Transformation of Resource Conflicts: Approach and Instruments

The collection of contributions to this volume addresses such burning issues as natural resource management, conflict transformation, and co-operation in sub-regions of the Horn of Africa. The individual pieces of action-oriented field research constitute the final report of the international research project on Environmental Conflict Management (ECOMAN). ECOMAN focuses on theory and practice of environmental conflict management in the Horn of Africa. On one hand it draws from the discussion launched in the mid-nineties about environmental security, and about political, legal, and institutional approaches to deal with highly complex and multi-party conflict. On the other hand it refers to traditional and/or local mechanisms of conflict regulations if and when resource use and distribution is involved. It adopts mainly a transformatory approach using process-oriented and interactive problem solving methods.