Climate change and conflict: lessons from natural resource management

It is easy to imagine a future of climate conflicts. In fact it is too easy, because climate change is rarely a cause of conflict in itself. But climate change can contribute to existing conflicts, and it can intensify and multiply them.

This poses new challenges for development policies and programmes : How can development cooperation help prevent that climate change adds to existing tensions and conflicts? The present DIIS Report addresses this question, by looking at past experiences from conflict prevention and resolution in natural resource management.

A Policy Brief has also been produced. This and presentations from a seminar on the topic can be downloaded here.

Brief summary of the report
The report presents the main findings of a desk study of experiences with conflict prevention and resolution in natural resource management, and how these can be applied in development cooperation in relation to climate change.

The report briefly discusses the link between climate change and conflict, including the need to see climate change as a conflict multiplier rather than as a major direct cause of conflict in itself. It then goes on to review approaches and lessons learnt from conflict prevention and resolution in natural resource management at the local, national and transboundary levels respectively.

On this basis, the report provides recommendations on how development cooperation can address the potential conflict multiplier effects of climate change, including guiding principles and key entry points for support. The latter include (i) enhancing so-called structural conflict prevention measures, (ii) supporting institutional mechanisms for managing and resolving conflict, and (iii) 'conflict proofing' policies and development interventions.