This book argues that a set of persuasive narratives about the links between natural resource, armed conflict and peacebuilding have strongly influenced the natural resource interventions pursued by international peacebuilders. The author shows how international peacebuilders active in Liberia and Sierra Leone pursued a collective strategy to transform “conflict resources” into “peace resources” vis-à-vis a policy agenda that promoted “securitization” and “marketization” of natural resources.

Smallholders worldwide continue to experience processes of displacement from their lands under neoliberal political-economic governance. This displacement is often experienced as “slow”, driven by decades of agricultural policies and land governance regimes that favor input-intensive agricultural and natural resource extraction and export projects at the expense of traditional agrarian practices, markets, and producers. Smallholders struggle to remain viable in the face of these forces, yet they often experience hunger.

Civil war and violence often force large numbers of people to leave their lands. Multiple waves of displacement and (partial) return generate complex overlapping claims that are not easily solved. As people return to their regions of origin—sometimes after decades—they tend to find their land occupied by other settlers, some of whom hold legal entitlements. In the places of arrival, displaced people affect other people’s access as they seek to turn their temporary entitlements into more definite claims.

Post-war societies not only have to deal with continuing unpeaceful relations but also land-related conflict legacies, farmland and forest degradation, heavily exploited natural resources, land mines, a destroyed infrastructure, as well as returning refugees and ex-combatants. In the aftermath of war, access to and control of land often remains a sensitive issue which may precipitate tensions and lead to a renewed destabilization of volatile post-conflict situations.

En Côte d’Ivoire comme dans d’autres pays africain, le pluralisme juridique est l’origine d’une crise de la légalité et de crispations sociales. L’accès à la terre est emblématique des difficultés et des différends qui peuvent naître de la coexistence, issue de la colonisation, d’une pluralité de modes de normativité étatique et coutumier en jeu sur un même territoire.

In conflict situations, many people are displaced because of hostility and arms in the area. Displaced people are forced to leave behind their properties, and this in turn interrupts the relationship between people and their land. The emergency period in particular has been identified as a weak point in the humanitarian response to land issues in post-conflict situations.

The UN Framework for Action in this Note helps to identify potential entry points to integrate land in conflict analyses, planning and assessment processes, supports engagement of UN leadership and outlines key activities to consider in areas of UN work - such as support to peace agreements and mediation, human rights, gender equality, rule of law and governance. This Note provides guidance on partnership and the use of practical tools for analysis, coordination and programming.

This is Belun’s 3rd five-year strategic directions. It builds on Belun’s work over the past 14 years. A great deal has been achieved but Belun’s purpose of preventing conflict and developing community capacity remain the same. However, how Belun works is equally important as what it does. Belun aims to be; - Evidence based: Belun has a unique approach to advocacy.

This study determined pre-conflict, conflict and post-conflict land use change and analysed the impact of armed conflict on the intensity of land use change in northern Nimba County. Landsat images of 1986, 1990, 2002 and 2016 were classif

The livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people, particularly the rural poor, are based on secure and equitable access to and control over land and natural resources which are in turn the source of food and shelter, the basis for social, cultural and religious practices, and a central factor in economic growth.

This paper engages with innovative ways to apply participatory mapping techniques and the latest technological tools in fragile, conflict-affected settings to contribute to sustainable land use. In this paper, the authors describe in detail the process and purpose of a participatory mapping project in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and elaborate on the lessons learned so far. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations to take the process forward for greater sustainability and long-term land rights protection.