Resource Conflicts Research Articles

Conflict analysis of multiple decision-makers ecological environment governance of water resources based on graph model with heterogeneous preference in China's South-to-North water transfer project

Ecological environment governance of water resources is the foundation and key measures to ensure good water quality in China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project. However, as a limited rational economic person, considering their economic benefit, different involvers in China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project show different types of preference relations and make different action decisions as well as play conflicts with each other, which have a negative effect on ecological environmental governance. To overcome above-described shortcomings, heterogeneous preferences are integrated into graph model for conflict resolution (GMCR) to resolve ecological environment governance conflict of water resources. Specifically, first, four different structures of preference expression, including preference orderings, utility functions, multiplicative preferences, and additive preferences, are used to represent decision-maker's (DM's) preference information over states. Then, a novel preference ranking method is designed to calculate the ordinal preferences over all states by using matrix representation. Based on this, a set of heterogeneous stability definitions is proposed in GMCR to describe human diversified choice and behavior in detail, and it is applied to the ecological environment governance conflict of water resources in China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project. The heterogeneous stability analysis result showed that incentive policies used by water resources agencies can effectively encourage local governments and enterprises to actively participate in the ecological environment governance, and promote the ecological environment governance conflict to evolve into a state of equilibrium.

Cattle, conflict, and climate variability: explaining pastoralist conflict intensity in the Karamoja region of Uganda

Conflicts between pastoralist groups in Africa are rampant and cause numerous deaths each year, but their intensity exhibits significant spatial and temporal variations. Under what conditions do some pastoralist conflicts turn more violent than others? Previous research has shown that climate variability may be a relevant explanatory factor under certain conditions, yet little is known about how specific combinations of conditions jointly affect pastoralist conflict intensity. Moreover, many studies have investigated the link between resource scarcity and conflict, but few have examined how asymmetrical distribution of resources between groups affects levels of violence. This article contributes to filling these gaps through a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of pastoralist conflicts in Karamoja, Uganda—a region characterized by cattle husbandry, communal conflict, and a highly variable climate. Five conditions that are related either to incentives for taking to violence or to opportunity structures are examined and three pathways to high-intensity conflict are identified. The results show that an asymmetrical distribution of resources between pastoralist groups during a drought incentivizes conflict, particularly in remote areas with nearby armed conflicts. The article highlights some implications for future research and policy. First, it shows that this type of conflict cannot be reduced to simple “resource scarcity conflicts” since climate variability only has an effect in combination with other conditions. Second, it emphasizes the need for policy approaches that consider both environmental variability and political contexts in addressing pastoralist violence.

Multi-objective planning for time-cost trade-offs in multi-project parallel environment

PurposeProject managers bear the responsibility of selecting and developing resource scheduling methods that align with project requirements and organizational circumstances. This study focuses on resource-constrained project scheduling in multi-project environments. The research simplifies the problem by adopting a single-project perspective using gain coefficients.Design/methodology/approachIt employs uncertainty theory and multi-objective programming to construct a model. The optimal solution is identified using Matlab, while LINGO determines satisfactory alternatives. By combining these methods and considering actual construction project situations, a compromise solution closely approximating the optimal one is derived.FindingsThe study provides fresh insights into modeling and resolving resource-constrained project scheduling issues, supported by real-world examples that effectively illustrate its practical significance.Originality/valueThe research highlights three main contributions: effective resource utilization, project prioritization and conflict management, and addressing uncertainty. It offers decision support for project managers to balance resource allocation, resolve conflicts, and adapt to changing project demands.

