The Natural Resource Conflict Triangle By: Regina Salvador-Antequisa, Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits, Inc. (EcoWEB) Iligan City, Philippines A Tool developed for Modus Operandi, France, May 2011 Title Subtitle Purpose The Natural Resource Conflict Triangle The 3 Elements of Natural Resource Conflict A Tool for Participatory Analysis and Conflict Transformation This tool is helpful in facilitating a resource-based conflict transformation by analyzing the 3 major elements of resource conflict such as SPACE, TIME and RELATION. The triangulation, with which we understand the analysis of the interplay between the three elements, of these resource conflict elements could facilitate in identifying specific issues and concerns that need to be addressed for resolution of the conflict. TRIANGULATION OF THE 3 ELEMENTS The triangulation of the three elements could provide insight into how relationships within a particular space change over time. This also gives an insights on how positions, interests and needs change over time in a particular space in conflict. This then enables the facilitator or mediator of the conflict transformation process to determine the appropriate intervention and approach - which may entail a multi-track approach aimed towards bringing conflict parties to dialogues towards conflict resolution. The inter-relatedness of the three elements are presented in the figure below entitled The Resource-based Conflict Triangle. By facilitating the transformation of violent conflicts over a resource, latent conflicts within the same community may also be identified. This may then help to prevent violence from occuring in this particular conflict setting. Theory EcoWEB believes that conflict transformation can only be possible at the community level if it follows a process that ensures the building of critical thinking among actors of conflict as well as winning their hearts towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Critical thinking here means shaping an objective view of the conflict among its actors by facilitating a process that not only enables one party to effectively express their issues to the other party but of understanding their interests and needs in relation to one s position on the conflict. But critical thinking may also result to a non-ending assertion of one s position and interests in the conflict, if the story of the other party is not also well understood.
In addition, a peaceful conflict resolution process may not be possible if conflict actors do not appreciate the value of a peaceful resolution and if they also do not clearly see its possibility. Hence, winning the hearts of all conflict parties towards peaceful resolution may only be possible if all conflict actors appreciate the value of peaceful over violent means and that they realize their capacity to do it as well as understand each other s position, interests and needs and conflicting views and perceptions on the circumstances and events that have contributed to the formation of the conflict. Especially in a natural resource conflict, to effectively facilitate a conflict transformation process towards building the capacity for critical thinking and winning the hearts of all conflict actors to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, it is then important to identify facts from perceptions and ensure ownership of the process by the actors of conflict. Facts are not only important for the use of the primary conflict actors who are decisive in resolving the conflict, but also for the facilitator that mediates and facilitates the conflict transformation process. In establishing facts and in using them for conflict transformation, EcoWEB believes it is only effective if they are generated and analyzed by the conflict actors themselves. Hence, a participatory process of analysis is important to achieve peaceful resolution of a conflict. Being able to participate in the analysis process as well as in the planning for action, ownership by the actors of conflict of the data as well as of the process may help develop the trust and respect of all actors in the conflict transformation process including the conflicting views and perceptions of the other party an important condition to make peaceful resolution of a natural resource conflict possible. Tool (diagram/i mage) Summary Figure 1. Resource-based Conflict Triangle In a resource conflict, SPACE, TIME and RELATION are the 3 crucial elements. The interrelatedness of the 3 elements is important to look at in the analysis of a resource conflict to effectively facilitate a conflict transformation process. The SPACE element is the physical aspect of a resource that is subject to overlapping or conflicting claims or use. It is the spatial context of the conflict. Its analysis shows a visual overview of the specific conflict over a resource and who are the conflict parties. / The TIME element looks at the historical events that happened over time in a certain space and have contributed to the development of conflicting relations of people over particular resource. Its analysis could surface the factors that have contributed to the escalation or de-escalation of the conflict. This would also show the historical
progression of the varying interests of conflict parties over a resource. The RELATION element includes the issue of power relations, and the varying positions, interests, needs and perspectives of direct and indirect stakeholders in a resource conflict. Its analysis would result to the identification of the direct and indirect actors of conflict and the third parties that have an interest in the peaceful resolution of the conflict. This element analysis gives an overview of the multiple parties usually involved in a resource conflict. The triangulation of the three elements could provide insights on how the relationship between people within a particular area change over time. This could also provide insights on how positions, interests and needs of stakeholders on a particular space currently in conflict change over time. Description of the tool Each element could be analyzed using different tools of analysis that best be utilized with the participation of the conflict stakeholders. Results of this analysis could then help determine appropriate approach in the facilitation for conflict transformation. In a natural resource conflict such as land claim conflict, the analysis of each element needs the application of different tools that may vary depending on the type of resource conflict. The land conflict resolution process may also vary depending not only on the type of conflict but also on the levels and relations of the conflict parties involved. In a