MANAGEMENT & RESOLUTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES CONFLICTS

DISCLAIMER These slides are part of a training package that includes a Trainers Manual, User Guidelines and a CD-ROM with references and presentations The production of this package was commissioned in 2014 by the Office of the Prime Minister, as part of the Northern Uganda Agriculture Livelihoods Recovery Programme (ALREP) The training package was produced by consultants of the Makerere University College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences The contents of the package do not necessary reflect the views and opinions of the Government of Uganda and the European Union

NATURAL RESOURCES CONFLICTS Learning Objectives By the end of the session, participants should be able to: understand the meaning of natural resources conflicts detect natural resources conflicts identify the strategies for managing and resolving natural resources conflicts

KEY TERMS & CONCEPTS Brainstorm amongst the participants about their definitions and views on: Natural Resources Conflict Natural Resources Conflicts

KEY TERMS & CONCEPTS Conflict is a relationship involving two or more parties who have, or perceive themselves to have, incompatible interests or goals Conflict occurs when two or more parties: actually have or perceive themselves to have incompatible interests or goals express hostile attitudes pursue their interests through actions that damage the interests of other parties Incompatibilities are actions &/or ideas that are not acceptable or possible together cannot be attained simultaneously

KEY TERMS & CONCEPTS VIOLENCE is a threat or use of strong physical force also consists of actions, words, attitudes or structures that cause damage and prevent people from pursuing their livelihoods and well being DISPUTE occurs when a conflict over a specific issue or event becomes public all disputes reflect conflict, but not all conflicts develop into disputes

KEY TERMS & CONCEPTS NATURAL RESOURCES are natural assets (raw materials) occurring in nature that can be used for economic production or consumption (United Nations, 1997). are “stocks of materials that exist in the natural environment that are both scarce and economically useful in production or consumption, either in their raw state or after a minimal amount of processing” (WTO, 2010)

NATURAL RESOURCES CONFLICTS (NRCs) NATURE OF NRCs NRCs are disagreements and disputes over: access to natural resources control over natural resources use of natural resources NRCs emerge because: people have different uses for resources or want to manage them in different ways the priorities of some user groups are not considered in policies, programmes and projects

ELEMENTS OF NRCs Problems specific issue & differences among people, groups or agencies e.g. different values incompatible interests and needs differences on how scarce resources should be used problems are the root causes of conflicts about which people tend to take clear and strong positions

PROCESSES AND PEOPLE IN NRCs The way decisions are made Transparent Fair Wise Lawful process issues are often refered to as contributing factors i.e. They simply trigger or aggravate conflicts People What people think about and how they relate to the conflict Feelings Emotions Perceptions

CAUSES OF NRCs List a number of causes that give rise to NRCs

Structural inequalities Statutory vs customary tenure systems Gender Cultural values, customary arrangements Power relations (social, political, economic & legal inequalities) Marginalised groups may compete for resources Oppressive patterns of human r/ships Limited authority

Competition over natural resources Demographic change Population growth Migration Urbanization Market pressures Increased commercialization Intensification and privatization of local economies Growing integration of national and global economies Economic reforms

Socio-economic changes change in the interests and needs of resource users new technologies can have +ve and-ve impacts on sustainability of natural resources use e.g. synthetic fertilizers, agric. mechanization & permanent irrigation

COMMERCIALIZATION OF COMMON PROPERTY RESOURCES Change in value & benefits of resources increases Powerful groups may monopolize benefits through “private” property rights Migration changes the way in which rural society and resources use are organized rural urban migration reduces labour for resource mgt. migration to rural areas increases the demand for resource use

Natural resources management policies, programmes and projects Policies imposed without local participation Poor stakeholder identification and consultation Stakeholders vary & have many sub groups Have different interests Uncoordinated planning Inadequate or poor information sharing

Manifest Escalating Open Violent Conflict intensity Emerging Time STAGES OF NRCs Time Violent Latent Emerging Escalating Open Hidden Conflict intensity Manifest

STAGES OF NRCs Latent: social tensions, differences & disagreements that are hidden Emerging: conflict emerges gradually and steadily; begins to be noticed Manifest:expands into a full blown public issue that cannot be avoided Escalating: increase in the intensity of a conflict and in the severity of tactics used Violence: actions, words, attitudes or structures that cause damage and prevent people from pursuing their

MANAGEMENT & RESOLUTION OF NRCs Conflict management is the practice of identifying and handling conflicts in a sensible, fair and efficient manner that prevents them from escalating out of control and becoming violent Conflict resolution deals with process-oriented activities that aim to address and resolve the deep-rooted and underlying causes of a conflict

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT Conflicts often result from differences in power and values Power is the ability to influence others Values are the long range beliefs that people hold regarding how things should be, and that give meaning to their lives there are differences in power between stakeholders in natural resource management there may also be differences in values between stakeholders involved in natural resources management it may not be possible to remove such differences completely; so some level of conflict will possibly always exist

THE OUTCOME OF A CONFLICT Some conflicts are beneficial at some stage; they contribute towards achievement of common goals Such conflicts are better off managed than resolved The option of conflict resolution some conflicts have no beneficial outcomes it is possible to remove/resolve the underlying issues behind some conflicts conflict management can be a step towards conflict resolution conflict management & conflict resolution generally employ similar approaches to reach different outcomes

RESPONSES TO CONFLICT Parties strive to achieve their own goals only (distributive conflict management) Assertiveness Parties work collaboratively/cooperatively to find the best way forward (integrative conflict management) Cooperativeness

Conflict Management Styles / Behaviours Force Collaboration Compromise Concern for personal goals Avoidance Accommodation Concern for relationships (cooperativeness)

Conflict Management Styles: Avoidance acting in ways that prevent a conflict from becoming publicly acknowledged Neglects the interests of both parties by postponing decisions, retreating, using delaying tactics May seem easier than getting involved Results in lose-lose situation if done in isolation Results in only a temporary solution

Conflict Management Styles: Accommodation Satisfies the other parties interests while neglecting own interests May be used when parties are unwilling to take time May be used when one party has more power or is willing to preserve the relationship Results in lose-win situation

Conflict Management Styles: Compromise Useful when the importance of realizing your personal goals is about equal to the importance of maintaining a good relationship involves negotiating between the parties so that a final common ground is agreed to Both parties make a sacrifice in order to achieve mutually workable Parties must give something up in order to gain some thing else Results in a sort of win-win yet lose-lose situation

Conflict Management Styles: Collaboration is a cooperative response to conflict aims to meet the needs of all parties listens to all concerns, analyzes goals, deals peacefully with the differences conflicting parties not only resolve their conflict but meet, to some extent, the needs of all parties it is appropriate when the stability of the relationship is necessary for the achievement of everyone's goals

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES: FORCE the attempt of one group/party to impose its interests over others can involve violence, threats, harassment

Conclusions Natural Resources Conflicts are disagreements/differences over; natural resources use values relating to use and management of natural resources priorities of natural resources users Natural Resources Conflicts occur when people are aware of their differences whether real or perceived at latent and emerging stages are not easy to detect because there are usually no clear sign of differences from the manifest stage on wards are relatively easy to detect because they transition into disputes Collaboration is usually the best strategy for managing and resolving natural resources conflicts is achieved through consensual negotiation and therefore results into a win-win situation