Investing for Peace? On the Use of Resource Revenues to Finance an Eventual Post-Conflict Process in Colombia

The national government of Colombia and the FARC guerrilla started a peace negotiation in late 2012 to terminate a prolonged and devastating armed conflict. Up to date, they have advanced in three of the six main points of the negotiation agenda. While different State agencies have estimated the costs that an eventual post-conflict process entails, the discussion on the sources to finance it is still on going. The Colombian Government has not disclosed a definitive plan to finance the needs of a post-conflict scenario, but it has hinted that the oil and mineral revenues generated by the extractive sector may be a key source of finance. This is paper aims to contribute to the debate of how to finance an eventual peace-building process in Colombia, by discussing the challenges and opportunities of using non-renewable natural resource revenues, particularly from royalties