The conflict between Rights of Nature and mining in Ecuador: Implications of the Los Cedros Cloud Forest case for biodiversity conservation

Abstract Global emergence of Rights of Nature (RoN) has gained momentum since Ecuador became the first country to constitutionally recognize it in 2008. The shift from perceiving nature as an object, to granting it legal subjecthood, can revolutionize protection of ecological systems. In 2021, Ecuador's Constitutional Court issued a landmark ruling, halting mining in the Los Cedros Protected Forest. Three pillars form the basis for legal protection of Los Cedros: (i) the right to timely, Free Prior Informed Environmental Consultation, (ii) application of the Precautionary Principle in risk to RoN, and (iii) the Right to Water. We analyse the Court ruling to identify legal frameworks applied then map and rank mining risk to other protected forests, Indigenous territories, unprotected native ecosystems, biodiversity and areas of water resource conflict to determine potential scale of conflict between mining and RoN. 7813 mining concessions of 22,812km2 overlay 9.2% of Ecuadorian mainland, 2323 concessions (29.7%) overlap 16,081km2 of protected forest (4781 km2, 20%), Indigenous territory (6473 km2, 8%) and native vegetation outside protected areas and Indigenous territories (13,390 km2, 9%). With 80% of their protected forests at risk from large‐scale mining, the most impacted Indigenous communities are the Shuar. Synthesis and applications: The Los Cedros legal case in Ecuador sets a precedent for using RoN to challenge mining in 4781 km2 of similar Protected Forest, with potential to protect an additional 16,081 km2 of Indigenous lands and biologically important ecosystems. However, lack of biological data for these areas will necessitate extensive data collection, possibly through community‐empowering citizen science. Our study emphasizes the urgent need to integrate indigenous and traditional ecological knowledge (ITEK), law and ecology. We propose a new transdisciplinary field of ‘ecological forensics’ to support nature protection within the RoN framework. Our research also identifies areas where RoN could effectively protect nature and that are likely to be of high investment risk for the mining industry. The final recommendation is to reconsider mining concessions in Ecuador, especially in ecologically sensitive areas, Indigenous territories, high biodiversity areas, and regions with water resource conflicts, to maintain ecological integrity and social harmony. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

A branch-and-bound algorithm for the proactive resource-constrained project scheduling problem with a robustness maximization objective

This paper presents a branch-and-bound (B&B) algorithm for the proactive scheduling problem, which incorporates a degree of anticipated variability in practical projects. First, the resource-constrained proactive scheduling model is formulated. Second, solving the resource-unconstrained version of the problem with an adapted Fulkerson algorithm provides an upper bound solution. Then, the subproblems of the model are derived by introducing additional precedence relationships to resolve the resource conflict in the upper bound solution. Third, we solve the resource-constrained proactive scheduling problem with the proposed B&B algorithm. The resource conflicts found in the upper bound solution are resolved by adding additional precedence relationships. According to the problem analysis, two dominance rules are proposed for additional node fathoming with the aim of improving the algorithm. Fourth, a genetic algorithm is designed to provide an effective heuristic method for solving the research problem. Finally, we conduct an extensive computational experiment on 6,000 randomly generated instances. The obtained results show that the B&B algorithm has advantages over CPLEX and the genetic algorithm. In addition, the impacts of the dominance rules and the three key parameters on the computational time and project robustness are analysed.

A three-stage solution approach with a repeated-negotiation mechanism for the decentralized resource-constrained multi-project scheduling problem

PurposeThis study develops a model and algorithm to solve the decentralized resource-constrained multi-project scheduling problem (DRCMPSP) and provides a suitable priority rule (PR) for coordinating global resource conflicts among multiple projects.Design/methodology/approachThis study addresses the DRCMPSP, which respects the information privacy requirements of project agents; that is, there is no single manager centrally in charge of generating multi-project scheduling. Accordingly, a three-stage model was proposed for the decentralized management of multiple projects. To solve this model, a three-stage solution approach with a repeated negotiation mechanism was proposed.FindingsThe experimental results obtained using the Multi-Project Scheduling Problem LIBrary confirm that our approach outperforms existing methods, regardless of the average utilization factor (AUF). Comparative analysis revealed that delaying activities in the lower project makespan produces a lower average project delay. Furthermore, the new PR LMS performed better in problem subsets with AUF < 1 and large-scale subsets with AUF > 1.Originality/valueA solution approach with a repeated-negotiation mechanism suitable for the DRCMPSP and a new PR for coordinating global resource allocation are proposed.

