---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Small Arms Survey <[email protected]> Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2017 15:07:33 +0000 Subject: New SANA Briefing Paper—Beyond the 'Wild West': The Gold Rush in Northern Niger To: Jean-Francois <[email protected]>
New SANA Briefing Paper—Beyond the 'Wild West': The Gold Rush in Northern Niger View this email in your browser (http://mailchi.mp/smallarmssurvey/new-briefing-paper-measuring-illicit-arms-flows-in-ukraine-847797?e=b3e6d4db9c) http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=e640e30376&e=b3e6d4db9c ** New SANA Briefing Paper—Beyond the 'Wild West': The Gold Rush in Northern Niger ------------------------------------------------------------ In April 2014, someone discovered a ‘gift from God’ in northern Niger: large quantities of gold, easily accessible using basic equipment. The gold rush began, and with it came a transformation of the security, political, and socio-economic dynamics in this vast and sensitive region. The population suddenly increased fifty-fold, and the number of vehicles circulating in the region grew even more than that. The tales told by locals about this gold rush evoke the storied ‘Wild West’ of the United States in the 19^th century, describing a vast, lawless country controlled by armed men, where the only aim was to get rich. A new Briefing Paper from the Security Assessment in North Africa (SANA) project—‘Beyond the ‘Wild West’: the Gold Rush in Northern Niger’, by Mathieu Pellerin—identifies the different parties involved in the gold rush and explains the outcomes of their ad hoc interactions. It also looks at the effects of the gold rush on the region, including changes to the security situation, the economy, and the political order, as well as broader implications for Niger as a whole. The Briefing Paper is based on fieldwork undertaken by the author in 2016 and 2017, and includes the following key findings: * The gold rush in northern Niger involves both foreigners and local notables—including political and military actors who own or control mines—making it a sensitive issue. * The gold rush caused security incidents, including increased banditry, intercommunity rivalries, and occasional tensions with Algeria. * Arms trafficking in the region has increased with the opening of the gold mines. This increase is likely to be linked to the area’s new-found wealth, its pervasive insecurity, and the inability of the Nigerien government to adequately police such a vast region. * The impact of the gold rush on local society has not made northern Niger fertile ground for recruitment by extremist groups. There is little indication that such groups are present at the mining sites, though it is possible that mining indirectly provides funding to them. * The discovery of gold helped to reinvigorate the economy in northern Niger, which had been adversely affected by border closures and the end of uranium mining. Although most miners do not make a profit, the gold rush created important indirect economies. * Download Beyond the 'Wild West': The Gold Rush in Northern Niger (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=c4ab565a6c&e=b3e6d4db9c) * For more on Niger, see Measuring Illicit Arms Flows: Niger (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=819fbded94&e=b3e6d4db9c) by Savannah de Tessières (also available in French (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=5a53b4c7a1&e=b3e6d4db9c) ) * For more about the SANA project, visit our webpage (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=765780ea40&e=b3e6d4db9c) http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=df7c97569d&e=b3e6d4db9c Share (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=976f9f781e&e=b3e6d4db9c) http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=1721af69f4&e=b3e6d4db9c http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smallarmssurvey.org%2Fabout-us%2Fhighlights%2F2017%2Fhighlight-bp-sana-niger-gold.html Tweet (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=e0a908a450&e=b3e6d4db9c http%3A%2F%2Fwww.smallarmssurvey.org%2Fabout-us%2Fhighlights%2F2017%2Fhighlight-bp-sana-niger-gold.html) http://us9.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=23cdf145c9&e=b3e6d4db9c Forward (http://us9.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=23cdf145c9&e=b3e6d4db9c) http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=23581ab04b&e=b3e6d4db9c http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=a5020a9077&e=b3e6d4db9c Please note: Our platform for 'eAlert' email announcements - MailChimp - allows recipients to manage and update their subscriptions, and provides greater flexibility in how we communicate with you. We'd like to encourage you to verify your details, and join our other mailing lists (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/profile?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=799de3b6f8&e=b3e6d4db9c) . We'd also welcome any feedback (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=f980e7ca8c&e=b3e6d4db9c ) . http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=84a65e6891&e=b3e6d4db9c Other news from the Survey: Spreading Fallout: The collapse of the ARCSS and new conflict along the Equatorias-DRC border (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=d96c838499&e=b3e6d4db9c) Web Trafficking—Analysing the Online Trade of Small Arms Light Weapons in Libya (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=c3346fc814&e=b3e6d4db9c) Southern Libya destabilized: the case of Ubari (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=fdfe5ec18e&e=b3e6d4db9c) Measuring Illicit Arms Flows: Ukraine (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=1f2ec8f291&e=b3e6d4db9c) More Highlights... (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=8ab3f4ce42&e=b3e6d4db9c) Follow the Small Arms Survey: http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=1981e5912e&e=b3e6d4db9c http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=c9b0a8e4ee&e=b3e6d4db9c http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=afbf1ddef6&e=b3e6d4db9c ============================================================ Copyright © 2017 Small Arms Survey, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up for this mailing list on our website or you are one of our regular contacts. Our mailing address is: Small Arms Survey Maison de la Paix, Chemin Eugène-Rigot 2E Geneva 1202 Switzerland ** unsubscribe from this list (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage2.com/unsubscribe?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=799de3b6f8&e=b3e6d4db9c&c=23cdf145c9) ** update subscription preferences (http://smallarmssurvey.us9.list-manage.com/profile?u=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&id=799de3b6f8&e=b3e6d4db9c) Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=monkey_rewards&aid=f825e06204d5b6ec1997aed09&afl=1 -- To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/southsudankob View this message at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/southsudankob/topic-id/message-id For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14oqG9Kuev6oq8VjytmscRXj5EF-Fak%2BD9A-wMG28ZijLKQ%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
