In many developing countries natural resources are an important economic factor, but mismanagement, corruption and local conflicts prevent the poor benefiting from the revenues generated. To enable all population groups to profit from their country's resource wealth, the governments of these countries are called upon to put in place an appropriate and reliable business environment and to ensure good governance. At the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was set up. The Initiative is based on the G8 Africa Action Plan which was adopted in the same year and has its headquarters in Oslo. The aim of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative is to increase the transparency of cash flows associated with the extraction of oil, gas and other natural resources, thereby enabling civil society to monitor the whereabouts of the funds.
