Introduction - Conflicts Over Natural Resources in the Global South - page 2

on a particular kind of services, known as provisioning: services that provide people
with goods essential for their livelihoods. The MEA notes that many of these services
are degrading globally and therefore becoming increasingly scarce. This not only puts
pressure on present but also on future generations and their opportunities for wellbeing.
Climate change adds a new dimension to the discourse on ecosystem services.
Resilience and adaptation are the new buzzwords, drawing attention to the need for
preparing societies for important changes in their climatological and physical surround-
ings. Importantly, attention is also being paid to the differential impact of climate
change. As Adger et al. (2009: 11) point out, the debate is now also about “how adap-
tation must happen for the common good, coupled with assisting the most vulnerable.''
It is clear that resilience and adaptation processes are not necessarily conflict-free, and
that, here again, some people are more likely to be side-lined than others.
The present volume finds its origin in an innovative research programme initi-
ated by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO/WOTRO) in
collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. This pro-
gramme, entitled 'Conflict and Cooperation over Natural Resources' (CoCooN), has
three objectives: 1) to generate new knowledge, high quality research and innova-
tion in the field of conflict and cooperation over natural resources; 2) to support
policy development and practice in developing countries; and 3) to build up capac-
ity at different levels. The seven projects that have been funded during the CoCooN
programme (2010-2016) all follow a case study approach; they cover different geo-
graphical regions as well as a broad range of resources and resource issues. The project
teams consist of academics and practitioners, and have a multi-disciplinary composi-
tion. More details on the rationale of the programme and how it was developed can
be found in Kessler et al.'s concluding chapter, “Challenges in the design of a research
and development programme on Conflict and Cooperation over Natural Resources''
(Chapter 11).
The aim of this volume is to present the various conceptual approaches adhered to
by each of the CoCooN projects. It therefore has a theoretical, rather than a practical
ambit. The volume consists of three parts: theoretical overviews (Part 1), case studies
(Part 2) and policy perspectives (Part 3). This chapter introduces the diverse contri-
butions and situates them in the debate over natural resources and conflict. First, we
describe the case study chapters, which constitute the core of the volume. Secondly,
we turn to the theme of conflict and cooperation over natural resources, highlighting
the debate as brought forth in the more general contributions to this volume. Thirdly,
we discuss the action potential of the CoCooN programme.
1.2 THE COMPENDIUM OF CASES
The cases included in this volume capture a range of natural resources, geographical
contexts, and conflict dynamics. The geographical scope is wide-ranging: three projects
focus on Latin America, one on Asia, one on the Middle East, and two on Africa (with
one project bridging two continents). The majority of cases are of a comparative nature,
exploring experiences in multiple regions. The natural resources, on which the cases
ultimately hinge, vary from land to minerals (oil, gold, marble and gypsum), biofuels
(Jatropha) and fish.