The Geography of Water and Oil Resource Governance in Post-Conflict Iraq

The governance of important natural resources in Iraq will play a large role in recovery of the country's economy, livelihoods and stability. This article examines the geography of the governance of two critically important resources in the country—water and oil. With an initial focus on the description of the resources and the legal and administrative components of their governance, the paper looks at the primary problems and challenges to the governance of these resources. The paper finds that the complexity, magnitude and spatial arrangement of resource governance problems for water and oil in the country to be a daunting challenge. The article seeks to contribute to the articulation of this challenge, in order to provide initial material for deriving ways forward for more effective governance of natural resources in Iraq and other war-affected countries.