Introduction

There is considerable disagreement across the political spectrum nationally and internationally about strategies to achieve peace in Darfur. However, it is clear that the cleavages associated with the current conflict cannot be healed completely without an objective assessment of Darfur's economic condition. The current crisis is marked by massive displacement of development concerns, resulting in poverty, lack of means of livelihood, and political grievances. The thesis of this book is that the lack of economic development is the root cause of the conflict; all of the area's other problems are, so to speak, the ripple effects of poverty and economic marginalization. Darfur is a vast region endowed with limited and unexplored natural resources, poor infrastructure, and underdevelopment projects. Identifying its economic and human development needs brings us closer to finding ways to alleviate its human suffering and environmental stress.