Post-Conflict Peacebuilding and Natural Resource Management
Transcript of Post-Conflict Peacebuilding and Natural Resource Management
Post-Conflict Peacebuilding and Natural
Resource Management Project:
A Global Initiative
Senior Analysts; Annica Waleij*,
Birgitta Liljedahl, Louise Simonson
Outline
• Introduce the global research programme
on natural resources and peacebuilding
• Present author’s contribution to the project
Why a need for dedicated research on natural
resources and conflict/peacebuilding ?
40%-60% of internal conflicts linked to natural
resources over the past 60 years
While only 50% of peace agreements in 1989-
2005 contained natural resources provisions, all
major peace agreements since 2005 have.
5 peacekeeping mandates have directly
addressed natural resources.
Of the 45 OECD listed fragile states in 2011,
91% contain transboundary waters or globally
significant biodiversity hot spots.
80% contain high-value resources of global
economic significance.
Growing political attention
The UNSG in 2010 called for the UN and
member states pay attention to natural
resource ownership, control and allocation as
a key part of peace building strategies
NATO strategic concept of 2010 acknowledges
that key environmental and resource
constraints have the potential to significantly
affect NATO planning and operations
2011 World Bank World Development Report
also addressed the security and natural
resources nexus
And yet … there is a major policy and
knowledge vacuum
The international community has understood that natural
resources is a key component of conflict and peacebuilding –
but knowledge on which approaches work is limited.
KEY CHALLENGE: How to avoid the perils while capitalizing
on the peacebuilding potential they offer ?
The post-conflict period is critical for reforming resource
governance. Must get initial reforms right to avoid locking in
bad policies and concessions terms for a long time.
Research partnership established on post-
conflict peacebuilding and natural resources
• To fill the gap between policy and practice,
4 institutions partnered in 2008 to establish
a new global research programme
• Objective: to collect 20 case studies to
develop evidence-based best practice and
policy guidance on post-conflict
peacebuilding and natural resources.
• Call for proposals in 2009, nearly 300
submissions received.
• Six donors
Six key research questions
1. What are the various ways in which natural resources support
peacebuilding priorities (in particular economic recovery)?
2. What are the main perils to avoid and main opportunities to
capture regarding natural resources?
3. How is natural resource management in post-conflict settings
different?
4. What are the most common natural resource management
priorities in the immediate aftermath of conflict?
5. What approaches and incentives can be used to promote good
natural resource governance in post-conflict settings?
6. How can international assistance in conflict-affected settings
be made more effective?
Findings presented in six thematic books (Earthscan
2012) plus a seventh, overarching book (Cambridge
University Press 2013) drawing upon experiences in
61 countries/ territories
(1) High-value natural resources;
(2) Land;
(3) Water;
(4) Resources for livelihoods;
(5) Assessment and restoration of natural resources;
(6) Governance;
(7) Synthesis Volume
225 authors from 50 countries; academia, international
organizations, government ministries, private sector,
and; the military
The largest research programme undertaken on
natural resources and post-conflict peacebuilding
www.environmentalpeacebuilding.org
For more information about the Post-Conflict Peacebuilding and
Natural Resource Management Project, contact:
David Jensen, UN Environmental Programme
Carl Bruch, Environmental Law Institute
FOI contrubution; three inter-related papers
Environmental stewardship in peace operations:
The role of the military
Crime, credibility,
and effective
peacekeeping:
Lessons from the
field
Medical and
environmental
intelligence in peace
operations and crisis
management
1. Environmental stewardship in peace
operations: The role of the military
Argues reasons for reducing the environmental
bootprint of peace support operations
• Protecting the health and well-being of deployed troops
• Reducing the environmental impact of the mission, and
thereby improving relations with local communities
• Reducing direct costs (e.g., for fuel) and potential costs
(e.g., for cleanup of contaminated land)
• Where appropriate, assist the local population to move
sustainably toward the next phase of the post-conflict
period.
