Kick-off seminar CoCooN – Knowledge@work! Peace Palace, The Hague, 15-12-2010
On December 15th the Conflict and Cooperation on Natural Resources programme (CoCooN) presented seven projects that will look into specific cases in several Latin-American, Asian and African countries. CoCooN is part of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and specifically engages scientists, development practitioners and policy makers. Two projects were highlighted, and the audience could gather detailed information during a market event where each project was presented. During speeches and debate, speakers and the audience shared their knowledge, experience and ideas on relevant aspects related to the tense research context, communication strategies and further development of the programme. Below you will find the programme, presentations and the summaryreport of the meeting.
Author: Fieke Maas Geesteranus
Innovative programme
The seven projects awarded by CoCooN confront various situations in which development and exploitation of natural resources are part of the cause of conflict. In order to optimize its contribution, CoCooN has developed an innovative approach which is considered as experimental within the tradition of NWO. First of all, the programme is open to international participants. This means that the consortia carrying out the projects, consist of researchers and non-scientific participants from all over the world. Secondly, CoCooN doesn’t focus only on scientific research: it puts knowledge and innovation at the forefront. As Henk Molenaar, the executive Director of WOTRO, puts it: ´The programme uses a wider concept of knowledge covering academic knowledge - to be sure - but also knowledge from policy and practice, action-oriented, embodied knowledge of real-life challenges and struggles.´ Thirdly, capacity development is equally important in the programme as research, knowledge sharing and innovation are. Essentially, the aim of CoCooN is in the words of the Chairman of the Steering Committee Ton Dietz: ´To contribute to sustainable development, poverty reduction and the realisation of the MDGs.´CoCooN will contribute to evidence-based policy development, interventions and practices by adequately managing, resolving and learning from conflicts and cooperation over natural resources By means of funding integrated projects (IPs) and creating a knowledge network, CoCooN is determined to reach these goals.
The IPs have now started and the Chair explained the phases of the project cycle. Currently, all projects are funded for two years. After one and a half years (or: 18 months) a mid-term evaluation will take place. The consortia and members of the committees will then look in detail at how the continuation of the project is best organised. Depending on this evaluation, there are three possible scenarios. Firstly, it could turn out that the project is not functioning. In this case, the funding will be discontinued after the end of the second year. Secondly, the project is on the right track towards its set goals and will reach these without additional funding. The project will then continue on the initial budget for the next two years. The third possibility is that the project yields excellent results and will be suitable for additional funding.Furthermore, the complexity of the projects was underlined once again. The consortia are large and diverse, their members come from widespread geographic areas and the working areas are highly sensitive. In order to help out in difficult situations, Ton Dietz announced that he was appointed as Ombudsman for the consortia members.
Development and conflict
A joint note speech was given by Clive Wicks, an eminent consultant in engineering, agriculture and environmental issues, and member of the International Programme Advisory Committee of CoCooN, and by Mansoob Murshed, professor at the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague and project leader of one of the awarded projects. They outlined the possibilities and challenges with which the CoCooN projects could be confronted. Wicks elaborated on how conflicts over natural resources could result in violation of human rights and severe damage to the environment. He mentioned some examples such as deforestation and land grabbing as a result of the growing demand for bio fuels, oil extraction in environmentally sensitive locations, and intensification of fisheries in areas where indigenous groups gain their income.
In this regard, Murshed addressed the renowned political scientist Collier who argued that countries which export great amounts of natural resources, the so-called weak oil, gas, drugs and diamonds states, are prone to civil war. New insights showed that fast growing countries are often confronted with conflict. This means that countries which are lingering between autocracy and democracy could be in a danger zone. Wicks concluded that the
CoCooN programme is very useful for yielding concrete policy options to effect changes in conflict situations. Murshed added that detailed case studies are highly important in order to achieve this. ´Cross-country research produces averages, but all contexts are different. Especially the unobserved heterogeneity in cross-country research is significant and should be revealed.´ He stressed that the focus should be on so-called mechanisms in the middle, be it institutions or a legal framework. These have the ability to solve the conflict in a more peaceful matter.
Project examples
To illustrate the innovative approach of CoCooN, two consortia presented their project. One of these looks into conflicts caused by small-scale gold mining in the Amazon. Project coordinator Marjolein de Theije explained why: ´Gold mining is rapidly expanding and causes environmental and socio-political problems.´ The consortium aims to improve the labour conditions of the miners by means of training and capacity building. This will be done by CEDLA, the University of Pará (Brazil), Solidaridad and WWF Surinam. According to Maaike Schouten, representative of Solidaridad, the contribution of her organisation to the project is to endorse and promote sustainable supply chains.
´Policy initiatives to mitigate the negative impact often focus on technical measures´ de Theije states. ´These policies fail because they do not take the complex legal and socio-political realities into account.´ This consortium aims to systematically compare the socio-political fields in five countries in order to create a starting point for improving policy development.
One of the key aspects of the project is the communication of results inside and outside the consortium. ´In the first two years the focus will be on research data, analysis and knowledge sharing´, Schouten elaborated. In this phase knowledge will be shared with local stakeholders, such as the miners, local authorities and civil society organisations. ´From the third year on, results will be disseminated to a wider group of stakeholders.´ These groups consist amongst others of international researchers, policy-makers and advocacy groups.
The second project presented, aims to put access and management of groundwater on the political agenda in Ethiopia, Yemen and the Palestinian Territories. Water as a natural resource has become an important topic since its growing scarcity causes many problems around the globe. Often though, groundwater has been rather overlooked as a significant resource. Groundwater is vital for safe drinking water, agriculture and horticulture and as a buffer for climate change. Therefore, it is essential to get into the political black box. Although improved use of groundwater has contributed to a better food and water availability, overuse and social exclusion are serious risks. Moreover, the quality of groundwater is a serious concern.
