Sustainable Development: Conflicts, Communication and Collaboration

The causes and driving forces behind natural resource conflicts are diverse, complex and often interlinked, including global economic growth, population increase, poor governance, and poverty. Natural resource conflicts range from armed conflicts to conflicts of interest between stakeholders in the various development planning processes. Such resource conflicts may be analyzed in relation to land, biodiversity, minerals, water and vulnerability in general (for instance pollution, food constraints, and heavy rainfall). 

In order to transform existing resource conflicts, as well as in order to decrease the risk for future conflicts, approaches that enhance and enforce collaboration for sustainable development at global, regional, national and local levels are key.

During the course, the driving forces behind natural resource conflicts and disputes at different levels and scales are critically analyzed, and approaches to facilitate and enforce mediation, transformation and collaboration at these levels and scales are presented and discussed. 

The course is concluded by students choosing a resource conflict which they, with the tools provided by the course, analyze in order to propose avenues of transformation and/or resolution.