Greetings from the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), an
international policy research organization based in Nairobi, Kenya. Its
member countries are Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, Malta and Uganda. The World
Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) are
also founding members of ACTS. The Centre was created in 1988 to enlarge the
range of policy choices for Africa's sustainable development, especially
through improved environmental management.

ACTS is currently conducting a research project, "Preventing Conflict
Through Improved Policies on Land Tenure, Natural Resource Rights, and
Migration in the Great Lakes Region'. The attached policy brief provides more
details.

We are currently seeking researchers with a knowledge of refugee and IDP
issues related to the Burundi conflict, as well as an interest in land and
natural resource issues and conflict prevention, who are available to do the
work between now and April 2004. The issues specific to Burundi include
resettlement of refugees and IDPs, as well as general land reform and
improvements to the land administration system. The research will be gender-
sensitive and women are especially welcome to apply.

All queries and comments are very welcome.

Best wishes,

Chris Huggins
Research Fellow
African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS)
PO Box 45917, 00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 254 (2) 524710
Fax: 254 (2) 524701 or 524001
[log in to unmask]
http://www.acts.or.ke


Attachment:

Preventing Conflict through Improved Policies on Land Tenure, Natural
Resource Rights, and Migration in the Great Lakes Region.

An Applied Research, Networking and Advocacy Project


Draft Policy Brief

Introduction

Since the early 1990s, parts of Africa's Great Lakes Region have experienced
political strife, armed conflict and population displacements with severe
humanitarian consequences. Despite great progress towards sustainable peace in
all the countries of the region, sporadic violence continues in some areas,
particularly in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Conflicts in the Great Lakes Region are highly interlinked, with political and
military alliances, refugee movements, and ethnic solidarities tying the fates
of the countries of the region. Processes to resolve and pre-empt violent
conflict in all these countries are vital in order to bring a regional peace.

While violent conflicts in the region have clearly revolved around
political struggles for the control of the state, generally involving the
mobilization of ethnic identities, recent research has pointed to the
significance of environmental variables in triggering and sustaining struggles
for power in the region. The importance of these variables has recently been
tested empirically by the African Centre for Technology Studies under a
project entitled Ecological Sources of Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Research was undertaken in Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Sudan, Somalia and Ethiopia;
and published in June 2002 in a book entitled 'Scarcity and Surfeit: The
Ecology of Africa's Conflicts'. The research revealed the urgent need to
incorporate ecological concerns in regional and international efforts at
conflict prevention, management and resolution.

Contested rights to land and natural resources are a significant
element in the dynamics of conflict in the region. Population movements -
involving voluntary migration as well as forced displacement - are
significant factors in some conflicts, and land disputes arising from the
return of refugees can pose challenges to post-conflict reconstruction.
Localised environmental degradation (e.g. wildlife poaching and deforestation)
are identified as causes of tension between groups in some areas. The need to
resolve controversies over land and natural resources must therefore be a
pivotal element of wider efforts to end violent political conflicts in the
region.  For this reason, ACTS is conducting research on these issues in
Rwanda, Burundi and DRC.

This project's primary goal is to influence positively, through
advocacy with relevant stakeholders, ongoing processes of land reform and
debates on land rights in the Great Lakes Region, particularly as they affect
or are affected by displaced populations. It is important that stakeholders in
each area are able to learn from the each other's experiences. This will be
achieved through research, networking and advocacy with a variety of actors,
including government departments, civil society groups and non-governmental
organizations.

ACTS is currently conducting research and will disseminate the results in
Sept. 2004 in collaboration with the Institute for Security Studies (ISS),
Pretoria. We invite contributions of all kinds, including critical comments
and oportunities for information dissemination. ACTS would like to thank USAID
for providing support to this project.

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