Dynamic scheduling of decentralized high-end equipment R&D projects via deep reinforcement learning

Distributed research and development (R&D) plays a pivotal role in high-end equipment manufacturing enterprises, significantly impacting interdisciplinary innovation and expediting development cycles. In the uncertain environment characterized by random arrivals of new projects, achieving dynamic scheduling and real-time coordination for decentralized R&D projects is a challenging problem. This paper studies a dynamic decentralized resource-constrained multi-project scheduling problem with product transfers (DDRCMPSP-PT). The objective is to minimize the development cycle after initial local schedules are generated to minimize the individual project makespan. To tackle the problem, we develop a decentralized multi-agent system using the dynamic coordination mechanism for resource assignment (DMAS/DCMRA). An up-to-date deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithm, dueling double deep Q-learning (D3QN) with prioritized replay, is employed to select the optimal strategy to resolve the global resource conflicts adaptively. Two priority rules are presented based on the structural properties and make up the action space of the DRL agent together with ten high-quality priority rules. Extensive simulation experiment results based on real enterprise cases reveal that the DMAS/DCMRA outperforms all traditional priority rule-based methods. The proposed priority rules also show competitive performance compared to other priority rules, which validates the applicability and superiority of the proposed method. This research offers a new agile project management technique for organizations running multiple R&D projects and managing crucial bottleneck resources.

Advanced flow simulations of estuarine water resources responding to changes in societal demands

Water resources of rivers and estuaries have traditionally been managed for local societal demands, including municipal, agricultural, and industrial usages, as well as for transportation as navigational channels. However, as societal demands have changed including urban expansion, economic growth, cultural transition, etc., the land uses also should be changed, and the civil necessities of water have been diversified, and this has raised concerns about the ecology, environment, and water quality issues. This study attempted to address three water resource management issues in South Korean rivers and estuaries, which occurred recently due to the changes in societal demands for water and explained how the most advanced scientific research techniques had been applied. The main issues were 1) agricultural water security and ecological environment restoration in Nakdong River Estuary, 2) water and soil quality degradation due to industrial effluents in Hyeongsan River Estuary, and 3) utilization of rivers as waterways and water quality and ecology issues in the ARA waterway. To find solutions to conflicts of water resources, the series of numerical simulations validated by the field observations allowed 1) assessments of the impact and extent of salt intrusion upon the opening of estuary dam gates, 2) estuarine physical processes to investigate the influence of industrial effluent, and 3) analysis water quality variations resulting from changes in the function of artificial channels. These analyses are expected to provide appropriate and science-based strategies of regional water management.

Distributed collaborative scheduling technology for random access in real-time

The planning and deployment of mega constellations has posed increasing pressure on the existing telemetry, track and command (TTC) resource scheduling strategy. The current plan-based scheduling strategy distributes resources according to needs, however, it cannot address sudden resource requests with prompt responses. By analyzing the status quo of resource scheduling systems, we have proposed a distributed collaborative scheduling technology for random access in real-time, based on the theory of low costs and rapid transfers of scheduling task resources. First, we use knowledge graph technology to map the link between scheduling tasks and idle resources and develop a graph network. Furthermore, by analyzing and evaluating the resource transfer capability of a multi-target TTC system in hemispherical coverage (MT-TTC), we propose the concept of a virtual resource pool and develop a two-layer scheduling framework in which the central scheduling system coordinates with multiple regional systems. This scheduling strategy works well when a sudden TTC request occurs. The central system manages the satellite requests and make plans, while regional systems are responsible for handling the sudden requests and report to the central system on its resource change. With regional systems sharing some degree of autonomy, the central system making a final decision and systems across the framework coordinating in real-time, we design a model on resource transfers for MT-TTC equipment and a collaboration mechanism that coordinates the resource transfers across MT-TTC equipment and other single-beam equipment within and between regions. We do experiments in simulation scheduling environments. The results show that the regional scheduling system based on MT-TTC equipment is able to manage continuous random-access requests in real-time, and avoid resource conflicts across regions by collaborating with the central scheduling system. It is of value to be applied in real scenarios.

