| dc.description.abstract | This paper seeks to critically discuss the issue of natural resource
-
based
conflicts
management in the East African Region. It is worth noting that the wider East African region is
well endowed with natural resources such as forests, land, lakes and minerals with the latest
development being the discovery of crude oil and gas in
Kenya and Uganda. Natural resources
are conflict generators with the various stakeholders pursuing different interests which end up
clashing. It need not be emphasized that the fight for access, use and management of natural
resources in the region have re
sulted in the most violent conflicts amongst communities and even
tension between states, and often resulting in loss of human and animal lives as well as property.
This is bound to become more severe with the entry of oil and gas exploration and mining in
the
region if the concerned states do not act on time to put in place more effective mechanisms to
manage these conflicts. Conflicts impact negatively on development. Conflicts
occurring
as a
result of contests over natural resources should be dealt with
effectively and expeditiously, and
there is therefore a need to have in place on effective conflict management mechanisms to deal
with them.
The
author critically examines the existing legal and institutional framework in place for
the management of confli
cts and especially natural resource
-
based
conflicts, with a view to
identifying the challenges
to
their
effective
ness
in
managing these conflicts. It is argued that the
current framework has not been efficacious in resolving conflicts and
there
is a need t
o develop
a new approach to conflict management. The new approach should incorporate tenets of public
participation, environmental democracy and the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
mechanisms aimed at ensuring environmental democracy is achieve
d.
The author briefly discusses merits and demerits of litigation and Alternative Dispute
Resolution (ADR) mechanisms with the aim of identifying opportunities and making a case for
their tandem and effective application in the management of these
resource
-
based
conflicts so as
to promote investment and economic development in the region. | en_US |
