Abstract
The food security crisis and international “land grabs” have drawn renewed attention to the role of natural resource competition in the livelihoods of the rural poor. While significant empirical research has focused on diagnosing the links between natural resource competition and (violent) conflict, much less has focused on the dynamics of whether and how resource competition can be transformed to strengthen social-ecological resilience and mitigate conflict. Focusing on this latter theme, this review synthesizes evidence from cases in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Building on an analytical framework designed to enable such comparative analysis, we present several propositions about the dynamics of conflict and collective action in natural resource management, and a series of recommendations for action. These propositions are: that collective action in natural resource management is influenced by the social-ecological and governance context, that natural resource management institutions affect the incentives for conflict or cooperation, and that the outcomes of these interactions influence future conflict risk, livelihoods, and resource sustainability. Action recommendations concern policies addressing resource tenure, conflict resolution mechanisms, and social inequalities, as well as strategies to strengthen collective action institutions in the natural resource sectors and to enable more equitable engagement by marginalized groups in dialogue and negotiation over resource access and use.
Highlights
The food security crisis, international “land grabs,” and the emergence of new markets for environmental services have compelled the international development community to pay renewed attention to the role of natural resource competition in the livelihoods of the rural poor
While significant empirical research has focused on diagnosing the links between natural resource competition and conflict, much less has focused on the dynamics of whether and how resource competition can be transformed to strengthen social-ecological resilience and mitigate conflict
While significant empirical research has focused on diagnosing the links between natural resource competition and violent conflict, much less analysis has focused on the dynamics of how resource competition can be transformed to strengthen social-ecological resilience and mitigate conflict
Summary
The food security crisis, international “land grabs,” and the emergence of new markets for environmental services have compelled the international development community to pay renewed attention to the role of natural resource competition in the livelihoods of the rural poor. An increasing body of research demonstrates the potential for natural resource management to contribute to post-conflict peacebuilding (Young and Goldman 2015; Bruch et al 2016) Building on these propositions, the primary focus of this paper is to understand how interventions that promote collective action can help shift the incentives towards cooperative and equitable management of resource competition, thereby reducing the likelihood of broader social conflict and violence, and strengthening the foundations for social-ecological resilience. Development cooperation agencies may finance or provide technical assistance or invest in capacity building to aid such reform efforts Civil society actors, both domestic and international, may advocate for policy and institutional change, including through broad-based social movements.
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