Economy of Western Sahara
Encyclopedia
Background
The majoritySouthern Provinces
The Southern Provinces or Moroccan Sahara are the terms used by Morocco for Western Sahara, in reference to the part of Western Sahara that lies to the west of the Moroccan Berm...
of the territory of Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
is currently administered by the Kingdom of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. As such, the vast majority of the economical activity of Western Sahara happens in the framework of the economy of Morocco
Economy of Morocco
Morocco's economy is considered a relatively liberal economy governed by the law of supply and demand. Since 1993, the country has followed a policy of privatization of certain economic sectors which used to be in the hands of the government. Morocco has become a major player in the African...
.
In the Moroccan-administered territory, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
are the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, that's why most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan government, as usual in Western Sahara. Morocco has signed a fishing treaty with the EU including Western Sahara as part of Morocco, although it was declared illegal by the legal services of the own European Union. Moroccan Energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, but some companies had abandoned since then.
The Free Zone
Free economic zone
Many countries have, or have had at some time, designated areas where companies are taxed very lightly or not at all to encourage development or for some other reason...
(POLISARIO-administered territory) is mainly uninhabited. There is practically no economical infrastructure and the main activity is camel herding nomadism. The government-in-exile of the Polisario Front
Polisario Front
The POLISARIO, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro is a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement working for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco...
had also signed contracts for oil exploration, but there is no practical work, due to the fact that the zones given are on the Moroccan-controlled part of the territory. According to POLISARIO officials,
Fishing and oil exploration contracts concerning Western Sahara are sources of political tension.
Key agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
products include fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases
Oasis
In geography, an oasis or cienega is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source...
); camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
s, sheep, goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s (kept by nomads.)
Energy consumption
- Electricity - production: 85 GWh (2003)
- Electricity - production by source:
- fossil fuel: 100%
- hydro: 0%
- nuclear: 0%
- other: 0%
- Electricity - consumption: 83.7 GWh (2003)
- Electricity - exports: 0 kWh
- Electricity - imports: 0 kWh
- Oil - production: 0.5 oilbbl/d
- Oil - consumption: 1750 oilbbl/d (2003)
Legal status, Exploitation of natural resources and Economic consequences on foreign corporations
In December 2004, FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
oil company Total S.A.
Total S.A.
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...
decided not to renew their license off Western Sahara, leaving Kerr-McGee
Kerr-McGee
The Kerr-McGee Corporation, founded in 1929, was an energy company involved in the exploration and production of oil and gas. On June 23, 2006, Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation agreed to acquire Kerr-McGee in an all-cash transaction totaling $16.5 billion plus the assumption of $2.6...
as the unique oil company exploring in the Moroccan-occupied part of Western Sahara.
In May 2006, Kerr-McGee finally decided to not renew the contract signed with the Moroccan Authorities., in part due to the desinvestments of invest funds and the pressures of international corporate ethics groups.
In December 2007, the Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
n state oil company Tamoil
Tamoil
Tamoil is the trading name of the Oilinvest B.V. Group, a European based downstream oil group.The Tamoil Group, which was purchased by Libyan state entities in the late 1980s, is involved in supplying, trading, refining and selling petroleum products.Recently, Roger Tamraz’s Netoil group of...
denied media reports about involvement in oil exploration in Western Sahara. The statement added: "The company denies emphatically some media reports about an oil investment deal in Western Sahara. It did not sign any agreement on oil exploration permits in Western Sahara and it has no plan to invest in any oil operations there."
In March 2009, four Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
shipping companies desisted from Western Sahara trade. Also, the Norwegian grocery store chain Coop Marked
Coop Marked
Coop Marked is a chain of 384 local grocery stores throughout Norway managed by Coop Norge and owned by local cooperatives. The chain represents the smallest stores in the Coop range, and is predominantly used in rural areas too small to support Coop Prix stores....
stopped their import of tomatoes from Dakhla
Dakhla, Western Sahara
-External links:**...
, labelled as Moroccans.
