A Human Security Perspective on Natural Resource Conflict and Rural Development
Publisher: University of Copenhagen
Author(s): Jennifer Bond
Date: 2014
Conflicts in relation to natural resources occur throughout the world in a range of contexts, from rural to urban and across a spectrum ranging from non-violent conflicts of interest to outright violence. These conflicts may be between specific user groups such as agriculturalists and pastoralists or humans and wildlife, or they may be in relation to the management or policy of a particular resource which is perceived as illegitimate and inequitable.
Traditionally, conceptualisations of security have focused on the nation state. Viewing natural resource conflict from a human security perspective, on the other hand, puts humans as the reference point, acknowledging that national security may not ensure the security, wellbeing or freedoms of citizens. It allows for the various intersecting factors of conflict to be seen from the perspective of the human, as either an individual and/or a community. This perspective aligns with the conceptualisation of development as rights-based, rather than as pure economic growth.
Various natural resource conflicts persist in Laikipia Coutty, Kenya, including agro-pastoral conflicts, cattle rustling and human-wildlife conflicts. While the existence of these conflicts is well-known, the underlying dynamics seen from the perspectives of various actors involved and the cross-cutting issues common to the conflicts are insufficiently understood. This research aimed to investigate the dynamics of cattle rustling, human-wildlife and agro-pastoral conflicts from the micro-level perceptions of stakeholders, and link these to macro-level phenomena such as policies, politics and international networks.