, like illegal fishing. This is because they are often contested. Countries have overlapping claims and varying interests in resource exploration. This is common in maritime areas rich in oil, gas and fisheries, and deep seabed resources. In our recent paper we found that using international law to resolve maritime boundaries does not always bring peace, especially when it results in ceding the disputed area to one party. It can result in animosity between countries and breed room for continued distrust among peoples. Today, Africa has the most unresolved maritime boundary disputes in the world and the lowest number of settled boundary disputes. As more ocean resources are discovered, climate change may heighten disputes. Rising sea levels can gradually submerge maritime zones, potentially affecting the baselines from which these zones are measured. This could create uncertainty or trigger new conflicts. In our paper, we suggest a collaborative approach to resolving maritime disputes. We hope that this will help prevent many African countries from missing out on the benefits of their oceans. Disagreements over maritime boundaries can have many negative effects. Research has shown that criminal activities tend to increase in disputed maritime boundaries. For instance, illegal fishers are aware that because there is dispute over a border, there will also be enforcement gaps. Countries in dispute will also not work together and will not be sending patrols to contested areas. For instance, in 2016, a Chinese vessel escaped into Sierra Leone to avoid capture. When Guinean naval forces boarded the vessel for enforcement, there was an exchange of fire and 11 Guineans were detained by Sierra Leone. When boundaries are disputed, it also means that local fishers are likely to encroach into neighbouring waters, often unknowingly, in search of better catches. Given the significance of fisheries to coastal livelihoods and the extent of depletion, this threatens peace and security. It fuels tension between communities and countries over access to dwindling resources. Disagreements over maritime boundaries also diminish maritime security co-operation, complicate joint patrols, and divert attention from tackling shared threats such as piracy. Unfortunately, resolving maritime boundary disputes is complicated by a principle in international law known as uti possidetis juris — 'as you possess under law'. The principle says that when countries argue over borders, international law, built around colonial-era boundaries, is used to decide who gets what. This creates a 'winner-takes-all' approach — one side gains control over the disputed area and resources. International courts, like the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, follow the provisions of law reinforcing uti possidetis . Our examination of maritime boundary disputes in west and central Africa found that the principle of uti possidetis juris had failed to alleviate maritime boundary tensions. In some cases, it has worsened them. One example is a maritime dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria decided in 2002. The dispute was over who had control of Bakassi, an oil-rich region, and its maritime frontier. The uti possidetis juris principle upheld the lines drawn at the time of Nigeria's independence and resulted in the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon. The impact of the resolution lingers. To date, thousands of displaced Bakassi people that returned to Nigeria have yet to be resettled and reintegrated. Disputes also continue between fishers from Nigeria and Cameroonian law enforcement agents. In extreme cases, it results in death, like the alleged killing of 97 Nigerian fishers by Cameroonian marine police. In our paper, we recommend that courts, tribunals or disputing countries consider joint management agreements to resolve maritime disputes. Under such agreements, countries share and manage disputed maritime resources. These agreements will allow for the joint management of shared resources. It will also encourage co-operation and collaboration in other areas, such as joint operations to combat illegal fishing and piracy. While international courts may apply uti possidetis juris as required by law, countries should be encouraged to negotiate special arrangements — such as joint development agreements — as part of the resolution process. Especially in cases where livelihoods and long-standing community ties risk being disrupted by unilateral decisions or the ceding of disputed areas to one party. While not perfect, this approach has already improved co-operation on security and resource use at sea. It has worked in places like Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire also have a joint management framework in place for their shared boundaries to avoid future disputes. Prolonged boundary disputes only enable criminal actors to exploit Africa's resources, undermining collective progress. A shift towards collaborative solutions is essential for achieving a sustainable and prosperous future for the continent.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's what a Texas oil executive from DOGE is doing inside the Interior Department
