Africa holds a huge proportion of the world’s natural resources. It’s countries are abundant in numerous natural resources including oil, uranium, copper, gold, platinum, tin, diamonds, timber, and bio-fuels. The continent contains large amounts of Coltan, which is not only a great conductor of electricity, but it is also a mineral used in modern technology such as cell phones and computers. Contracts should ensure that if and when the value of the resources increase, the windfall gain goes the appropriate country and not solely to the company. However, a simple solution to this problem is to renegotiate these bad contracts so that countries will receive a “windfall-profit”. (UNECA)

     An abundance of oil is found in and near the northern African countries such as Libya and Algeria leading southward through Angola.
Other elements and minerals such as diamonds, gold, and uranium lie just outside of the oil dominant regions.
The darker colors on the map display oil regions, while the lighter pink and light green colors symbolize consumable goods and precious expensive metals & minerals.

     Rhetorical aspects of this map show pathos because it shows how Africa produces many resources such as oil precious metals and machinery items along with other resources and how other countries just use Africa for the material and resources it has while also belittling it and treating it like it’s a place that has no value and no usefulness. So the main focus of emotions used for this map would be sadness and feelings of sympathy and empathy. This map also uses logos because it uses facts to show what specifically what each area of Africa produces and the jewels they have available for other people to use. Overall the purpose of the map is that Africa has an abundance of resources that are being economically exploited. The targeted audiences are the citizens of the areas such as Europe, Asia, and North America that take advantage of Africa and overuse them for their resources. United Nations Economic Commission for Africa or UNECA, recognizes this issue. “Established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations (UN) in 1958 as one of the UN’s five regional commissions, ECA’s mandate is to promote the economic and social development of its member States, foster intra-regional integration, and promote international cooperation for Africa’s development.” Their website has information on how the Continent has development challenges and their contributions to help fix it. It’s also the only UN agency “that mandates regional and sub-regional levels to harness resources and bring them to bear on Africa’s priorities.” (UNECA)

“In order for Africa to reap the economic and social benefits inherent in this wealth, it is necessary to urgently address such issues as proper management and the environmental impact of their exploitation.” –United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s Natural Resource Management