Recent Articles

On June 3, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (the HKEx) puts new disclosure rules into effect for mineral companies, marking a significant step forward in the global campaign to establish greater transparency and accountability in the extractive industries. The rule change is a sign of positive momentum as the International Accounting Standards Board considers actions that could have even greater reach, and also weakens the case against greater disclosure by extractive companies on the basis of the disadvantage born by any "first mover."
News Article ~ 28 May 2010
A new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) surveys the contributions made by mining companies to public finances, offering details on various forms of taxes and contributions, and suggestions for how companies could benefit from increased transparency in reporting their tax affairs.
News Article ~ 20 May 2010
You may notice a few changes on the Revenue Watch website. We have upgraded the site to add several new features that will make it easier for you to find, receive and share information. Read more about highlights of the new RevenueWatch.org.
News Article ~ 19 May 2010
A proposal by U.S. Senators Richard Lugar and Ben Cardin would require any company listed on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose payments to governments for access to natural resources. As Congress debates this amendment to financial reform legislation, and the best response to the BP oil spill, RWI Director Karin Lissakers explains the urgent need for legal reform to ensure extractive sector transparency and accountability. Read more at The Huffington Post ...
News Article ~ 18 May 2010
In late March, Oil & Gas Journal editor Bob Tippee spoke to a gathering of the Gas Processors Association (GPA) on the necessity of renewing a once-vibrant corporate conversation on the concept of the extractive industry's "license to operate." In an eloquent call to action, Tippee noted the important role that the Revenue Watch Institute has played in maintaining an emphasis on transparency in extractive industry contracting. Praising the insights of recent RWI report Contracts Confidential, Tippee exhorted GPA members to open their contracts up for public oversight, and transform them from objects of secrecy into vehicles for building trust.
News Article ~ 6 May 2010

Revenue Watch applauded the Government of Indonesia's announcement that Indonesia plans to implement the EITI. The presidential decree signed April 23 initiates several of the required steps to reach formal EITI candidate status. RWI praised Indonesia's leaders in particular for an "unequivocal commitment to go beyond minimum EITI standards."

Press Release ~ 3 May 2010
On Sunday, April 25, the Revenue Watch Institute presented a dynamic policy discussion on lessons learned from the global financial crisis and the steps that local and international actors can take to insulate resource rich economies from future shocks and ensure the long-term benefits of extractive activity. 
News Article ~ 26 April 2010
The global movement for accountable natural resource management gained ground today as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) resolved questions over the status of 18 countries that had missed a key deadline in the voluntary program. At a meeting in Berlin, Germany, the EITI International Board decided on limited extensions for 16 countries to complete their reporting and validation processes, including Kazakhstan, Timor Leste and Ghana.
Press Release ~ 16 April 2010
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) took important steps on April 6 to improve reporting and disclosure by the oil, gas and mining industries. But extractive industry experts said the proposals have been weakened by pressure from companies and have yet to clearly recommend reporting of the full information that investors and citizens need.
Press Release ~ 8 April 2010
To manage the ravages of the global downturn, nations rich in oil and minerals must diversify their economies and create stronger policies that protect revenues from volatility in commodity and credit markets, according to a new series of recommendations released yesterday by the Revenue Watch Institute.
Press Release ~ 1 April 2010

On Wednesday, March 31 Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz and Chris Canavan of Goldman Sachs joined the Revenue Watch Institute for a conversation at Columbia University about the implications of the world financial crisis for resource-exporting countries. The expert panel also included Revenue Watch authors Antoine Heuty and Sarah Pray and was moderated by journalist Dino Mahtani.