A Texas oil executive from Elon Musk's government efficiency team has been given sweeping powers to overhaul the federal department that manages vast tracts of resource-rich public lands, but he hasn't divested his energy investments or filed an ethics commitment to break ties with companies that pose a conflict of interest, records show. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently directed Tyler Hassen, who lacks Senate confirmation and has no public administration experience, to reorganize the Interior Department, which oversees some 70,000 employees in 11 agencies including the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Before joining DOGE, Hassen spent nearly two decades as an executive at Basin Holdings, an enterprise involved in the manufacture, sale and servicing of oil rigs worldwide. A financial disclosure report obtained by AP shows Hassen made millions annually from these companies, owned by John Fitzgibbons — an industry giant who is well-connected in Russia. These and other potential conflicts of interest are compounding the concerns of Democratic lawmakers, conservation groups and environmental advocates, who say Hassen's appointment appears designed to evade Senate confirmation and oversight while testing the limits of congressional authority. 'It's a dereliction of duty to offload decisions about staffing and funding at the Interior Department to someone who hasn't even been confirmed by the Senate,' said Kate Groetzinger, with the Center for Western Priorities, a nonpartisan conservation group. Interior officials didn't respond to requests to interview Hassen. Department spokesperson Katie Martin said in an email that Hassen is helping achieve the president's vision for major changes, and Interior will 'continue to prioritize retaining first responders, parks services and energy production employees.' What is on Hassen's to-do list? Once inside Interior in January, Hassen reviewed 'every single contract, every single grant,' and sent action items to Burgum, he told FOX News in an April interview. Burgum praised Hassen and DOGE on X, saying they 'have identified massive amounts of waste, fraud, and abuse already!' A draft copy of Interior's new strategic plan includes increasing 'clean coal, oil, and gas production through faster permitting' while reducing regulations to 'generate more revenue from lands and resources for the U.S. Treasury.' Hassen also has twice filed a notice in the Federal Register extending Trump's freeze on regulations — which stops agencies from proposing or issuing new rules — and removed the opportunity for public comment as 'contrary to the public interest.' The latest extension pushes it to June 4. It's unclear how Hassen became involved with Musk. There's little information about him online. He told FOX News that before DOGE, he was 'running five businesses in Houston." He said this work 'is me giving back to the country.' Hassen was an executive at Fitzgibbons-owned Basin Holdings — the privately held parent company for Basin Energy and Basin Industries — since 2008. An old Facebook page for Tyler Hassen includes a 2010 photo of him at the 'Samotlor Field, Western Siberia - largest oilfield in Russia.' Hassen's brother, Todd, is also a Texas energy executive. He's been CEO of Red Wolfpack Resources since 2024 and was with Tellurian, a natural gas company, and EagleStone Resources before that, according to his LinkedIn page. Testing the limits inside the Department Burgum named Hassen his assistant secretary for policy, management and budget in March, but changed his title in April to 'principal deputy assistant secretary.' An assistant secretary requires Senate approval and an ethics commitment to resign positions that would create a conflict of interest. A principal deputy does not. Kathleen Clark, a government ethics expert at Washington University in St. Louis, said Interior officials are committing fraud 'by calling someone by a different name so that they don't have to file a really important document where they explain how they're going to comply with ethics standards.' Hassen sought to fire a top department lawyer in April for refusing to give him and other DOGE officials access to a highly sensitive personnel database as he pushed for massive department-wide staff reductions through buyouts, early retirements and layoffs. Hassen wrote that Tony Irish, an associate solicitor, was 'subverting, obstructing and delaying the process" and should be removed for misconduct. Irish is on leave while appealing the firing and is represented by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. 'In seeking to remove Tony Irish, Tyler Hassen has demonstrated his own unfitness for federal service,' PEER executive director Tim Whitehouse said in a press release. 'This type of corporate bullying is not how the people's business is supposed to be conducted.' Jacob Malcom, a former Interior Department executive, said Burgum's order directing Hassen to make 'appropriate funding decisions' for administrative changes and ensure 'the appropriate transfer of funds, programs, records and property" is unconstitutional — Congress appropriates funds, not assistant secretaries. 'Unless Congress has explicitly authorized those funds to be moved, they can't actually transfer the funds,' Malcom said. 'That's just flat out illegal.' What does Hassen's financial disclosure show? Although Hassen didn't file a divestment commitment, he did file a financial disclosure in February — revised five times, the most recent dated April 21 — revealing he made almost $4 million annually from Fitzgibbon's oilfield services companies. Hassen said he sold his equity in these companies and is being paid in installments through June 2026. Hassen reported that he holds $50,001 to $100,000 worth of stock in Fitzgibbon's company Block Harvest, a cryptocurrency mining business that uses flared natural gas to run data centers. He reported owning $250,000 to $500,000 worth of stock in Fitzgibbon's Global Guardian, a security company. Hassen also declared 254 stock holdings, including cryptocurrency, tobacco, foreign banking and between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of stock each in Archrock, a Houston company that specializes in natural gas compression services; WEC Energy Group, which holds electric and natural gas companies and Quanta Services, which is involved in pipelines and pumping. He's got a similar stake in Albemarle Corp., which owns the Silver Peak lithium mine in Nevada — the nation's only active lithium source. It's currently seeking authorization from Interior's Bureau of Land Management to expand its operations. Hassen's potential conflicts of interest have raised concerns among environmental groups and some U.S. lawmakers. He's attempting to remove regulations constraining the fossil fuel industries, said Josh Axelrod, a senior policy advocate with the National Resources Defense Council. 