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Abstract

To what extent do marine-based economic activities influence the onset of violent conflict?
Despite ongoing debate over several decades around the relationship between natural
resources and violent conflict, little of the relevant research has addressed the marine
environment. Based on satellite data in Indonesia, this paper provides new evidence on the
relationship between fisheries and violent conflict. From a sample of 757 cells representing
the spatial interaction of conflict and catch landings in 2015 and employing ocean
productivity as an exogenous instrument, both industrial and non-industrial catches were
found to have a statistically significant positive effect on the number of conflict events.
Additionally, increased illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) catches are more likely
than legal catches to cause violent conflict. An increase in fish catches in Indonesian waters
fuels conflict of every kind, among which protests and riots are most sensitive to fisheries
while fighting and terrorism are least sensitive. Overall, these empirical findings support the
hypothesis that increased competition for common-pool resources contributes to the onset of
violent conflict.

Item Type:	Report (Discussion Paper)
Authors/Creators:	Lu, Y and Yamazaki, S
Keywords:	conflict, illegal fishing, marine resources, ocean productivity, satellite data, Indonesia
Publisher:	University of Tasmania
Copyright Information:	Copyright 2022 University of Tasmania
Additional Information:	JEL Classification numbers: D74, O13, Q22
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

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