community based adaptive learning in management of ... · reduce natural resource conflicts...

Joint workshop onTransforming conflict into cooperation for water

and natural resources management

Community based adaptive learning in management of conflicts and

natural resources in Bangladesh and Nepal (CALCNR)

Lessons Learned & Recommendations

Parvin Sultana and Paul Thompson, Middlesex UniversityMujibor Rahman, Nice Foundation

(on behalf of CALCNR team)

CALCNR research question

• How can collective action be enabled to reduce natural resource conflicts associated with climate change stresses and related responses?

• Based on action research in >70 sites and linkages between components, we identify 8 main factors enabling collective action that reduces NR conflict associated with climate change.

Conflict sources – climate factors

• Conflicts tend to have multiple underlying factors –typically about 4 factors per case in the 53 cases studied.

• Climate trends and stresses are not the only or often main cause of conflict.

• Climate change triggers, intensifies or multiplies conflict including undermining existing cooperation around NR in three-quarters of the cases.

• For example, rising salinity in river water, increasing waterlogging, more erratic rainfall and drier dry seasons have aggravated local conflicts in Bangladesh.

Factors (underlying and triggers) behind NR conflicts in PAR sites in Bangladesh (% cases) considering main issue

Chart1

Climate factorClimate factorClimate factor

NR declineNR declineNR decline

Access disputeAccess disputeAccess dispute

Users lost accessUsers lost accessUsers lost access

Landuse changeLanduse changeLanduse change

Actor changes NRActor changes NRActor changes NR

Elite capture of NRElite capture of NRElite capture of NR

Policy gapPolicy gapPolicy gap

Policy application biasPolicy application biasPolicy application bias

Local institution failureLocal institution failureLocal institution failure

CBO-CBOCBO-CBOCBO-CBO

Internal to CBOInternal to CBOInternal to CBO

Political interferencePolitical interferencePolitical interference

water

commons

other

77.7777777778

11.1111111111

25

48.1481481481

33.3333333333

12.5

55.5555555556

88.8888888889

37.5

25.9259259259

66.6666666667

50

29.6296296296

16.6666666667

0

48.1481481481

11.1111111111

0

29.6296296296

50

37.5

3.7037037037

50

12.5

22.2222222222

16.6666666667

62.5

18.5185185185

11.1111111111

0

11.1111111111

0

12.5

7.4074074074

11.1111111111

25

0

5.5555555556

0

Sheet1

Conflictsimple * conf-Cat Crosstabulation

last1st2nd

Countaccess NRPolBangladesh

conf-CatTotal

Access NRClimate changePolicy

ConflictsimpleCommons82818

Other2248

Water221427

Total12251653

Resolved * conf-Cat Crosstabulation

Count

conf-CatTotal


ResolvedNo32712

Partly2305

Yes720936

Total12251653

Resolved * Conflictsimple Crosstabulation

Count

ConflictsimpleTotal

commonsotherwater

ResolvedNo72312

Partly2035

Yes962136

Total1882753

No of PAR sites in BD where factors were behind conflicts

Climate factorNR declineAccess disputeUsers lost accessLanduse changeActor changes NRElite capture of NRPolicy gapPolicy application biasLocal institution failureCBO-CBOInternal to CBOPolitical interference

27water21131578138165320

18commons261612329932021

8other2134003150120


water77.848.155.625.929.648.129.63.722.218.511.17.40.0

commons11.133.388.966.716.711.150.050.016.711.10.011.15.6

other25.012.537.550.00.00.037.512.562.50.012.525.00.0

Climate factorNR declineAccess disputeUsers lost accessLanduse changeActor changes NRElite capture of NRPolitical interferencePolicy gapPolicy application biasLocal institution failureCBO-CBOInternal to CBO

YYYYYYYYYYYYY

CountCountCountCountCountCountCountCountCountCountCountCountCountCountCountCountCountCount

conf-CatAccess NR0311521719311110211193

Climate change251513691190232223205223223

Policy0210120340106610160160160

Sheet1

Access NR

Climate change

Policy

Conflict issue and role of climate and policy factors in Bangladesh PAR sites

Sheet2

No

Partly

Yes

Conflict outcomes (whether resolved) by main issue in Bangladesh PAR sites

Sheet3

No

Partly

Yes

Numbers of conflicts resolved through PAR

water

commons

other

Conflict sources - elite capture, inequity• Declining natural resources are a source of

competition and conflict, particularly over increasingly scarce surface water for dry season irrigation.

• Physical changes associated with climate change tend to provide opportunities for elite capture which undermines cooperation.

• Biases in the interpretation and application of policies, usually in favour of the more powerful, are a source of perceived injustices and conflict.

Findings: Collaboration

• Community based organisations cooperating with one another and with other agencies can reduce conflict and improve water management.

• Members of policy learning forums taking findings and approaches they are exposed to back to projects they have influence over.

Collaboration

• Coordination amongst stakeholders and agencies is critical at all stages of development. This includes the need for participatory planning involving all stakeholders, which can mitigate conflict.

• Linking with other projects and agencies to share findings is a challenge – other projects and agencies have their own approaches and agendas.

Findings: Adapted water management

• Changing land use e.g. from crop agriculture or wetland to aquaculture is a widespread source of conflict.

