Environmental Engineering Reference
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maldistribution of resources and wealth as key factors for conflict, and that perceives
conflict and poverty as causes of resource depletion rather than consequences (Homer-
Dixon 1995; 1999). Contrary to the focus on resource scarcity, the idea of resource
abundance as a conflict factor emerged in the form of the so-called 'resource curse' - a
concept that evolved from an economic interpretation connecting negative economic
growth with natural resource wealth (e.g. Auty 1993; 1995) and extending it towards
an idea that approaches resource abundance and dependency as central factors to the
economics of conflict and civil war (e.g. Collier and Hoeffler 1998; Ross 1999; De
Soysa 2000).
These binary positions, however, no longer dominate the debate. The present
position is the recognition that natural resource degradation and scarcity may play
a role in the rise of conflicts, but that conflicts can rarely be characterised as purely
resource-driven. Where tensions about access and use of natural resources do exist,
these depend on a variety of factors - the outcomes of which may sometimes cascade
from tension into violent conflict, but certainly not always: they may also lead to
cooperative solutions (Noorduyn 2005). More often than not, natural resource degra-
dation is a result of conflict rather than a cause. The emergence of conflicts is now
often seen as related to the management of natural resources or more widely to the
nature of resource governance regimes (Adano et al. 2012). It is even argued that,
when managed properly, resource issues may help to foster a culture of environmental
cooperation and peace-building. In other words, proper resource governance could
not only help resolve resource conflicts, but also prevent them and lead to peaceful
mutual relations.
Instead of over-arching theories, there is presently a need for contextualised knowl-
edge, and complexity needs to be explicitly acknowledged. It is for this reason that the
Dutch Department of Development Cooperation (DGIS) and the Netherlands Organ-
isation for Scientific Research (NWO) initiated a collaborative knowledge, research
and innovation programme on Conflict and Cooperation over Natural Resources in
Developing Countries (CoCooN) that is both focused on science and impact.
This chapter is structured as follows. After the introduction we attempt to review
and summarise the debates in academia. Then we provide the policy perspective
by referring to major initiatives and actions of a variety of supranational organisa-
tions, governments, the private sector, and non-governmental organisations. We then
describe the CoCooN programme that attempts to fuse science and policy into one
research agenda.
2.2 CONFLICT AND COOPERATION ON NATURAL RESOURCES:
THE ACADEMIC DEBATES
In academia and policy circles there have been vivid and sometimes fierce debates on
the nexus of environment and conflict. These discussions have taken different points of
departure and have also revolved around diverging issues (see Hough 2008). This is in
part explained by the different underlying (conflict) theories and associated paradigms,
and the centrality of different key concepts. For some analysts, the degradation of the
environment was a key explanatory factor of conflict at macro or micro-levels. Others
took a different perspective, focusing instead on resource scarcity or distribution as
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