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Managing conflict: battling over natural resources in Fiji and Papua New Guinea

The view of conflict as negative is not always helpful. In non-violent settings conflict can be a force for positive social change. Is conflict visible proof that a society is adapting to a new political, economic or physical environment?

The management of renewable natural resources is subject to many rapidly changing developmental pressures. Surely, conflict and disputes cannot be avoided or suppressed? Development models are needed which acknowledge conflict as a potential obstacle to sustainable development but that manage the negative excesses of conflict and transform it into a positive force. This Overseas Development Institute paper examines the problem of non-violent conflict and disputes as a constraint to sustainable natural resource management at the community level in Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Causes of non-violent conflict in community-based natural resource management can be divided into four main types:

demographic change
natural resources competition
developmental pressures
structural injustices

Demographic change coupled with the limits to sustainable harvesting of renewable natural resources (forests, water, grazing areas, marine resources, wildlife, agricultural land) are often cited as underlying causes of conflict over natural resources, both among community groups, and between community groups and outside public and private organisations.

A programme of conflict management currently being implemented across a range of community-based natural resource projects in Fiji and Papua New Guinea aims to:

reduce conflicts and disputes between project stakeholders who create obstacles to sustainable natural resource management
contribute to wider peace-building and conflict-resolution efforts

Putting the concept of sustainable livelihoods (SL) into practice requires a range of conflict management and consensus-building skills. Three key areas of application are:

To protect and build all five types of capital assets, particularly social and human.
To renegotiate the role of government and private structures in transforming livelihood assets into benefits.
To manage contested processes of stakeholder participation within civil society, and between civil society and external actors.

It is clear that a consensual approach to conflict management can build social capital and thereby reduce disputes and conflict as obstacles to sustainable livelihoods. Further conclusions regarding a consensual approach include:

Positive effects are accumulating and a new discipline is emerging. Principles and tools presently draw heavily on the North American model of dispute resolution, founded on consensus-building through impartial third-party mediation.
Customary approaches are still important in rural areas. Impartial third-party mediation was proposed only when two prior conditions were met: a) that available customary approaches had failed, and b) that it was impracticable to strengthen customary approaches within the required timeframes.

Source(s):
‘Conflict Management in Community-based natural resource projects: Experiences from Fiji and Papua New Guinea’ ODI Working Paper #135 by M. Warner (2000) Full document.
‘Cultivating peace: Conflicts and collaboration in natural resource management’ London: International Development Research Centre edited by D. Buckles (1999)

Funded by: Department for International Development, UK

id21 Research Highlight: 16 February 2001

Further Information:
Michael Warner
Overseas Development Institute
111 Westminster Bridge Road
London SE1 7JD, UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 7922 0300
Fax: +44 (0)20 7922 0399
Contact the contributor: bpd@uk.care.org

Overseas Development Institute, UK

Views expressed on these pages are not necessarily those of DFID, IDS, id21 or other contributing institutions. Unless stated otherwise articles may be copied or quoted without restriction, provided id21 and originating author(s) and institution(s) are acknowledged.

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