Analysis of Conflicts Over the Exploitation of Natural Resources Summary
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Burkina Faso Analysis of conflicts over the exploitation of natural resources Summary Burkina Faso Analysis of conflicts over the exploitation of natural resources Summary Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome, 2021 REQUIRED CITATION FAO. 2021. Burkina Faso – Analysis of conflicts over the exploitation of natural resources: Summary. Rome. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. 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Users wishing to reuse material from this work that is attributed to a third party, such as tables, figures or images, are responsible for determining whether permission is needed for that reuse and for obtaining permission from the copyright holder. The risk of claims resulting from infringement of any third-party-owned component in the work rests solely with the user. Sales, rights and licensing. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. Requests for commercial use should be submitted via: www.fao.org/ contact-us/ licence-request. Queries regarding rights and licensing should be submitted to: [email protected]. Cover photo: ©FAO/Giulio Napolitano Contents Introduction . 1 Methodology of the study . 2. Conflict situation . 3. Causes and drivers of conflicts. 6 Mapping of stakeholders . 8. Impact of conflicts . 10. Mechanisms and strategies of conflict management . 12 Conclusions and recommendations . 14. iii Introduction In Burkina Faso, the exacerbation of conflicts over natural resources and the rapid development of insecurity are sources of major concern, both for the public authorities and the populations. These phenomena have a negative impact on the security and living conditions of the populations, as well as on social cohesion, stability and peace. The conflict analysis study was carried out as part of the implementation of the regional project entitled “Renforcer la résilience des populations pastorales et agropastorales transfrontalières dans les zones prioritaires du Sahel” (“Strengthening the resilience of cross-border pastoral and agropastoral populations in priority areas of the Sahel”), implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Animal and Fisheries Resources (MRAH) of Burkina Faso, and funded by the European Commission (FAO-European Union Partnership Programme of the Global Network Against Food Crises [GNAFC]). In general, the objective of the conflict analysis study was to: (i) take stock of conflicts over natural resources and other conflicts in rural areas; (ii) identify initiatives for conflict prevention and management; and (iii) formulate proposals to improve the effectiveness of conflict prevention and management mechanisms. In addition to the methodological elements that were prioritized for analysis carried out in Burkina Faso, this summary presents the major results obtained at the end of the research. The elements discussed include an examination of the current conflict situation in Burkina Faso, the typology, causes and drivers of conflicts, the mapping of stakeholders, the impact of conflicts, strategies for managing them, as well as conclusions and recommendations. Figure 1. “Strengthening the resilience of cross-border pastoral and agropastoral populations in priority areas of the Sahel” project intervention areas Legend 360 8 630 Number of beneficiaries 405 14 Number of villages 8 9 270 Intervention communes 360 720 6 720 Intervention provinces 6 720 16 270 270 16 6 16 9 12 540 540 12 540 360 12 8 180 4 Source: FAO. 2020. Project GCP/SFW/516/EC. Internal document. 1 Methodology of The methodological options chosen in the conflict analysis study combined a documentary review and the collection of field data through the study focus groups and interviews in the Centre-North, East, North and Sahel regions of Burkina Faso. In general, the study followed five main steps. The first step consisted in an analysis of the literature available on the subject of the study. The second step consisted in the collection of field data in the Centre-North, East, North and Sahel regions. To gather this data, the participants in the focus groups and the resource persons interviewed were chosen on the basis of: • their involvement in the implementation of rural development activities; • their activities in conflict prevention and management; and • their initiatives to promote security and social peace. A total of 13 focus group meetings and 38 interviews were conducted, which directly reached 158 people (45 in the East region, 34 in the Sahel region, 71 in the North region and eight in the city of Ouagadougou). The third step of the methodological approach consisted in processing the data collected using Microsoft Excel software. The fourth step of the study was to validate the conflict analysis findings. Its preparation required the support of a small group of national experts on conflicts who were mobilized during three working sessions as well as the organization of a national workshop to validate the report.1 Despite the relevance of the methodology adopted to conduct this analytical work, a number of objective limitations should be noted: (i) data was collected at the regional capitals due to inability of organizing meetings with pastoralists and agropastoralists at the communes; (ii) some statistical data was lacking, and support documentation from certain bodies was not available; and (iii) due to the sensitive nature of the subject of the study, which was conducted in an insecure environment, respondents at times answered with great reservation. 1 These meetings were held on 22 and 23 October 2019 in Koudougou, and on 28 and 29 November 2019 and 19 February 2020 in Ouagadougou. The national workshop on validating the study report was held in Ouagadougou on 21 February 2020. 2 | Burkina Faso – Analysis of conflicts over exploitation of natural resources: Summary Conflict The statistics reported by the study on the conflict situation in Burkina Faso demonstrate the scale of the issue analysed and the wide situation predominance of rural land conflicts (2 394 cases, or 95.76 percent). In contrast, 106 cases, or 4.24 percent were mining-based conflicts (figure 2). Figure 2. Number of conflicts over the exploitation of natural resources in Burkina Faso, 2013–2018 Conflicts over rural lands Mining conflicts 400 358 350 322 297 300 267 280 250 200 170 182 150 118 109 85 80 Number of conflicts 100 61 65 50 17 23 13 4 1 8 3 12 5 2 7 11 0 East Centre North Sahel Cascades Centre-East South-West Centre-North Centre-West Centre-South Upper Bassins Central Plateau Boucle du Mouhoun Regions of Burkina Faso Source: Data from the Ministry of Territorial Administration, Decentralization and Social Cohesion from 2013 to 2018. The study carried out by the Ministry of Territorial Administration, Decentralization and Social Cohesion (2019)2 reveals that there are conflicts over the exploitation of natural resources in all regions of Burkina Faso. The regions with the highest number of conflicts are the Upper Bassins, Centre-North, East, Centre-East and Boucle du Mouhoun. Indeed, a study carried out in 2015 by the Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Civic Promotion highlighted that, on average, 36.3 percent of conflicts recorded in the regions are over the exploitation of natural resources. This national average more than doubled according to the updated study in 2018 (covering the period from 2015 to 2017), reaching 90.96 percent; this strong increase in the number of conflict situations is mainly due to the continuous increase in rural land conflicts. In terms of typology, research shows that, ultimately, in Burkina Faso, conflicts over the exploitation of natural resources are mainly associated with land and mineral resources (table 1). 2 Ministry of Territorial Administration, Decentralization and Social Cohesion. 2019. Situation des conflits dans les régions du Burkina Faso de 2012 à 2019.