Promoting social cohesion and the peaceful use of natural resources

Context

Most people in West Africa live in rural areas. Their livelihoods depend heavily on arable farming, animal husbandry, timber and non-timber forest products and game. The also have to share water resources.

Conflicts continually arise between land users, especially between mobile pastoralists and sedentary arable farmers. Rapid demographic growth, global climate change, exploitive land use practices and inadequate governance systems are putting scarce natural resources under additional pressure. As a result, violent conflicts about supplies are on the rise between the different groups that depend on them.

Non-governmental armed groups are increasingly making use of the tense situation and use the weak presence of the state in rural regions to forcefully impose societal models that disregard human rights.

Objective

Mobile pastoralists, arable farmers and other stakeholders in rural areas use the available natural resources in an inclusive, peaceful and sustainable way and resolve conflicts without violence.

Approach

The project supports the development of civil conflict-solving capacities among political, administrative and traditional actors with a focus on the various legal frameworks regulating the use and management of renewable natural resources. The project also disseminates printed and digital communication materials that popularise these laws and regulations in image form and in local languages.

In addition, the project supports nationwide, regional and local dialogue forums. These aim at settling conflicts. Moreover, they raise awareness against using the involved groups for other political purposes.

Last update: August 2023