'As a member of those industries, he's uniquely qualified to flag the ones they don't like.' Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine, the ranking Democrats on Interior's Senate and House oversight subcommittees, have demanded a stop to Hassen's large-scale reorganization. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico told Burgum in a May 7 letter that 'delegating sweeping authorities and responsibilities to a non-Senate confirmed person in violation of the Vacancies Reform Act is baffling and extremely troubling.' Martha Bellisle, The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Independent
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Here's what a Texas oil executive from DOGE is doing inside the Interior Department
A Texas oil executive from Elon Musk's government efficiency team has been given sweeping powers to overhaul the federal department that manages vast tracts of resource-rich public lands, but he hasn't divested his energy investments or filed an ethics commitment to break ties with companies that pose a conflict of interest, records show. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently directed Tyler Hassen, who lacks Senate confirmation and has no public administration experience, to reorganize the Interior Department, which oversees some 70,000 employees in 11 agencies including the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Before joining DOGE, Hassen spent nearly two decades as an executive at Basin Holdings, an enterprise involved in the manufacture, sale and servicing of oil rigs worldwide. A financial disclosure report obtained by AP shows Hassen made millions annually from these companies, owned by John Fitzgibbons — an industry giant who is well-connected in Russia. These and other potential conflicts of interest are compounding the concerns of Democratic lawmakers, conservation groups and environmental advocates, who say Hassen's appointment appears designed to evade Senate confirmation and oversight while testing the limits of congressional authority. 'It's a dereliction of duty to offload decisions about staffing and funding at the Interior Department to someone who hasn't even been confirmed by the Senate,' said Kate Groetzinger, with the Center for Western Priorities, a nonpartisan conservation group. Interior officials didn't respond to requests to interview Hassen. Department spokesperson Katie Martin said in an email that Hassen is helping achieve the president's vision for major changes, and Interior will 'continue to prioritize retaining first responders, parks services and energy production employees.' What is on Hassen's to-do list? Once inside Interior in January, Hassen reviewed 'every single contract, every single grant,' and sent action items to Burgum, he told FOX News in an April interview. Burgum praised Hassen and DOGE on X, saying they 'have identified massive amounts of waste, fraud, and abuse already!' A draft copy of Interior's new strategic plan includes increasing 'clean coal, oil, and gas production through faster permitting' while reducing regulations to 'generate more revenue from lands and resources for the U.S. Treasury.' Hassen also has twice filed a notice in the Federal Register extending Trump's freeze on regulations — which stops agencies from proposing or issuing new rules — and removed the opportunity for public comment as 'contrary to the public interest.' The latest extension pushes it to June 4. It's unclear how Hassen became involved with Musk. There's little information about him online. He told FOX News that before DOGE, he was 'running five businesses in Houston." He said this work 'is me giving back to the country.' Hassen was an executive at Fitzgibbons-owned Basin Holdings — the privately held parent company for Basin Energy and Basin Industries — since 2008. An old Facebook page for Tyler Hassen includes a 2010 photo of him at the 'Samotlor Field, Western Siberia - largest oilfield in Russia.' Hassen's brother, Todd, is also a Texas energy executive. He's been CEO of Red Wolfpack Resources since 2024 and was with Tellurian, a natural gas company, and EagleStone Resources before that, according to his LinkedIn page. Testing the limits inside the Department Burgum named Hassen his assistant secretary for policy, management and budget in March, but changed his title in April to 'principal deputy assistant secretary.' An assistant secretary requires Senate approval and an ethics commitment to resign positions that would create a conflict of interest. A principal deputy does not. Kathleen Clark, a government ethics expert at Washington University in St. Louis, said Interior officials are committing fraud 'by calling someone by a different name so that they don't have to file a really important document where they explain how they're going to comply with ethics standards.' Hassen sought to fire a top department lawyer in April for refusing to give him and other DOGE officials access to a highly sensitive personnel database as he pushed for massive department-wide staff reductions through buyouts, early retirements and layoffs. Hassen wrote that Tony Irish, an associate solicitor, was 'subverting, obstructing and delaying the process" and should be removed for misconduct. Irish is on leave while appealing the firing and is represented by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. 'In seeking to remove Tony Irish, Tyler Hassen has demonstrated his own unfitness for federal service,' PEER executive director Tim Whitehouse said in a press release. 