overall policy recommendations• structural conflict prevention:Help prevent conflicts from arising in thefirst place by addressing the root causes ofthe conflicts to which climate change maycontribute. Such structural conflict pre-vention is crucial for long-term effect. Thisincludes addressing land and water scarcity,and ensuring equitable access rights to andgovernance of land and water resources.• institutional frameworksfor conflict resolution:Support, strengthen and innovate bothcustomary and new institutional mechanismsfor conflict resolution at all levels. Relevantexperiences and approaches already exist,but need more attention in relation toclimate change and natural resourcegovernance.• conflict proof policiesand programmes:National policies and development inter-ventions in, for example, agriculture, infra-structure development and natural resourcemanagement may, in themselves, worsen theimpacts of climate change on conflicts.Greater attention to ‘conflict proofing’ poli-cies and programmes can help avoid this.

Development cooperation cannot entirely eliminate therisk of climate change aggravating climate-related conflict.But it can help address some of the root causes, and sup-port frameworks for managing and resolving them beforethey escalate into violence. Addressing climate-relatedconflict prevention and resolution in development coop-eration will:− reduce the impact of conflict in terms of increasingpoverty and marginalisation. Conflict prevention andresolution can help minimise conflict as a risk factorfor the poor, and thereby improve the options and re-sources for livelihood improvement.− contribute to macro-economic development. Preven-ting and resolving conflicts can help provide morestable environments for production and investment.− contribute to good governance and institutionaldevelopment. Institutional frameworks can help su-stain and develop spaces for risk-free expression of in-terests and grievances, and thereby contribute to openand democratic governance.− enhance the results of development interventions.Conflict prevention and resolution can help ensurethat the outcomes of interventions across the full rangeof sectors are more effective and sustainable.− ensure that development cooperation does not in itselfcontribute to conflict. Conflict-sensitive programmescan ensure that development interventions do not leadto increased tensions and conflicts of interest.

Particular crisis situations such as droughts, floods orarmed conflict may warrant special funding for short-termconflict management and resolution. However, in generalthe emphasis should be on supporting enabling environ-ments for addressing climate-related conflicts, and en-suring that development interventions in themselves do notcontribute to conflict. There are three key entry points fordevelopment cooperation in this respect: support to struc-tural conflict prevention, support to institutional frame-works for managing and resolving conflicts, and ‘conflictproofing’ of policies and programmes.

1) support to national reforms and frameworks that pro-vide transparent and equal opportunities for access toand ownership of natural resources;2) regulating and ensuring transparency in large-scaleland deals to avoid ‘land-grabbing’;3) strengthening sustainable and pro-poor customaryrights systems for collective resource sharing in multi-ple user contexts (e.g. common property arrangementsand reciprocal arrangements between farmers andherders).

Preventing conflicts from arising in the first place is themost effective and sustainable means of addressing anyconflict. As emphasised in the OECD-DAC general prin-ciples for conflict-sensitive development, this requiresso-called ‘structural conflict prevention measures’, whichaddress the basic sources of conflict. The following ele-ments are of particular relevance to natural resources andrequire increased attention if the conflict-multiplier effectsof climate change are to be prevented.Enhancing governance mechanisms in land and water.Representative and transparent government institutionsare key in preventing climate-related conflicts, as they con-trol and regulate access to natural resources, and prioritisedevelopment efforts. Support to this area is not new, butmuch remains to be done and a concerted effort in thisfield is an important element in minimizing the conflictmultiplier effects of climate change. Issues that require par-ticular attention include:1) innovation of equitable decision-making mechanismsin multi-stakeholder settings with complex/overlap-ping resource use;2) addressing the constraints that block de facto devolu-tion of natural resource control;3) enhancing and clarifying the role of local governmentinstitutions in natural resource governance;4) strengthening viable and pro-poor customary deci-sion-making mechanisms; and5) replicating and scaling up “best-fit” practices drawnfrom the multitude of existing models for joint- andcommunity-based natural resource management.

Improving food security and expanding livelihood options.Sustainable livelihoods and food security is a key factor inthe resilience of communities to external shocks and re-duces the risk of conflicts and social grievances. Possiblesupport includes:1) enhancing opportunities, policy frameworks and in-vest-ments in agriculture with emphasis on small-scaleproducers at national and local levels;2) development of opportunities for livelihood diversifi-cation, including new sources of income and off-farmemployment;3) enhancing adaptation practices and disaster prepared-ness in agriculture and natural resource use to preventclimate change from adding to existing risks and in-securities.

Increasing and sustaining the supply of land and waterresources.Ensuring sustainable availability of natural re-sources can help reduce the risk of resource scarcity contri-buting to conflict. This includes:1) regulation of resource use, conservation practices andrestoration of degraded land;2) infrastructure and technology development to enhanceprovision of, for e.g., rural water supplies; and3) development of alternatives to existing natural resour-ces such as wood and wild foods. Regulatory effortsshould recognise that resource degradation may asoften be caused by international and national stake-holders as by local ones.