• Delivering on the UNSC mandate (e.g. MONUSCO,
UNMIL)
Environmental life cycle considerations
Planning
- Environmental intelligence and initial analysis
Rotation of Forces/
Transfer of authorities
- Transfer environmental
responsibilities and
information
Post deployment
- Develop system for
lessons learned
Deployment
- Environmental Management Plan
- Due Diligence
Redeployment
- Site closure
- Transfer records
Pre-deployment
- Environmental
Assessment
- Annex to OPLAN
- Training
Main source: USA/SWE/FIN Environmental Guidebok for Military Operations
Overall conclusions
• The military has valuable expertise in e.g. the areas of
logistics, intelligence, and new tools/technologies
• However, tasks needs to be
• Clearly defined to avoid mission creep
• Matched with existing troop expertise and/or capacity
• Coordinated with civilian authorities to avoid unintended
consequences
• Nevertheless within a defined role, the military can help
determine how the overall operation is perceived and
facilitate a successful transition to civil authorities.
2. Medical and environmental intelligence in
peace operations and crisis management
• Environmental Intelligence can be used in support of both
military and civilian activities.
• It can also be utilised in early warning i.e. anticipating future
events, weak signals detection and trends analysis.
• In Sweden, environmental intelligence is carried out within
the framework of the Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF)
medical intelligence subset.
• Whereas medical intelligence is clearly define,
environmental intelligence however is not.
Impact vs Vulnerability Assessments
Impact Assessment
Motivation: how bad are the
risks?
Attempt to “predict” impacts
Careful attention to modeling
future exposure
Capacities not emphasized
Focus on a single stress
Recent experience not directly
relevant
Treatment of adaptation is ad
hoc, afterthought
Vulnerability Assessment
Motivation: what would reduce risks?
Investigate causes of vulnerability
Careful attention to social causes of vulnerability
Capacities to respond using sensitivity analyses
Multiple stresses considered
Recent experience with hazards, stresses used as analogues
Treatment of adaptation central
”Environmental Vulnerability Assessments”
• Environment and conflict / crime relations
• Institutional capacity
• Natural resources and environmental changes
• Cultural and historical resources
• Socio-economy and livelihood issues
Conclusions and recommendations
• Environmental intelligence should be performed as an iterative process in
a life cycle approach to highlight critical environmental aspects..
• There is a need
• for a greater flow of information among different actors
• to assess cumulative environmental impact of all activities
• to develop an agreed upon definition of environmental intelligence
• to establish environmental indicators to be mainstreamed into decision making
• for creating multi actor platform for mission specific information sharing and
cumulative environmental assessments
• for consistent evaluation and exchange of experiences and lessons learned
from performed operations between main actors
• to identify knowledge gaps
• When it goes wrong…
• Cases where peacekeepers have been involved in the
exploitation and illegal trade of natural resources (e.g.
Sierra Leone, DRC and Afghanistan)
• How to make it right?
• Consider MoU:s with TCCs/TCNs to clarify their legal
obligation to investigate and prosecute peacekeepers
• Establish a mechanism to investigate cases of
peacekeepers’ involvement
• Encourage Member states to investigate, prosecute, and
discipline guilty troops
Making the “right choice” is often a matter of awareness,
attitude, and training
3. Crime, credibility, and effective peacekeeping:
Lessons from the field
How to make it right cont.
• Establish mandatory pre-deployment and in-theatre
training and awareness campaigns to instill environmental
stewardship
• Making the “right choice” is often a matter of awareness,
attitude, and training- greed is a human trait!!
Environmental awareness training MONUC
(civilian and military) Environmental awareness training
UNMIS (civilian and military) Environmental training , UNMIS (civilian and
military)
Overall: tools for improvement
Horizon scanning and Environmental
intelligence as an iterative process
throughout the life cycle of a mission
Due diligence, oversight and
supervision is paramount
Collect and transform
lessons observed/
heard, to true
lessons learned
Improved training and
awareness campaigns
Urgent need for standards for
environmental information
systems and for data
sharing
Assessment tools can
improve foresight capacity
and interoperability