'This type of corporate bullying is not how the people's business is supposed to be conducted.' Jacob Malcom, a former Interior Department executive, said Burgum's order directing Hassen to make 'appropriate funding decisions' for administrative changes and ensure 'the appropriate transfer of funds, programs, records and property" is unconstitutional — Congress appropriates funds, not assistant secretaries. 'Unless Congress has explicitly authorized those funds to be moved, they can't actually transfer the funds,' Malcom said. 'That's just flat out illegal.' What does Hassen's financial disclosure show? Although Hassen didn't file a divestment commitment, he did file a financial disclosure in February — revised five times, the most recent dated April 21 — revealing he made almost $4 million annually from Fitzgibbon's oilfield services companies. Hassen said he sold his equity in these companies and is being paid in installments through June 2026. Hassen reported that he holds $50,001 to $100,000 worth of stock in Fitzgibbon's company Block Harvest, a cryptocurrency mining business that uses flared natural gas to run data centers. He reported owning $250,000 to $500,000 worth of stock in Fitzgibbon's Global Guardian, a security company. Hassen also declared 254 stock holdings, including cryptocurrency, tobacco, foreign banking and between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of stock each in Archrock, a Houston company that specializes in natural gas compression services; WEC Energy Group, which holds electric and natural gas companies and Quanta Services, which is involved in pipelines and pumping. He's got a similar stake in Albemarle Corp., which owns the Silver Peak lithium mine in Nevada — the nation's only active lithium source. It's currently seeking authorization from Interior's Bureau of Land Management to expand its operations. Hassen's potential conflicts of interest have raised concerns among environmental groups and some U.S. lawmakers. He's attempting to remove regulations constraining the fossil fuel industries, said Josh Axelrod, a senior policy advocate with the National Resources Defense Council. 'As a member of those industries, he's uniquely qualified to flag the ones they don't like.' Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine, the ranking Democrats on Interior's Senate and House oversight subcommittees, have demanded a stop to Hassen's large-scale reorganization. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico told Burgum in a May 7 letter that 'delegating sweeping authorities and responsibilities to a non-Senate confirmed person in violation of the Vacancies Reform Act is baffling and extremely troubling.'
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Here's what a Texas oil executive from DOGE is doing inside the Interior Department
A Texas oil executive from Elon Musk's government efficiency team has been given sweeping powers to overhaul the federal department that manages vast tracts of resource-rich public lands, but he hasn't divested his energy investments or filed an ethics commitment to break ties with companies that pose a conflict of interest, records show. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently directed Tyler Hassen, who lacks Senate confirmation and has no public administration experience, to reorganize the Interior Department, which oversees some 70,000 employees in 11 agencies including the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Before joining DOGE, Hassen spent nearly two decades as an executive at Basin Holdings, an enterprise involved in the manufacture, sale and servicing of oil rigs worldwide. A financial disclosure report obtained by AP shows Hassen made millions annually from these companies, owned by John Fitzgibbons — an industry giant who is well-connected in Russia. These and other potential conflicts of interest are compounding the concerns of Democratic lawmakers, conservation groups and environmental advocates, who say Hassen's appointment appears designed to evade Senate confirmation and oversight while testing the limits of congressional authority. 'It's a dereliction of duty to offload decisions about staffing and funding at the Interior Department to someone who hasn't even been confirmed by the Senate,' said Kate Groetzinger, with the Center for Western Priorities, a nonpartisan conservation group. Interior officials didn't respond to requests to interview Hassen. Department spokesperson Katie Martin said in an email that Hassen is helping achieve the president's vision for major changes, and Interior will 'continue to prioritize retaining first responders, parks services and energy production employees.' What is on Hassen's to-do list? Once inside Interior in January, Hassen reviewed 'every single contract, every single grant,' and sent action items to Burgum, he told FOX News in an April interview. Burgum praised Hassen and DOGE on X, saying they 'have identified massive amounts of waste, fraud, and abuse already!' A draft copy of Interior's new strategic plan includes increasing 'clean coal, oil, and gas production through faster permitting' while reducing regulations to 'generate more revenue from lands and resources for the U.S. Treasury.' Hassen also has twice filed a notice in the Federal Register extending Trump's freeze on regulations — which stops agencies from proposing or issuing new rules — and removed the opportunity for public comment as 'contrary to the public interest.' The latest extension pushes it to June 4. It's unclear how Hassen became involved with Musk. There's little information about him online. He told FOX News that before DOGE, he was 'running five businesses in Houston.' He said this work 'is me giving back to the country.' Hassen was an executive at Fitzgibbons-owned Basin Holdings — the privately held parent company for