Chahid El Hafed (Sahrawi Refugee Camps) 25 July 2026 (SPS) – Yaguta El Mokhtar, Coordinator of the Sahrawi Observatory for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection (SONREP) and a member of the Working Group on Natural Resources and Related Legal Issues, affirmed that Western Sahara possesses an exceptional wealth of natural resources, making it one of the richest territories in Africa and the world. She noted that the diversity and scale of these resources explain the growing international competition over the Territory and reinforce the Sahrawi people's permanent right to sovereignty over their natural resources.
Speaking at the international symposium on "The Legal Battle and the Sahrawi People's Permanent Sovereignty over Their Natural Resources," held on Saturday at the Presidency of the Sahrawi Republic, El Mokhtar presented an overview of the Territory's vast natural resource potential.
She highlighted that Western Sahara holds an estimated 10.6 billion tonnes of phosphate reserves, representing approximately 22 percent of global reserves of this crucial mineral. The Territory also possesses significant deposits of iron ore, precious metals, rare earth elements, uranium, salt, silica, and high-quality sand, in addition to promising oil and gas prospects.
These resources, she said, give Western Sahara strategic importance that extends well beyond economic considerations to encompass global food security, industrial supply chains, and geopolitical interests.
Turning to the maritime sector, Yaguta emphasized that Western Sahara's Atlantic coastline stretches for more than 1,150 kilometers and borders one of the world's richest fishing grounds, owing to the nutrient-rich upwelling system.
The Territory's waters have an estimated sustainable annual yield exceeding two million tonnes of fish, while cephalopods, particularly octopus, rank among its most valuable commercial resources. She noted that these abundant fisheries continue to attract foreign fleets and companies operating under agreements that raise legal questions regarding the Sahrawi people's rights over their natural resources.
She also underscored the Territory's considerable renewable energy potential, stating that its strong and consistent winds together with exceptionally high levels of solar irradiation make Western Sahara ideally suited to become a major producer of clean energy, green hydrogen, and green ammonia.
However, she argued that these projects are being implemented under Morocco's occupation and without the consent of the Sahrawi people, raising serious legal and ethical concerns over the exploitation of resources in a Non-Self-Governing Territory that has yet to complete the process of decolonization.
Addressing the environmental dimension, Yaguta pointed to the ecological consequences of intensive resource exploitation. She stated that the Moroccan military wall, extending for more than 2,700 kilometers, has caused extensive environmental degradation, contaminated large areas with millions of landmines, facilitated control over most of the Territory's water resources, and entrenched Moroccan control over the regions richest in natural resources.
In the final part of her presentation, the Sahrawi activist outlined the transnational "plunder chain," comprising multinational corporations, financial institutions, shipping companies, insurers, and international importers involved in the exploitation of Western Sahara's phosphate, fisheries, renewable energy, and agricultural resources.
She argued that this network facilitates the integration of Western Sahara's resources into the Moroccan economy despite the Territory's separate and distinct legal status as a Non-Self-Governing Territory (a colony) under international law and repeated international court rulings affirming the Sahrawi people's permanent sovereignty over their natural resources. (SPS)
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