Desertec
Desertec
DESERTEC is a concept proposed by the DESERTEC Foundation for making use of solar energy and wind energy. This concept will be implemented in North Africa and the Middle East by the consortium Dii GmbH, formed by a group of European companies and the DESERTEC Foundation...
is an energy project launched in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
in 2009, consisting on the use of solar and wind technology in the Sahara desert, with the aim to provide that energy generated to African and European countries.
In April 2010, a Desertec spokeperson confirmed to the English newspaper The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
that the project will not be placed in disputed Western Sahara, saying: "We want to confirm… officially that our reference projects will not be located in the West Sahara. When looking for project sites, Desertec Industrial Initiative will also take political, ecological or cultural issues into consideration. This procedure is in line with the funding policies of international development banks."
Also that month, the Norwegian state-owned company EWOS
Cermaq
Cermaq is a Norwegian fish farm and fish feed company. The company is owned 43.5% by the Government of Norway and is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange. The company has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway...
stopped the purchases of fish oil
Fish oil
Fish oil is oil derived from the tissues of oily fish. Fish oils contain the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid , and docosahexaenoic acid , precursors of certain eicosanoids that are known to reduce inflammation throughout the body, and are thought to have many health benefits.Fish do not...
from Western Sahara and Morocco (with an amount of around 10 million euros annually, and estimated between 12.000 and 20.000 tons of fish oil in total), for "not being in line with the norwegian authorities recommendations".
In May 2010, Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
grocery store chain Axfood
Axfood
Axfood AB is a Swedish company. Formed in May 2000 through a merger between the Swedish grocery store chains Hemköp, D&D Dagligvaror, Spar Sverige, Spar Inn Snabbgross, it is one of the largest food retailers in Scandinavia listed on the stock market....
stopped selling Western Sahara tomatoes. The company media officer stated: "It turns out that the tomatoes are from Dakhla in occupied Western Sahara, so we are not going to sell them anymore. These things are not supposed to happen".
In August 2010, The Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
-based fertilizer company The Mosaic Company
The Mosaic Company
The Mosaic Company is a Fortune 500 company based in Plymouth, Minnesota. Mosaic offers two key crop nutrients—phosphate and potash—plus specialty products K-Mag®, MicroEssentials® and Pegasus™...
send a mail to Western Sahara Resource Watch where the Social responsibility director of the firm states:
- "Mosaic does not hold any delivery contracts with OCP for the purchase of Western Sahara rock."
- "The last shipment of Western Sahara rock purchased by Mosaic arrived in TampaTâmpaTâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...
on January 29, 2009." - "No Western Sahara rock has been purchased since this date and the Mosaic Company has no plans to purchase Western Sahara rock in future."
In October 2010, thousands of Sahrawis fled from El Aaiun
El Aaiún
El-Aaiún , is a city in Western Sahara founded by the Spanish in 1928. Administered by Morocco since 1976, El-Aaiún is the capital of what the Moroccan government call the region of Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra, and POLISARIO call Occupied Territories...
, Smara
Smara
Smara, also Semara , is a city in the Moroccan-Administered Western Sahara, with a population estimated at 42,056.-History:The largest city in its province, Smara was founded in the Saguia el-Hamra as an oasis for travellers in 1869. It is the only major city in Western Sahara that was not founded...
or Bojador to the outskirts of Lemseid
Lemseid
Lemseid is a small oasis town near El-Aaiun in the Saguia el-Hamra part of Western Sahara, close to the Saguia el-Hamra itself. The Sahrawi independence activist and leader of the Harakat Tahrir, Muhammad Bassiri, grew up here in the 1950s...
(Gdeim Izik), raising up a campament of thousands of "jaimas" (Sahrawi tents) called the "Dignity camp", in the biggest Sahrawi movilization since the Spanish retreat. They protest for the discrimination of Sahrawis in labor and for the spoliation of the natural resources of Western Sahara. They were surrounded by Moroccan Army and police, who made a blockage of water, food and medicines to the camp.
External links
- SADR Oil and Gas exploration, licence offering
- Western Sahara Resource Watch International non-governmental coalition of organisations and individuals working for the protection of natural resources in Western Sahara.