Basin Energy and Basin Industries — since 2008. An old Facebook page for Tyler Hassen includes a 2010 photo of him at the 'Samotlor Field, Western Siberia - largest oilfield in Russia.' Hassen's brother, Todd, is also a Texas energy executive. He's been CEO of Red Wolfpack Resources since 2024 and was with Tellurian, a natural gas company, and EagleStone Resources before that, according to his LinkedIn page. Testing the limits inside the Department Burgum named Hassen his assistant secretary for policy, management and budget in March, but changed his title in April to 'principal deputy assistant secretary.' An assistant secretary requires Senate approval and an ethics commitment to resign positions that would create a conflict of interest. A principal deputy does not. Kathleen Clark, a government ethics expert at Washington University in St. Louis, said Interior officials are committing fraud 'by calling someone by a different name so that they don't have to file a really important document where they explain how they're going to comply with ethics standards.' Hassen sought to fire a top department lawyer in April for refusing to give him and other DOGE officials access to a highly sensitive personnel database as he pushed for massive department-wide staff reductions through buyouts, early retirements and layoffs. Hassen wrote that Tony Irish, an associate solicitor, was 'subverting, obstructing and delaying the process' and should be removed for misconduct. Irish is on leave while appealing the firing and is represented by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. 'In seeking to remove Tony Irish, Tyler Hassen has demonstrated his own unfitness for federal service,' PEER executive director Tim Whitehouse said in a press release. 'This type of corporate bullying is not how the people's business is supposed to be conducted.' Jacob Malcom, a former Interior Department executive, said Burgum's order directing Hassen to make 'appropriate funding decisions' for administrative changes and ensure 'the appropriate transfer of funds, programs, records and property' is unconstitutional — Congress appropriates funds, not assistant secretaries. 'Unless Congress has explicitly authorized those funds to be moved, they can't actually transfer the funds,' Malcom said. 'That's just flat out illegal.' What does Hassen's financial disclosure show? Although Hassen didn't file a divestment commitment, he did file a financial disclosure in February — revised five times, the most recent dated April 21 — revealing he made almost $4 million annually from Fitzgibbon's oilfield services companies. Hassen said he sold his equity in these companies and is being paid in installments through June 2026. Hassen reported that he holds $50,001 to $100,000 worth of stock in Fitzgibbon's company Block Harvest, a cryptocurrency mining business that uses flared natural gas to run data centers. He reported owning $250,000 to $500,000 worth of stock in Fitzgibbon's Global Guardian, a security company. Hassen also declared 254 stock holdings, including cryptocurrency, tobacco, foreign banking and between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of stock each in Archrock, a Houston company that specializes in natural gas compression services; WEC Energy Group, which holds electric and natural gas companies and Quanta Services, which is involved in pipelines and pumping. He's got a similar stake in Albemarle Corp., which owns the Silver Peak lithium mine in Nevada — the nation's only active lithium source. It's currently seeking authorization from Interior's Bureau of Land Management to expand its operations. Hassen's potential conflicts of interest have raised concerns among environmental groups and some U.S. lawmakers. He's attempting to remove regulations constraining the fossil fuel industries, said Josh Axelrod, a senior policy advocate with the National Resources Defense Council. 'As a member of those industries, he's uniquely qualified to flag the ones they don't like.' Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine, the ranking Democrats on Interior's Senate and House oversight subcommittees, have demanded a stop to Hassen's large-scale reorganization. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico told Burgum in a May 7 letter that 'delegating sweeping authorities and responsibilities to a non-Senate confirmed person in violation of the Vacancies Reform Act is baffling and extremely troubling.'
Zawya
15-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Oman launches MENA region's first Circularity Gap Report
Muscat – Oman has launched the Circularity Gap Report (CGR) Oman Project, a first-of-its-kind initiative in the region aimed at advancing sustainable resource use and building a roadmap for a circular economy in line with Oman Vision 2040. The project, spearheaded by Ministry of Economy and supported by be'ah, was formally unveiled during a stakeholder roundtable on Wednesday that brought together government officials, industry leaders, academics and representatives from Circle Economy – an organisation based the Netherlands behind the global CGR initiative. The effort marks a key milestone in the sultanate's commitment to sustainability, with the project set to assess current resource consumption and identify areas where circularity can be improved. This includes reducing waste and ensuring resources are reused efficiently across all stages of the economic cycle. 'The concept of a circular economy extends beyond mere waste recycling; it ensures the optimal use of resources throughout all stages of the economic cycle,' said Dr Aisha al Sarihiyya, Economic Expert at Ministry of Economy. 'It enhances the connection between supply chains and, in turn, generates economic and social benefits alongside environmental gains.' © Apex Press and Publishing Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