The Real Effects of Supply Chain Transparency Regulation: Evidence from Section 1502 of the Dodd–Frank Act

ABSTRACTSection 1502 of the Dodd–Frank Act requires SEC‐registered issuers to conduct supply chain due diligence and submit conflict minerals disclosures (CMDs) that indicate whether their products contain tantalum, tin, tungsten, or gold (3TG) sourced from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or its neighboring countries (“covered countries”). Consistent with the reputational cost hypothesis, we find that heightened public attention to CMDs increases responsible sourcing. After Section 1502 takes effect, we find higher demand for 3TG products processed in certified smelters, decreased conflicts in covered countries’ mining regions relative to other regions, and reduced sensitivity of conflict risk to conflict minerals’ price spikes. Finally, we find that conflicts decrease in Eastern DRC territories with prevalent 3T (tantalum, tin, and tungsten) mines but increase in territories with prevalent gold mines. Overall, our findings highlight the real effects of enhanced supply chain transparency regulation.

Land use planning and climate change adaptation in river-dependent communities in Nigeria

Land use planning and climate change adaptation are critical for ensuring sustainable development and resilience in river-dependent communities in Nigeria. This study examines land use planning and climate adaptation in river-dependent communities in the Lower Niger River region of Nigeria. The research utilizes a mixed-methods approach. Data for the study were gathered from 198 households through surveys, complemented by 17 qualitative interviews and remote sensing techniques to assess land use changes and community perceptions. Findings reveal a notable trend where poor farmers face heightened vulnerability to climate change due to financial constraints, hindering their adoption of adaptive land use strategies. Specifically, more than half of the sampled households possess individual land for agricultural purposes yet lack the resources to effectively mitigate climate-related risks. Among the studied communities, Odekpe emerged as particularly vulnerable, with a prevalence of vulnerability at 32.3% and higher exposure to flood-prone zones.The quantitative analysis delineates community engagement in land management practices, showcasing proactive resource allocation and conflict resolution efforts among over 60% of participants. However, a significant portion (57.6%) lacked awareness of hydrological changes, potentially impeding effective land use planning and adaptation measures.Further analysis through remote sensing and mapping techniques revealed shifts in land use land cover, highlighting a transition from predominantly vegetated areas to built-up regions over the past three decades. The flood vulnerability assessment maps underscored substantial vulnerability across the Lower Niger basin, especially in downstream regions, indicating heightened risks due to proximity to the Niger River and heavy rainfall.Qualitative insights from stakeholder interviews identified challenges impeding effective land use planning, including uncertain climate projections, insufficient data, institutional capacity constraints, and conflicting priorities. Additionally, participants emphasized the need for resilient land use decisions to address urbanization impacts, altered drainage patterns, and diminishing green spaces. The study recommends several key actions to enhance the effectiveness of land use planning and climate adaptation in the Lower Niger River region. These include the imperative to strengthen institutional capacities, improve stakeholder engagement processes, integrate traditional knowledge and practices into planning efforts, fortify legal frameworks governing land use, and prioritize the promotion of sustainable livelihoods among local communities.

Strategies for Traceability to Prevent Unauthorised GMOs (Including NGTs) in the EU: State of the Art and Possible Alternative Approaches

The EU’s regulatory framework for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) was developed for “classical” transgenic GMOs, yet advancements in so-called “new genomic techniques (NGTs)” have led to implementation challenges regarding detection and identification. As traceability can complement detection and identification strategies, improvements to the existing traceability strategy for GMOs are investigated in this study. Our results are based on a comprehensive analysis of existing traceability systems for globally traded agricultural products, with a focus on soy. Alternative traceability strategies in other sectors were also analysed. One focus was on traceability strategies for products with characteristics for which there are no analytical verification methods. Examples include imports of “conflict minerals” into the EU. The so-called EU Conflict Minerals Regulation requires importers of certain raw materials to carry out due diligence in the supply chain. Due diligence regulations, such as the EU’s Conflict Minerals Regulation, can legally oblige companies to take responsibility for certain risks in their supply chains. They can also require the importer to prove the regional origin of imported goods. The insights from those alternative traceability systems are transferred to products that might contain GMOs. When applied to the issue of GMOs, we propose reversing the burden of proof: All companies importing agricultural commodities must endeavour to identify risks of unauthorised GMOs (including NGTs) in their supply chain and, where appropriate, take measures to minimise the risk to raw material imports. The publication concludes that traceability is a means to an end and serves as a prerequisite for due diligence in order to minimise the risk of GMO contamination in supply chains. The exemplary transfer of due diligence to a company in the food industry illustrates the potential benefits of mandatory due diligence, particularly for stakeholders actively managing non-GMO supply chains.

