International Course: Competing claims on natural resources

You are engaged in the management of natural resources for (agricultural) production purposes, or for conservation? Then you have most likely noticed that competition over water, land, resources on that land, even over clean air has drastically increased. Resulting conflicts between land uses and groups of people are common in our work even such that “natural resources management (NRM)” can be equated to natural resources conflict management. If this applies to your working context as resource manager, policy-maker, scientist, practitioner, private sector or civil society representative then you may want to upgrade your insights and skills on how to manage conflict over the use of natural resources. A changing natural resources management sector requires additional expertise and skills. The NRM sector is subject to rapid change as a result of population growth and changed consumption patterns, globalization of natural resources markets, democratization of environmental governance, international conventions and protocols with a bearing on resource management and conservation, as well as (man-made) bio-physical processes such as land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change. Very often these changes lead to an increased competition for land and resources between stakeholder groups from local to global levels. Many of the management approaches we apply today may no longer be effective. The competing claims approach is a response to more conventional approaches that tend to perceive either the State, or the community, or the market as being capable of offering “easy” solutions to resource conflicts, preferably in the form of win-win solutions. Practice however proves different. How do you deal with conflicting interests between the different stakeholders, with different perceptions on the importance of conservation versus development, power imbalances across and between multiple scale levels? Thinking in competing claims implies rethinking current natural resources management paradigms, applying new analytical frameworks to better understand conflicts, reviewing institutional arrangements in the sector we work, and reconsidering our roles and required expertise. Invitation to the short course “Competing claims on natural resources” in Wageningen in 2013 The programme targets mid to senior level resource managers, policy-makers, academia, private sector and civil society representatives with a stake in natural resources use. Wageningen University has researched competing claims over resources in the agricultural and NRM sectors over the years and developed new analytical models to gain insight in land and resource conflicts. The Centre for Development Innovation (CDI) being part of Wageningen University would like to share the latest methodologies with international professionals in the NRM sector. Furthermore, CDI believes that sharing new insights has to be accompanied with developing the skills to apply these insights in the participants’ working environment, and that his best can be done in an interactive learning environment where experience and expertise among participants from the different continents can be shared and developed into a network of practitioners. The 2-weeks training therefore provides a mix of sharing new knowledge, analytical tools, and skill development such as conflict analysis skills, negotiation, mediation, facilitation and communication skills. The programme is further built on case studies provided by participants that are used throughout the course for application of best practices. Requirements for admission Candidates should meet the following requirements: relevant tertiary education, at least five years of working experience in the NRM sector, competency in English. Fee: 3300 Euro Deadline subscription: 21 January 2013 Application NFP fellowships: 17 July – 1 October 2012