News Article ~ 19 March 2010
As 22 countries in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) faced a deadline today for completing their national validation processes, the Revenue Watch Institute called for clear and consistent standards in the Initiative's response to the 20 countries whose validation work unfortunately remains incomplete.
Press Release ~ 9 March 2010
Over the course of 2009, Revenue Watch and our partners saw great strides toward more transparent and accountable management of natural resources. Through our innovative training approaches, cutting edge research, focused advocacy, grant-making and expert technical assistance, we supported systemic change to turn resource wealth into lasting benefits for citizens.
News Article ~ 19 February 2010
In 2008, the Revenue Watch Institute launched two groundbreaking, intensive fellowship programs. In contrast to our traditional investments in civil society organizations, the Capacity Advancement Fellowship in Extractives and the Petrad Fellowship seek out individuals interested in engaging in the extractive industries or starting a new direction of work. These rigorous programs aim to build the knowledge, networks and confidence of the fellows so that they can provide improved programming in their home organizations or coalitions.
News Article ~ 18 February 2010
On February 2, the Revenue Watch Institute launched its new online Resource Center: an interactive database of research, training and policy documents and videos concerning transparency and the management of natural resource wealth. This tool, which compiles a comprehensive selection of research materials from around the world in multiple languages, represents a cross-section of expertise, analysis and good practice.
News Article ~ 18 February 2010

Stephen Timms is the UK Treasury Secretary. He made this statement at the OECD Global Forum meeting on tax and development this week. At the same meeting, the OECD made new commitments in this area, including work on country-by-country reporting requirements for companies. The meeting and the Secretary's statement reflect a sea-change in global thinking about the connections between taxes, transparency and development.

News Article ~ 2 February 2010

The Revenue Watch Institute is excited to announce the formal launch of its online Resource Center, a tool for knowledge-sharing and transparency advocacy.

News Article ~ 2 February 2010
RWI partner Oxfam America has created a two-minute animated short, "Follow the money," to help support the Energy Security Through Transparency Act. "Follow the money" demonstrates the consequences of buying gas every day: where the money goes, and why citizens in oil-producing nations often don't see the profits when U.S. gas prices soar.
News Article ~ 22 January 2010
On BBC's "The World Tonight" program, RWI Africa Regional Coordinator Emmanuel Kuyole and Radhika Sarin of Publish What You Pay International discuss the challenges of responsible natural resource management and how citizens and leaders from Ghana to Ecuador are working to make the most of their resource wealth.
News Article ~ 19 January 2010
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange recently sought formal comments on proposals to improve disclosure requirements for extractive companies. Revenue Watch has submitted its responses to the proposals, which represent a significant step in the exchange's effort to align its rules with international standards.
News Article ~ 15 December 2009
Two hundred activists from more than 50 countries gathered this week for the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) International Conference in Montreal, Canada. Speakers included leaders of the coalition's advisory group and civil society representatives from the governing board of the EITI.
News Article ~ 18 November 2009
On November 11, the Revenue Watch Institute hosted journalist Peter Maass, author of the new book Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil, for an afternoon conversation with RWI Director Karin Lissakers. Crude World is a reporter's foray into many of the countries that have come to represent the so-called "resource curse," such as Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan—countries where the discovery of mineral and hydrocarbon reserves has resulted not in greater prosperity, but rather in increased corruption, poverty and environmental degradation.
News Article ~ 16 November 2009
On September 23, as a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced legislation to broaden disclosure of international extractive industry payments, more than 200 activists, policymakers, industry representatives and government officials gathered for a conference that may herald a new stage in the global movement for natural resource transparency and accountability. The event marked the release of Revenue Watch's report Contracts Confidential: Ending Secret Deals in the Extractive Industries, which challenges most of the common objections to openness in extractive industry contracts.
News Article ~ 23 October 2009
On November 11, at 12:30 pm, the Revenue Watch Institute hosted a lunchtime discussion at the Open Society Institute with author Peter Maass about his new book, Crude World: The Violent Twilight of Oil (Knopf, 2009). In Crude World, Maass examines "oil's indelible impact on the countries that produce it and the people who possess it," bringing stories of the so-called "resource curse" that transparency advocates have long discussed to a broader public. In
News Article ~ 21 October 2009
Next month in Washington, D.C., Revenue Watch will co-host a seminar with Partners for Democratic Change entitled: "Strategies for Building Political Support to Expand the Reach of EITI to New Countries" Panelists will discuss arguments for EITI adoption, successful experiences advocating EITI with participating governments, and the appropriate role of local civil society organizations in promoting the initiative.
Press Release ~ 19 October 2009