Livelihoods Development Critical to Post-Conflict Peacebuilding and Economic Recovery - New Study

Rebuilding livelihoods in post conflict countries is a critical component of peacebuilding and economic recovery.

New catchment management project in the Wadi El Ku, one of the largest seasonal water courses in North Darfur which aims to improve the livelihoods of conflict-affected people of the Wadi El Ku near El Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur

WASHINGTON, DC/GENEVA, April 3, 2015 ‒ In the wake of armed conflict, rebuilding livelihoods is critical to peacebuilding and economic redevelopment, according to a new study launched today by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the University of Tokyo, McGill University, and Tufts University.

According to the study, entitled Livelihoods, Natural Resources, and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding, reestablishing natural resource-based livelihoods following conflict can strengthen food security, provide employment, help reintegrate ex-combatants and other vulnerable groups, and offer opportunities for cooperation between formerly warring groups.

Edited by Helen Young, a professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, and Lisa Goldman, a senior attorney at ELI, the book combines the expertise and field experience of practitioners, researchers, civil society advocates, and others active in livelihoods and post-conflict peacebuilding from around the world. The publication includes 18 cases studies on livelihoods in 16 conflict-affected countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East. Together, these case studies illustrate a theory of change that underlies post-conflict livelihood interventions based on sustainable natural resource management.

The book examines post-conflict initiatives spanning a broad range of natural resource‒based livelihoods, including agricultural development, land tenure, pastoralism, fisheries and coastal management, forest governance, protected area management and ecotourism, and disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR). These case studies illustrate some of the challenges inherent in post-conflict livelihoods programming: how to balance trade-offs, how to prioritize and sequence livelihoods interventions, how to undertake institutional reform, and the advantages and disadvantages of a market-based approach. At the same time, there is no uniform approach that can work in every case. Theoretical approaches must be informed by best practices that are rooted in messy, complex local realities.

"Rebuilding livelihoods in post conflict countries is a critical component of peacebuilding and economic recovery. Where conflict-affected communities rely on natural resources for livelihood security, peacebuilding solutions must address the livelihood needs of poor and vulnerable populations to ensure the sustainable management of these resources in the context of future national development planning and encourage the equitable distribution of development assistance," said United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

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