Negotiation and mediation techniques for natural resource management Negotiation and mediation techniques for natural resource management by Antonia Engel Benedikt Korf Prepared in the framework of the Livelihood Support Programme (LSP) An interdepartmental programme for improving support for enhancing livelihoods of the rural poor FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS ROME, 2005 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 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. All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should be addressed to the Chief, Publishing Management Service, Information Division, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy or by e-mail to [email protected] © FAO 2005 Foreword This conceptual guide has come a long way and would not have been possible without the help of many people. The guide was developed within the framework of FAO’s Livelihood Support Programme (LSP), which is funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID). It builds on previously published training material by the FAO Forestry Policy and Planning Division (FONP) on community-based forest resource conflict management, which the LSP field-tested in Ghana. Experiences of trainers, trainees and coordinators of the programme were reviewed after almost two years of training and application of tools and techniques in the field. Taking into account the lessons learned from the field, it has been decided to reorient the earlier training material towards: 1. integration of conflict management into the broad framework of collaborative natural resource management and the concept of sustainable rural livelihoods; conflict management is embedded in a number of processes that help establish and maintain mutually agreeable principles and practices for managing natural resources; 2. emphasis on stakeholders’ choice in conflict management options, but a clear focus on a practical step-by-step description of how to establish and mediate a process of consensual negotiations to manage conflict and build collaboration among multistakeholder groups; 3. acknowledgment of the cultural and social dimensions of different negotiation and mediation styles to allow for flexible, situation-specific adaptation of the negotiation process for worldwide application. A basic premise of Negotiation and mediation techniques for natural resource management is the acknowledgement of the immense diversity of social/cultural characteristics and interests among people managing the use of lands, forests, marine areas and their products. Under such circumstances, conflicts are often unavoidable, but the guide demonstrates how the principles and tools of negotiation and mediation can be used to promote positive social change and to manage conflict in such a way that the destructive consequences often associated with the escalation of conflicts can be prevented. Acknowledgements The authors would like to extend their appreciation first of all to the authors of the previously published training materials: Kath Means and Cynthia Josayma, with Eric Nielsen and Vitoon Viriyasakultron. They formed the basis on which this material is built. NEGOTIATION AND MEDIATION TECHNIQUES FOR NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT iv Significant contributions to the development of the present guide were made by Peter Castro, Phillip Scott Jones and Kath Means. Among the many people who were involved in the implementation of the training programme are to be mentioned: Pamela Pozarny from the FAO Regional Office in Accra and the FAO Country Office and Ruby Naa Dagadu for handling the operational and administrative issues; the members of the Advisory Committee for providing advice on running the training programme; the trainers Emmanual Bombande and Joe Tabaazuing; and all the trainees, particularly those who were part of the training material revision workshop: Peter Asibey Bonsu, Emmanuel D. Eledi, Andrew Kuyipwa, Patricia Markwei, James Parker McKeown, Valerie Fumey-Nassah and Samuel Nketiah. A particular word of appreciation to those trainees who documented their experiences in applying their skills in real-life conflict situations for providing us with analytical material and drawing our attention to the specific challenges posed by collaborative natural resource management. Many thanks to Jan Johnson, Dominique Reeb and Rebecca Metzner for setting the ideas for this training programme in motion and for providing feedback and advice during the implementation phase. Thanks also to Jane Shaw for editing the materials and reviewing the proofs, Cecilia Valli for designing the lay-out and Aldo Di Domenico for preparing the illustrations. THE LIVELIHOOD SUPPORT PROGRAMME The FAO Livelihood Support Programme (LSP), 2001–2007, supported in part by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), is helping to improve the impact of FAO interventions at the country level through the effective application of sustainable livelihood (SL) approaches. The LSP evolved from the conviction that FAO could have a greater impact on reducing poverty and food insecurity, if its wealth of talent and experience were integrated into a more flexible and demand-responsive team approach. The LSP aims to increase knowledge of and capacity to apply SL principles and approaches. The LSP works through teams of FAO staff members, who are attracted to specific themes being worked on in a sustainable livelihoods context. These cross- departmental and cross-disciplinary teams, known as sub-programmes, act to integrate sustainable livelihoods principles in FAO’s work at headquarters and in the field. These approaches build on experiences within FAO and other development agencies. For further information on the LSP and the Sub-Programme on Natural Resources Conflict Management, contact: E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] internet: www.fao.org/sd/dim_pe4/pe4_040501_en.htm Contents INTRODUCTION 1 What this guide is about 1 Who the guide is for 3 Objectives of the guide 4 Effectiveness of consensual negotiations 4 What is in the guide? 5 How to use the guide? 6 Glossary 7 SECTION 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL RESOURCE CONFLICTS, COLLABORATIVE MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS 19 1.1 What are community-based natural resource conflicts? 19 1.2 Collaborative natural resource management and conflict 26 1.3 Natural resource conflicts and sustainable livelihoods 29 Section summary 34 SECTION 2: MANAGING CONFLICT 35 2.1 The nature of conflict 35 2.2 Different options for managing conflict 41 2.3 Alternative conflict management methods: negotiation and mediation techniques 48 2.4 Mediation in direct and non-direct dealing cultures 55 Section summary 58 SECTION 3: PROCESS MAP FOR CONSENSUAL NEGOTIATIONS 61 3.1 The role of a third party in consensual negotiations 61 3.2 The ten steps of conflict management 67 3.3 Process management 71 Section summary 79 NEGOTIATION AND MEDIATION TECHNIQUES FOR NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT vi SECTION 4: ENTRY 81 4.1 Why careful entry is essential 81 4.2 Step 1: planning the entry 82 4.3 Step 2: entering the conflict setting 85 4.4 Step 3: preliminary conflict assessment 87 Section summary 91 SECTION 5: ANALYSING CONFLICT 93 5.1 Why conflict analysis is essential 93 5.2 Conflict analysis as a process 96 5.3 Tools in conflict analysis 97 5.4 Conflict issues and root cause analysis 100 5.5 Identifying and analysing stakeholders 102 Section summary 107 SECTION 6: BROADENING STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT 109 6.1 Why stakeholder engagement is important 109 6.2 Step 4: deeper engagement – stakeholders analyse the conflict 110 6.3 Step 5: generating and assessing settlement options 117 Section summary 120 SECTION 7: NEGOTIATIONS AND BUILDING AGREEMENTS 121 7.1 Why negotiations and agreements are important 121 7.2 Step 6: preparing negotiations 123 7.3 Step 7: mediating negotiations 126 7.4 Step 8: designing the agreement 137 Section summary 140 SECTION 8: EXIT 143 8.1 Why an exit strategy is important 143 8.2 Step 9: monitoring and implementing agreements 143 8.3 Step 10: exploring exit strategy 148 Section summary 150 CONTENTS vii ANNEXES 151 ANNEX I: COLLABORATIVE NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 153 Collaborative management 153 The policy framework: are the circumstances right? 154 Conclusion 160 ANNEX II: FIELD GUIDE TO CONFLICT ANALYSIS 161 Analysing conflict 161 Tools in conflict analysis 162 Core tool 1: Root cause analysis 164 Core tool 2: Issue analysis 170 Core tool 3: Stakeholder identification and analysis 176 Core tool 4: Analysing the 4Rs – stakeholder rights, responsibilities, returns and relationships 180 Complementary tool 5: Conflict time line 189 Complementary tool 6: Mapping conflicts over resource use 192 ANNEX III: CASE STUDIES 195 Case study 1: Management of Bawumpila Community Forest 197 Case study 2: Conflict on the diversion of Bosoko