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Course takes the heat out of village disagreements
Communities that live and work in forest settings would seem unlikely sites for conflict. But tension exists even in these quiet rural settings – most commonly reflected in disputes over how local natural resources should be used and managed. Dissent can arise not only among villagers but government officials, local companies and NGOs – all of whom may have differing views on living in and with their forest surroundings.
RECOFTC and the FAO
have been working together for many years, particularly in this field
of conflict management – and now they’re jointly running a training
course in Bangkok called Managing Conflict for Natural Resource Management.
The
course has attracted participants from seven countries. Co-trainers are
RECOFTC’s Peter Stephen and Antonia Engel from the FAO’s Livelihood
Support Program. Antonia manages the capacity building program on
natural resource conflict management in Rome. Peter and Antonia are
showing participants how to anticipate and address conflict in its
early phases. They’re also discussing how to analyze conflict, assess
management options and develop strategies to manage it. Invited
specialists in the field of conflict management are also sharing their
experiences and case study material with the course. An objective of
the course, says Peter, is to “prepare participants for their role as
future mediators, when they’ll apply conflict management knowledge and
skills in their work.”
Many participants come from countries no stranger to conflict – including Afghanistan, Indonesia, Mongolia, Vietnam and Nepal.
The course is not restricted to the lecture room. It concludes with a five-day field visit to a ‘live’‘ conflict at the Phu Pha Manh national park, where participants will observe and explore the many dimensions of natural resource conflict and work out strategies to manage it. The conflict management course is one of a series of training projects conducted throughout the year by RECOFTC, mainly for forestry and natural resource professionals.
Posted By Megan Liddle at 3:07pm on May 22, 2006
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