Knowledge Programme Activity

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1  CONTEXT

There are a number of resource-based conflicts (RBCs) in Eastern and Southern Africa . These RBCs are diverse and differ in many respects - intensity, longevity, resource, geography and actors. These conflicts are undermining development and political order in ESA. Some are high profile and have attracted the attention of the international community (Zimbabwe land redistribution), but the majority of these are largely unknown beyond the local area where they take place.

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2  OBJECTIVES

SID propose faciliatating a regional programme to bring together stakeholders in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ethiopia and South Africa to map the conflicts currently taking place and attempt to broaden the understanding of their driving forces. Furthermore, this programme will attempt to strengthen partnerships both within and between civil-society groups, documenting and sharing lessons learned from the experiences of various actors involved, and promoting opportunities for experience sharing, collective planning, strategy development and contribution to policy elaboration and evaluation.

Critical to this programme will be the unravelling of the linkages between RBCs and national politics, markets and the impact of globalization, including the trans-national nature of some of these conflicts.

Institutional responses will be included through a comparative review of the constitutional instruments employed by most of these countries in the last decade to address various issues related to resources: access, management and use. Also to be addressed and explored are issues related to the extent to which civil-society partnerships and action contribute to levelling the policy field and assist in narrowing the gap between intentions and consequences; national policy goals and community aspirations.

The programme will begin with a preparatory workshop, the aim of which will be to build a map of current conflicts in the region, the actors involved, the resource(s) under contention, and the efforts being made to seek lasting solutions. This mapping process will also look at the outcomes of such reconciliation efforts - within the community and beyond.

The mapping will be on a country-by-country basis, though in certain large countries such as South Africa, Ethiopia and Tanzania, it might be necessary to conduct provincial/regional mapping exercises or sample 2-3 provinces.

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3  EXPECTED OUTCOMES & POST-EVENT FOLLOW-UP

1. A Regional RBCs Inventory: a mapping of resource-based conflicts in the region, their impact and the driving forces behind them;
   

2. Identification of relevant policy and legislative responses to address issues emerging out of RBCs, as well as a broad understanding of what is currently being done, by whom and how such processes might be improved.

3. A broader understanding of the tools and instruments being used to address RBCs at all levels and their efficacy (what works, what doesn't and why); exploration of how such responses can be made more dynamic, relevant and accessible

4. An understanding and assessment of market formationsresulting from RBCs

5. Strategies for moderating and containing the negative effects of globalization vis-à-vis RBCs;

6. Formation of multi-stakeholder coalitions to address issues in the region surrounding RBCs;

7. Understanding the trans-national nature of some RBCs and explore joint approaches and strategies to address the same (beyond the national space);

8. Identification of potential future conflicts, understanding of early-warning systems and establishment of preventive capacity to address emerging problems/issues.

9. Establishment of a policy and legislative agenda for parliaments around RBCs that would seek to initiate dialogue in selected countries with parliamentarians on the primacy of resource conflicts and the need for parliaments to play a more proactive role in conflict resolution

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4  POTENTIAL PARTNERS

The list of potential participants and groups to be involved will definitely evolve with a view to bringing on board the widest possible representation of stakeholders. The International Land Coalition will be invited to propose partners.

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5  IMPLEMENTATION SEQUENCE

Activities:

1. Prepare criteria for filtering conflicts
   

2. Contact partners in other countries

3. Commission thematic papers

4. Invitations and preparations for workshop

5. Regional workshop on Resource Based Conflicts - Nairobi

6. Report writing & publication, distribution/follow-up of workshop

SID will provide a schedule and a listing of the primary organization(s) responsible for each activity. It is expected that all activities, related documentation and reporting will be completed by June 2004.

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6  REPORTING AND MONITORING

SID will provide reports on each of the nine (9) areas of expected outputs as listed in section 3 above.

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