ISP Agent: A Generalized In-storage-processing Workload Offloading Framework by Providing Multiple Optimization Opportunities

As solid-state drives (SSDs) with sufficient computing power have recently become the dominant devices in modern computer systems, in-storage processing (ISP), which processes data within the storage without transferring it to the host memory, is being utilized in various emerging applications. The main challenge of ISP is to deliver storage data to the offloaded workload. This is difficult because of the information gap between the host and storage, the data consistency problem between the host and offloaded workloads, and SSD-specific hardware limitations. Moreover, because the offloaded workloads use internal SSD resources, host I/O performance might be degraded due to resource conflicts. Although several ISP frameworks have been proposed, existing ISP approaches that do not deeply consider the internal SSD behavior are often insufficient to support efficient ISP workload offloading with high programmability. In this article, we propose an ISP agent, a lightweight ISP workload offloading framework for SSD devices. The ISP agent provides I/O and memory interfaces that allow users to run existing function codes on SSDs without major code modifications, and separates the resources for the offloaded workloads from the existing SSD firmware to minimize interference with host I/O processing. The ISP agent also provides further optimization opportunities for the offloaded workload by considering SSD architectures. We have implemented the ISP agent on the OpenSSD Cosmos+ board and evaluated its performance using synthetic benchmarks and a real-world ISP-assisted database checkpointing application. The experimental results demonstrate that the ISP agent enhances host application performance while increasing ISP programmability, and that the optimization opportunities provided by the ISP agent can significantly improve ISP-side performance without compromising host I/O processing.

Generation schemes for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem with partially renewable resources and generalized precedence constraints

In recent years, new resource types have been established in project scheduling. These include so-called partially renewable resources, whose total capacity applies only to a subset of periods in the planning horizon. In this paper, we consider the extension of the resource-constrained project scheduling problem with those partially renewable resources as well as generalized precedence constraints with the objective of minimizing the project duration (RCPSP/max-π\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\pi $$\\end{document}). For this problem it is known that already the determination of a feasible solution is NP-hard in the strong sense. Hence, we present two different generation schemes that are able to find good feasible solutions in short time for most tested instances. The first one is a construction-based heuristic wherein the activities of the project are scheduled iteratively time- and resource-feasibly. The second one is a relaxation-based generation scheme, in which—starting from the schedule consisting of the earliest start times—resource conflicts are identified and resolved by inserting additional resource constraints.

Commitment vs. noncommitment behaviors in natural resource conflicts: A case study of groundwater resources

We examine the problem of natural resource exploitation when an exceptional extraction of a resource (groundwater) is needed and devoted to a different use than its regular use. The study applies a two-stage Stackelberg game to examine the strategic behavior of players who compete for water. The leader, with varying weights assigned to the different uses and environmental concern, is the manager of the new (nonregular) resource use, who only intervenes in the second stage of the game. The follower is a regular (agricultural) resource user. We examine the crucial resource of groundwater, introducing two types of Stackelberg equilibria (open-loop and feedback) that can arise depending on agents’ commitment behavior. We compare the extraction behaviors of the leader and the follower for the two equilibria and the effects on the final state of the resource and agents’ profits. Unexpectedly, we demonstrate that situations can occur in which noncommitment strategies could be more favorable than commitment strategies in terms of the final aquifer stock and the regular user’s profits. To avoid that noncommitment strategies are implemented in these circumstances, the weights assigned by the leader to the different uses will play an important role.

