From conflict to collaboration in natural resource management: A handbook and toolkit for practitioners working in aquatic resource systems

Abstract

Natural resource management is closely linked to conflict management, prevention and resolution. Managing natural resources involves reconciling diverging interests that often lead to conflict, which can undermine management institutions and lead to exploitation, environmental destruction and deteriorating livelihoods. If conflicts turn violent, they can rip apart the entire fabric of society. Thus, managing conflicts in a peaceful manner is decisive not only for successful and sustainable resource management but for societal stability in general. Despite this connection, the knowledge and experience gained in the fields of conflict transformation and peacebuilding in the last decades are often not used by natural resource managers. One reason is that this knowledge has not been translated into user-friendly resources that can be easily understood by practitioners without prior experience in these fields. This handbook and toolkit helps fill this gap, providing an orientation to the issues and a suite of practical exercises and tools to support participatory processes.