Natural resources play a big role in the disagreements between countries. These resources affect how rich or powerful a nation is and can even lead to fights over land. Some important resources are oil, water, and minerals. These can bring countries together or cause serious conflicts.

1. Oil:

   • The Middle East has about 48% of the world's oil. This has led to fights in the past, like the Gulf War in 1990-1991, which happened when Iraq attacked Kuwait. This attack was partly because Iraq was struggling economically and wanted to control oil fields.
   • In 2022, oil prices went up to over $100 a barrel, which made tensions rise in places that depend on oil for their economy.

2. Water:

   • Freshwater is becoming harder to find, so countries are trying to secure their access to shared water sources. A clear example is the Nile River, which 11 countries share. Egypt and Ethiopia are particularly at odds over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
   • Almost 2 billion people live in places where water is scarce, making competition over water even more intense.

3. Minerals:

   • The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has about 60% of the world's cobalt reserves, which are important for making electric vehicle batteries. Many investors are interested in these resources, but this has also led to local conflicts and violence from different groups.
   • The world’s need for lithium, which is also used in batteries, is expected to jump by 500% by 2030. There are big deposits of lithium in certain areas, which raises the importance of these regions even more.

In short, fighting over natural resources can create tensions between countries and change how they deal with each other. This makes it really important to manage these resources wisely in today’s world.