• In half of cases locally powerful persons deliberately changed natural resource characteristics – not just land uses, but also for example blocking and occupying waterways for fishing, aquaculture or crops.

• Water management has focused on technical / structural measures, but is often compromised by local conflicts e.g. over sluice operation, encroachment of waterways.

• Dialogue and negotiation is necessary but not sufficient

• Incentives of different types play an important role, e.g. • restoring waterways to

overcome water conflicts associated with worsening drought and enable irrigation in dry season

Lessons related to conditions that enable CBOs

to overcome local water conflicts

Other incentives include the benefits from crops - when once dry fields become green. This has encouraged continued cooperation in managing water, farmers paying for operation and maintenance, and coordinated growing of water efficient crops.

Lessons continued

Lessons continuedOther factors contributing to transformation of local conflicts. Innovations:• Technical, e.g. renovating silted

up springs in the northeast; and • Governance, e.g. including

disadvantaged communities in sluice operating decision making in Narail.

Knowledge, e.g. local elders knew where springs had been.Factors complement one another, e.g. developing local institutional arrangements and incentives.

Approaches used in 41 PAR cases where conflicts were resolved or part resolved in Bangladesh

Chart1

Dialogue-NegotiateDialogue-NegotiateDialogue-Negotiate

IncentivesIncentivesIncentives

LearningNetworkLearningNetworkLearningNetwork

OtherFacilitatorsOtherFacilitatorsOtherFacilitators

KnowledgeKnowledgeKnowledge

Innovation-govncInnovation-govncInnovation-govnc

Innovation-NR/techInnovation-NR/techInnovation-NR/tech

Policy applicationPolicy applicationPolicy application

MultistakeholderForumMultistakeholderForumMultistakeholderForum

water

commons

other

91.6666666667

90.9090909091

100

54.1666666667

63.6363636364

100

45.8333333333

72.7272727273

66.6666666667

50

45.4545454545

66.6666666667

50

27.2727272727

50

45.8333333333

54.5454545455

33.3333333333

45.8333333333

0

0

25

81.8181818182

66.6666666667

16.6666666667

9.0909090909

0

Sheet1

Conflictsimple * conf-Cat Crosstabulation

last1st2nd

Countaccess NRPolBangladesh

conf-CatTotal


ConflictsimpleCommons82818

Other2248

Water221427

Total12251653

Resolved * conf-Cat Crosstabulation

Count

conf-CatTotal


ResolvedNo32712

Partly2305

Yes720936

Total12251653

Resolved * Conflictsimple Crosstabulation

Count

ConflictsimpleTotal

commonsotherwater

ResolvedNo72312

Partly2035

Yes962136

Total1882753



27water21131578138165320

18commons261612329932021

8other2134003150120


water77.848.155.625.929.648.129.63.722.218.511.17.40.0

commons11.133.388.966.716.711.150.050.016.711.10.011.15.6

other25.012.537.550.00.00.037.512.562.50.012.525.00.0



25Climate change25151369119235330

16Policy0210120346100000

12Access NR03115217312131


Climate change100.060.052.024.036.044.036.08.012.020.012.012.00.0

Policy0.012.562.575.00.018.825.037.562.50.00.00.00.0

Access NR0.025.091.741.716.78.358.325.08.316.78.325.08.3

Banglash al or part resolved by factors

Dialogue-NegotiateIncentivesLearningNetworkOtherFacilitatorsKnowledgeInnovation-govncInnovation-NR/techPolicy applicationMultistakeholderForum

24water2213111212111164

11commons1078536091

6other664432040

Dialogue-NegotiateIncentivesLearningNetworkOtherFacilitatorsKnowledgeInnovation-govncInnovation-NR/techPolicy applicationMultistakeholderForum

water91.754.245.850.050.045.845.825.016.7

commons90.963.672.745.527.354.50.081.89.1

other100.0100.066.766.750.033.30.066.70.0

Sheet1

Access NR

Climate change

Policy

Conflict issue and role of climate and policy factors in Bangladesh PAR sites

Sheet2

No

Partly

Yes

Conflict outcomes (whether resolved) by main issue in Bangladesh PAR sites

Sheet3

No

Partly

Yes

Numbers of conflicts resolved through PAR

water

commons

other

Climate change

Policy

Access NR

water

commons

other

Adaptation and transformation in water management

• Understand local natural resource conflicts• Build in flexibility to adopt enabling practices• Respond to natural resource diversity, local needs and

opportunities• Encourage coordination, negotiation and joint actions

between existing institutions and CBOs• Recognise that not all adaptation responses are win-win.• Ensure that losers (often disadvantaged poor in conflicts

and/or climate change) are not disadvantaged by adaptation interventions.

Thank you

Slide Number 1CALCNR research questionConflict sources – climate factorsSlide Number 4Conflict sources - elite capture, inequityFindings: CollaborationCollaborationFindings: Adapted water managementSlide Number 9Other incentives include the benefits from crops - when once dry fields become green. This has encouraged continued cooperation in managing water, farmers paying for operation and maintenance, and coordinated growing of water efficient crops.Slide Number 11Slide Number 12Adaptation and transformation in �water managementThank you

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