Implementing Conflict Transformation & Mediation Measures in the PAMANA Project to address the Natural Resource Scarcity Tensions among Northern Ugandan Refugee Settlement Communities.

Abstract

This thesis is founded on the proposal of developing conflict transformative methodologies and activities which are adapted and developed in close collaboration with the local communities in Northern Uganda. Therefore, it was analysed and studied how mediation and dialogue workshops can be implemented in the Human Development Peace (HDP) nexus of the PAMANA Project (Building Peace Through Sustainable Access to and Management of Natural Resources in West Nile and Central Equatoria), as part of their staff members, to mitigate the increasing conflicts over natural resources (NR) between stakeholders in the refugee settlements of Northern Uganda. In the last two and a half years, Uganda reported 1.4 million refugees, making the country the third-largest refugee-hosting nation in the world. The results are meso and micro-level conflicts over access to and control over NR and problems associated with poor natural resource management. To further understand the structural framework, the PAMANA Project conducted a baseline survey and focus group discussions to provide qualitative and quantitative information about the pressure on Natural Resources and conflicts around access to and management of NR. Based on that data, it will be highlighted how contextualized conflict transformation approaches, training, and mediation processes can and have been implemented among the communities. This will be done in detail since the main findings of this study show that no conflict transformation approaches among the stakeholders have been used so far. As a result, the study encourages more contextualized, inclusive, and long-term conflict transformation approaches in the refugee settlements, helping the community members apply peace dialogues to resolve their ongoing conflicts.