strained relationship between parties as a result of a violent action, bringing conflict parties to a dialogue immediately may not be possible, especially, if the relation is already clouded with mistrust as a result of the painful and unacceptable events and actions in the past. It is in this context that this tool could best be applied. This tool is more effective with results more facilitative towards conflict transformation if done in a participatory manner. But, at the beginning phase, a separate venue and process for each conflict party may be necessary. Separate results of analysis of each element could then give an idea of the origin of conflict. Common and differing views could then be identified. Common views could serve as a starting point for the dialogue process towards dealing with conflict issues one by one following a process that is appropriate for the situation. A natural resource conflict may be asymmetric or symmetric in nature. And in an asymmetric conflict, the conflict resolution process may takes longer and entails multi-track approach, especially if the conflict has already reached a violent phase. In EcoWEB s experience of facilitating community-based natural resource conflict, multi-track means an engagement with different agencies and institutions at different levels to help facilitate the resolution of the conflict. Since natural resource conflict is usually shaped not only by the primary stakeholders but also by other several factors that include impacts of practices, programs and policies of other agencies and institutions outside of the community, the engagement with these responsible agencies and institutions is then necessary in a conflict transformation process. And
in the Philippine setting, while the role of the civil society organizations (CSOs) in facilitating conflict transformation process is important, involving the Local Government Units (LGU) at the barangay, municipal and provincial levels is also imperative. And in identifying facts from perceptions on a natural resource conflict, technical assistance from the concerned government agencies on natural resource management and distribution such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) may also be crucial. And in the context of a violent conflict, tapping the support of the government security force such as the military and police may also be necessary, but only when conflict does not involve this agency. The role of the religious or faithbased organizations as well as of the traditional leadership is also important to consider in facilitating towards peaceful resolution of a conflict, especially if the conflict parties are from different identity groups. ANALYZING SPACE ELEMENT: Bringing conflicting parties immediately to a dialogue may not be helpful in deescalating the conflict. For a natural resource conflict especially, the visualization of the conflict through the tools described below is helpful in facilitating the resolution of the conflict. But, the bigger the conflict area, the more difficult it is to visualize the conflicting claims, immediate verification on the ground may not be possible also. A Participatory 3-Dimensional Mapping (P3DM) tool may be helpful in this process. Tool #1: P3DM a tool for conflict mapping P3DM is especially helpful in facilitating conflict mapping at a community level. It could help determine the overlapping claims and boundaries. this could be helpful if conflict parties could not come together immediately to identify claims on the ground. Participatory 3D-Mapping is a tool that could be used for Spatial Analysis of land claim conflicts by providing an overview of the conflicting claims and claimants over parcel of lands, the boundaries of land claim, and the land marks within or near the space being contested. Since the activity could be done outside the conflict land area and identification of claims only done on a miniature map and not on the actual land area, a more relaxed environment is then provided to encourage the conflicting parties to engage in a dialogue. And if not possible yet for all parties to gather and identify claims at the same time, this could also be done one after the other until they would be ready enough to enter a face-to-face dialogue. This could then facilitate a dialogues process that will lead to a participatory analysis of other conflict elements such as TIME AND RELATION. When accurate boundary or overlapping claim is necessary in the conflict resolution, the P3DM could then prepare and help facilitate faster conduct of ground survey.
Tool # 2: Conventional Ground Survey A tool for accurate Conflict Mapping If accuracy is necessary in the ground survey, a conventional survey has to be used then with the aid of professional Geodetic Engineers. This could best be done in collaboration with an agency authorized in land mapping. But, the use of GIS technology alongside the acceptable conventional surveying could also help to better visualize the conflict at a community level. The results of this more accurate conflict mapping then serve as basis for the final negotiation between conflict parties over parcels of land. This process helps each conflict party to realize the spatial claim of the other, where they specifically overlap. And to further analyze the background of the conflicting claims, the TIME element needs to be analysed as well.. ANALYZING TIME ELEMENT: Tool # 3: Timeline Analyzing the progression of the resource conflict over time and the factors of escalation and de-escalation of the conflict For the TIME element, the Timeline is a simple yet so helpful tool for analyzing the historical development of the conflict. Conflict parties may have a different perception and interpretation of the same historical events. Thus, separate activity for each conflict party may be necessary before gathering all parties concerned to share perspectives and listen to the views of others. The Timeline simply lists the major events of a conflict chronologically. Corresponding to the events listed, more information may be gathered like the perceived impact of the event, factors contributing to the happening of that particular event and the responsible person/s or group/s, and more others. Conflicting parties often remember events, and can explain developments that may have contributed to the conflict escalation or de-escalation. These events might be acts of violence, harassments, political interventions and propaganda, displacement, threats as well peace initiatives, and others. The timeline will reflect the subjective perception of the group giving the information. The analysis of the element Time is important to consider in the transformation process of the conflict. A more challenging part is on how to make each conflict party appreciate the need to consider the historical view of the other party to make conflict resolution possible. The historical events over time in relation to the conflicting resource claim do impact to the relationship of the conflict parties that also need to be considered in the processes and approaches to undertake conflict transformation. ANALYZING THE RELATION ELEMENT:
The third element - the RELATION - includes the relationship between the conflicting parties and other stakeholders of the conflict. This needs to be analyzed to aid in identifying what particular process may be appropriate for conflict transformation to take place. This basically analyses the current relationship status of the conflict parties. One may use a number of tools in analyzing this element that may include one or more of the popular tools such as the Pyramid, Conflict Map, and the Onion. Another tool that may also help is the Genealogy. The genealogy could provide information about the relationship of present conflict parties to earlier generations where the root cause of the conflict may be traced. Especially for a conflict that has already reached a violent phase, analysis of the conflict using the said tools may best be done in a separate session for each party. Results could then be used as basis for the dialogue process. Tool #4: Conflict Map (mapping relationship) In conflict mapping, the actors in the conflict, their relations and the conflict issues are presented in illustrative forms. Other groups are also taken into account alongside the primary conflict parties. Allies among parties could be identified as well as who influences whom. This can be used to reveal the power balance, alliances, neutral third parties, possible cooperation among partners and potential options to facilitate the transformation process. Tool #5: The Onion The conflict onion comprises of concentric circles which demonstrate the positions (uppermost layer circle), interests (middle layer circle) and needs (the core circle). This tool could help parties of the conflict to review their own position, understand better their interests, and needs in relation to the conflict. The dialogue process could then help one party to understand the other party s position, interest and needs as well. This can effectively facilitate a process towards a negotiated settlement or resolution of the conflict. Tool #6: Conflict Pyramid To help identify conflict actors as well as those that influence peace action, the Conflict Pyramid could be a tool to use in addition to the conflict map. The pyramid allows the identification of major actors of the conflict as well as the perceived influencers of the conflict at different levels of the society: the grassroots (based of the pyramid), the middle level and the top level (those who are perceived to have greater influence vis-à-vis their status in the community or the society. It is advantageous to split the pyramid down the middle, one side for those acting in favor of peace and the other side for the actors that are perceived to fuel the conflict. Both conflict parties may identify the same actor but place them on the opposite side
of the pyramid. The results of the Pyramid could provide important information as to possible strategic actors, especially if the conflict transformation process entails a multi-track approach. Tool #7: Genealogy For resource conflict having historical roots not so clear to the present generation Genealogy may provide information that could help in understanding the background as well as the root causes of the conflict. This tool is also greatly effective especially when facilitating clan-based resource conflict. It could also help further analyze the conflict if information could be gathered about the relationship between and status of the ancestors of the conflict parties during the time of the start of the conflict. Context This resource conflict analysis model has been developed based on the actual experience of the Ecosystems Work for Essential Benefits, Inc. (ECOWEB) in facilitating a land conflict transformation process at the local or village level, particularly in Barangay Lumbac located in the municipality of Kolambugan, province of Lanao del Norte, in the island of Mindanao southern part of the Philippines. This particular resource-based conflict is demonstrated by overlapping and conflicting claims over 200 hectares coconut land involving more than a 100 families either directly or indirectly. Although it is mainly a land conflict the presence of different cultural groupings and identities of the parties have complicated the conflict. The parties in conflict easily identify to either side Maranao (a tribe native to Mindanao who have been Islamized) or Bisaya (whose roots were settlers from the Visayas and identified as Christians). Indirect actors to the conflict in Lumbac were also identified as the one responsible in escalating the conflict to a violent phase by arming themselves and threatening one party in support to the assertion of the other party on their claims over the land in conflict. The loss of lives from both sides in the past four years also added complexity to the conflict. One conflict party involving a number of families are legally owning the lands which are also claimed by several other families belonging to a number of clans asserting ancestral or historical rights over the land in question. The conflict could be traced as an offshoot of the unsettled conflicts decades earlier between the ancestors of the current conflict parties. The Mindanao conflict in the 1970 s that resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in various parts of the island including the Maranaos in Lumbac, has also contributed to the escalation of the conflict at that particular conflict timeline. The transformation process has already ran for more than three years through the intervention of ECOWEB with support from CAFOD and GIZ and in partnership
with the local government unit of Kolambugan, and other partner organizations including faith-based groups, other local NGOs and concerned national government agencies operating in the locality. The process that is undertaken is multi-track aimed at transforming this complex land conflict in Lumbac by applying the above tools of analysis which results have been used as basis in deciding for approaches in the continuing dialogue process. At present, the conflict has already de-escalated with some complicating factors slowly addressed while still continuing the process towards its final conflict resolution. References Are there publications/training manuals that are references for you?