Addressing property rights and tenure security.Access anduse rights to land and water are key issues in most situationswhere climate change has contributed to natural resourceconflicts. Addressing these issues is therefore a challengingbut crucial aspect of preventing climate-related conflicts,and includes:

Existing conflicts require management and resolution. Awide range of approaches to conflict management andresolution exist, but these are often applied in particularcrisis situations. Development cooperation should helpconsolidate and innovate more permanent frameworksfor managing and resolving the conflicts to which climatechange may contribute.

Supporting national frameworks for climate-related con-flict management and resolution.This includes:1) development or enhancement of national strategies forconflict resolution, including attention to land, waterand climate change issues;2) integrating conflict resolution measures in national clima-te change plans, e.g. National Adaptation Programmesof Action (NAPAs) and disaster preparedness plans;3) developing or strengthening national organisationalmechanisms for conflict resolution, including e.g.cross-sectoral fora and platforms for multi-stakeholderinteraction;4) capacity development and awareness raising in govern-ment and security agencies on conflict managementand resolution related to natural resources.

Enhancing capacity for conflict management and resolu-tion in local institutions.Often conflict management andresolution related to land, water and other natural resour-ces is most effective if carried out by local institutions. Sup-porting local institutional frameworks can complementdecentralisation processes underway in many countries.This includes:1) support to district level frameworks for conflictmanagement and resolution;2) forging better links between district authorities andcustomary conflict resolution institutions;3) strengthening customary conflict resolution mechan-isms including enhancing abilities to address new orlarger scale issues brought on by climate change.

Improving access to formal and informal dispute resolutionand justice systems.Formal legal systems are often difficultto access for rural populations and the poor in particular,and while customary conflict resolution mechanisms canbe highly effective, they may be biased against some groupssuch as the poorest or women. Enhancing access to disag-reement and dispute resolution systems can help to preventconflicts escalating and intensifying. Support includes:1) enhancing the capacity of local courts in land andwater dispute resolution, and the training of lawyers inenvironmental justice issues;2) supporting flexible and low-cost platforms andmethods for mediation and negotiated rule making;3) providing alternative spaces for unbiased third-partyarbitration;4) innovating mechanisms to monitor and enforce agree-ments and rules on land and water allocation to pre-vent violation by powerful stakeholders;5) enhancing opportunities for voicing grievances.

Addressing transboundary resource management chal-lenges.Transboundary water conflicts between nationstates are rare and a significant number of transboundaryagreements exist over jointly shared water bodies. Never-theless, progress in developing wider regional governancemechanisms is frequently hampered by opposing nationalinterests. Climate change may create new challenges, suchas increased flooding and/or water scarcity as a result ofdroughts, or increased migration across borders. Expe-rience from transboundary water cooperation and so-called Peaceparks suggests that transboundary collabora-tion on conflict management and resolution can be en-hanced through support to:1) ensuring that policy dialogues in multilateral naturalresource organisations (e.g. river basin organisati-ons) are linked to regional political and/or economicbodies;2) applying ‘multitrack’ approaches on several levels atonce with different stakeholders;3) incorporating/building on existing bilateral agree-ments to foster trust and collaborative projects be-tween countries;4) establishing mechanisms for local cross-border coop-eration and conflict management/resolution;5) building capacity for regional cooperation and con-flict resolution, e.g. by training legal experts and in-novating economic compensation models;6) information sharing as an initial platform for collabo-ration; and7) supporting in-country efforts to increase internalwater use efficiency and water policies.

Strengthening policies and planning in land use, naturalresource management and economic development.A fre-quent cause of conflicts in land and water has been theimplementation of economic and land use policies that arenot harmonised with local land use practices or efforts inother sectors, or which marginalise particular productionsystems. Development cooperation can support:1) identification and harmonisation of different develop-ment goals, sector goals and land use practices in andacross policies and plans; and2) ensuring that policies and plans do not unduly mar-ginalise particular regions, production systems or stake-holders. Examples include harmonisation of nationalagricultural development plans with pastoral strategies;and also ensuring that water and energy needs for ur-ban development priorities do not drain the water sup-plies of rural areas.

in emergency relief and development interventions. Thesemethods can be used in relation to climate change, land-useplanning and natural resource management. This can in-clude joint conflict analysis involving multiple stakeholdersfrom different sectors and at different levels. Such methodscan be incorporated into programme design procedureswhere appropriate, and will thereby also contribute theoverall quality of risk assessment, climate change screeningand donor harmonisation in programme development.

Linking to conflict management and resolution mechanismsin programme design and implementation.Developmentcooperation programmes in natural resource managementand climate change frequently introduce new approachesthat, although sound and well intentioned, may set offconflicts in themselves. Programme designs should there-fore include measures for resolving potential conflicts thatmay follow from the interventions. This can be done byengaging existing conflict resolution institutions in thepreparation and implementation of programmes relatedto e.g. agriculture, natural resource management, infra-structure and climate change, and/or by including supportto innovation/adaptation of conflict resolution methods asan integrated part of such programmes.

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