The Managing Natural Resource Wealth Thematic Fund (MNRW-TF) was launched by the IMF in 2011 with several development partners to help countries build capacity to manage their natural resource wealth effectively. The fund also helps create a stable macroeconomic environment for exploration and exploitation of natural resources, helping to ensure that they are managed in a socially responsible way.
The goals of the MNRW-TF are to assist resource-rich countries in the following areas:
This program was initially funded in an amount of US$25 million by: Australia, European Union, Kuwait, Netherlands, Norway, Oman and Switzerland. Phase 2 of the program was launched in late 2016 and is fully operational as of May 1, 2017. It is envisages as US30 million fund and has already received contributions from Australia, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland.
The MNRW-TF has provided an effective basis for the IMF to work with partners to help low- and lower-middle income countries achieve material improvements in the management of their resource wealth. Several of such cases have been profiled in the September 2016 pamphlet Assisting Resource-Rich Countries Mobilize and Manage Their Revenues.
Phase 2 of the MNRW-TF concentrates on capacity development in five areas for improving extractive industry (EI) fiscal regimes and revenue management in recipient countries. These modules are as follows:
The MNRW-TF delivers TA through multiple channels in order to maximize impact:
The MNRW-TF supports the IMF’s leading research and analytical work on managing natural resource wealth, to identify good or best practice approaches and distill lessons from experiences. Significant work has been done including:
The release of two handbooks on: Administering Fiscal Regimes for Extractive Industries: A Handbook (recently translated into French and Spanish); and Sovereign Asset-Liability Management Guidance for Resource-rich Countries.
Public release of a stylized version of the IMF’s Fiscal Analysis for Resource Industries (FARI) model, together with an accompanying Technical Notes and Manual. The FARI model is a modeling framework developed to perform EI fiscal analysis, and can be used for assisting in the design of EI fiscal regimes, revenue forecasting, and revenue administration.
Development of a template for collecting data on government revenues from natural resources which has been field-tested in several countries. In a significant confirmation of the importance of the template, the EITI announced it will collaborate with the IMF in using the template to improve transparency.
The MNRW-TF has financed four successful regional conferences on EI fiscal issues were held in East Africa, Asia-Pacific region, and the Andean region (2 conferences), with between 60 and 90 participants at each conference. These conferences provided a forum for participating countries to exchange views and experiences on the fiscal challenges and macroeconomic considerations they face in relation to natural resources, while also learning from the experience of international experts. In addition, a conference was held in Washington DC to discuss international issues for the EI sector, with the papers being used as a basis for a book on International Tax Issues for the Extractives Industries.
The list of countries and regional organizations that have benefited from TA under the MNRW-TF is as follows: Bolivia, Cameroon, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, ECOWAS, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Lao PDR, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mongolia,Mozambique, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Uganda, Zambia.