One of the consortium partners is the Water and Environment Centre of the Sana´a University in Yemen. Its representative Abdulla Babaqi expressed the main challenge of the consortium: ‘… to understand the politics around groundwater in the three countries and to organise political actions in order to make a change towards a sustainable and equitable use of water.´ These actions will be accomplished on the basis of a sound political and institutional analysis. The Palestinian Territories are faced with power asymmetry, barred access due to the Israeli separation wall and overuse of groundwater by Israel. Yemen faces an institutional deadlock in solving the problems caused by the depletion of groundwater. And in Ethiopia, the use of groundwater is underdeveloped while poverty is increasing.
This consortium includes political operators such as the Palestinian Water Authority, and researchers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and the Mekelle University in Ethiopia. Once again, knowledge sharing within the consortium and with external stakeholders such as local media, farmer representatives and international pressure groups, is a major focal point in order to create awareness and capacity building.
Knowledge network
The final speech was given by five members of different consortia: Richmond Antwi-Bediako, Emmanuel Acheampong, Irene Velez-Torres, Damian Zaitch and Marcel Rutten. These consortia members, the Steering Committee and the International Programme Advisory Committee attended a workshop the previous day to discuss cross-cutting issues of all projects and how to develop CoCooN as a unit. At the seminar, the consortia members presented these issues and paved the way for a lively discussion lead by Ton Dietz. The issues brought forward concerned mainly communication inside and outside of the consortia and the possible added value of CoCooN. Someone from the audience mentioned that data have to be exchanged through a sustainable mechanism.
Another participant added that it would be important to enlarge the consortia network and to enable access to data and knowledge sharing for those not yet included. In this way research duplications could be avoided and mutual learning and sharing of experiences could be stimulated. Dietz proposed that the CoCooN web portal, which is to be developed, could be divided into three categories: a public space for all visitors, information accessible to the CoCooN community only, and information which only certain consortia could access. This related to what was said at the workshop: a website can be used to communicate innovative methodologies.
Yet, sharing of innovative methodologies, lessons learned and best practices will not only be done through the website. Dietz mentioned other possible media in this respect: ´an annual learning workshop organised by CoCooN, video conferencing, a mailing list of all consortia members and a periodical newsletter by CoCooN.´
This corresponded with what was said at the workshop the previous day. Strategies for learning lessons and the use of media like documentaries, publications and info sheets were brought up as important communication tools. During the debate, a suggestion in this regard was made to reflect thoroughly what should be made public to the team and what to external parties. Furthermore, the consortia were warned to be aware of how knowledge could be traced back on the internet. It was said not to be naive about the possible dangers of sharing knowledge and that it might be useful to link up with international organisations or journalists. This point was brought up at the preceding workshop as well and related to the possibility of fuelling the conflict while doing research.
Once again, emphasis was put on the fact that CoCooN has a transdisciplinary approach. At the workshop, it was said to learn each others ´language´ in order to understand different kinds of knowledge, be it scientific, practical or popular. It was questioned however, whether transdisciplinarity should be pushed further in order to reach societal change. During the debate, a very important question was raised: even though the projects are in their first phase, what can be said about their ambitions and contributions they aim at for building theory? ´If you create a theoretical baseline now, in four or five years you will be better able to evaluate what you’ve learned.´ This baseline requires the identification of underlying assumptions. For example, the relationships between conflict and natural resources or the connection between local knowledge and the differences in the approaches of the seven projects. In the proceeding discussion, the majority agreed that from the starting phase on it is necessary to look into this. Dietz recalled that an inventory state of the art document had been made in the initial phase of the programme. Moreover, he mentioned that the consortia need to develop a learning process: just as the finding approaches will be summarized and reflections will be made on the commonalities, the same should be done for theoretical frameworks. This will work as an incentive to work further than only linking and sharing data. Maarten Bavinck, leader of one of the awarded projects, suggested to develop books in which theoretical ideas behind the projects could be gathered. The outcomes of the transdisciplinary approach will be an integral part of the knowledge network and during the course of the projects, scientific theoretical renewal will be developed by means of this network.
Programme & presentations
| Welcome | |
| Henk Molenaar, WOTRO-Science for Global Development and Ton Dietz, Chair Steering Committee CoCooN – convenor | |
| From conflict to cooperation over natural resources: the international debates | |
| Clive Wicks, Conservation and development Consultant and Mansoob Murshed (Institute of Social Sciences) Presentation |
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| Market presentations | |
| Nationalization of extractive industries in Latin America-summary Fisheries: re-incorporating the excluded-summary Small scale gold mining and conflict in the Amazon-summary Socio- economic implications of bio fuel plantations in Africa-summary Lands and rights in troubled water, Latin America-summary Ground water in the political domain, Middle East & Horn of Africa-summary Land grab and dwindling water resources in African drylands-summary |
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| CoCooN in practice: knowledge of and for local communities and migrant miners | |
| Marjo de Theije, CEDLA, NL and Maaike Schouten, Solidaridad, NL | |
| CoCooN in practice: the institutional and policy levels | |
| Abdulla Babaqi, Water and Environment Centre, Sana’a University, Yemen and Frank van Steenbergen, MetaMeta Research, NL | |
| Cross-cutting issues - Knowledge sharing & learning | |
| Richmond Antwi-Bediako, Rural Environmental Care Association, Ghana; Emmanuel Acheampong, Kwame Nkrumanh University of Science and Technology, Ghana; Irene Velez-Torres, Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Centro de Estudios Sociales, Colombia; Damian Zaitch, Utrecht University, Nl and Marcel Rutten, African Studies Centre Leiden, NL | |