Mining and Socio-Ecological Resilience in Mineral-Rich Small States : An Integrative Approach to Phosphate Mining on Nauru

This paper considers how extractive industries can play a more constructive role in the development trajectories of small-island states despite a negative legacy of extraction. We consider the case of Nauru, a small Pacific island nation which historically had some of the world's finest phosphate reserves that propelled its population to great wealth. However, errant planning and financial mismanagement led to a crash in the country's fortunes and led it to become dependent on foreign aid. This paper considers how such an economy can be rebuilt through smart investment in ecological restoration, branding of mineral products for ecological and developmental value and using the capital generated to develop a more diversified economic base