Natural Resource Conflict: An Appraisal of Rumuekpe Oil and Gas Conflict

This study examined the oil and gas conflict in the Rumuekpe community in Emohua Local Government Area, Rivers State. The objective was to interrogate the relationship between oil and gas and conflict and its impact on Rumuekpe community. Frustration and Aggression theory and Resource Curse thesis were used as the theoretical frameworks. Methodologically, the study relied on qualitative data obtained from Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and supplemented the information by secondary data. The study found that the destruction of lives and property was a major consequence of natural resource conflict in Rumuekpe. The study also found that the conflict in Rumuekpe community was caused by the failure of oil companies and the government to respond to the developmental needs of the people. It also found that the divide-and-rule tactics of oil companies were what fuelled conflict in the community. The study concluded that oil-bearing communities will continue to lack meaningful development, provided oil companies continue their divide-and- rule tactics. It therefore recommended the strict enforcement and implementation of the Host Community Development Trust (HCDT) under the new Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) between oil companies and communities as this will translate into sustainable development. It also recommended that community members should use dialogue in the resolution of disputes rather than resorting to violence.

TRANSFORMATION OF MAASAI- ABAGUSII CO-EXISTENCE DURING SECOND WORLD WAR AND THE DECOLONIZATION PERIOD (1939-1963)

documented historical truth and ongoing situation. This phenomenon can be attributed to the tendency of many communities to deliberately or inadvertently exploit ethnicity as a means to maintain their power and control in an environment marked by limited resources, fear, and bias. The prevalence of ethnic conflicts in this country is so extensive that there is scarcely any region where the issue has not emerged: Western, Rift Valley, Nyanza, Coast, Central, North Eastern, Eastern, and even Nairobi. It is crucial to thoroughly examine the historical framework of inter-community interactions when addressing ethnic and boundary conflicts in the present time. This aspect should not be underestimated in this particular situation. This research presents historical empirical facts that can be utilized to effectively control future conflicts between the Maasai and the Abagusi communities in Kenya. The main aim of this study was to investigate the changes in the relationship between the Maasai and Abagusii communities throughout the Second World War and the period of decolonization from 1939 to 1963. The objective of this study was to gather relevant information regarding the consequences of previous and possible ethnic conflicts on peace and sustainable development, as well as to identify strategies for both mitigating and managing such conflicts. The findings from this study have the potential to significantly enhance other research efforts on conflicts in Kenya, Africa, and beyond. The data was acquired from oral interviews, archival sources, and papers about inter-ethnic violence, as well as boundary and resource conflicts in Kenya.

Financial development, violence, and resource curse: How mineral resources are contributing towards growth of resource-rich countries

Resource curse or blessing is widely debated in academic literature with little consensus. This study examines the impact of mineral resource rents (MRR), financial development (FD), and conflicts and Violence (Violence) on the economic growth of the top 15 resource-rich countries of the world. We have employed the cross-sectional autoregressive distributive lagged (CS-ARDL) model and D-H causality tests to determine the empirical relation between the hypothesized variables from 1995 to 2022. The study supports the resource curse hypothesis for low-income countries and the resource blessing hypothesis for middle-to high-income countries. FD has a robust positive impact on the economic growth of all countries irrespective of their income levels and supports the resource's positive impact coupled with rents in the studied sample. On the other side, Violence is prevalent in low-income countries, reducing not only the economic growth but also increasing the volume of resource curse. Therefore, effective resource management that does not trigger civil unrest or Violence in the country is suggested to realize the potential beneficial impact of resources. FD may be a viable solution to effectively manage resources and reduce the risk of conflicts in low-income countries.

Socio-economic and Political Drivers of Renewable Natural Resource Conflicts among Crop Farmers in Southeast Nigeria

Socio-economic and Political Drivers of Renewable Natural Resource Conflicts among Crop Farmers in Southeast Nigeria

Resource Conflicts Resolution of Sophisticated Production Lines During the Process of Product Renewal

Resource Conflicts Resolution of Sophisticated Production Lines During the Process of Product Renewal