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

* [email protected]

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

Questions? [email protected]