Natural Resource Conflict Transformation Center Nepal

Contact Information

• Where – Nepal (Asia)
• Website – nrctc.org.np
• Contact Person – Deepak Raj Bhatt
• Email – drbhatt@nrctc.org.np
• Address – Madhyapur Thimi Municipality, Ward No. 16, Lokanthali Bhaktapur
• Other – Facebook, Twitter

Areas of Expertise

Natural Resource Conflict Transformation Center Nepal has expertise in a range of areas, including:

• Mediation and Negotiation

Main Aims and Objectives

Natural Resource Conflict Transformation Center-Nepal (NRCTC-N) is an NGO founded in 2013 (2070-2-27 BS). It was registered in the District Administration Office Bhaktapur on June 30, 2013 (2070-3-16 BS). Its vision is to develop lasting peace in the society by managing natural resources based conflicts through the process of study, research, investigation, documentation, and transformation. NRCTC-N’s goal is to function as a non-profit making, philanthropic and social-service oriented organization in order to study, research and document natural resources conflicts in Nepal and its impact on the livelihoods of community members. It also aims to create employment opportunities and support livelihoods through integrated management of natural resources and enterprise development, and to develop and mobilize skilled human resources that can contribute towards facilitating and transforming natural resources conflicts. An important aspect of NRCTC-N’s work is to publish research based analytical reports and articles.

Mission – To become a leading organization in study, research, documentation and transformation of natural resource based conflicts for resource management, livelihood support and to create peaceful and civilized society.

Goals

• To be an unprofitable and public oriented social organization.
• To study, research and document natural resource based conflicts and their transformation in Nepalese communities.
• To produce and mobilize skilled human resource for facilitation in the transformation of natural resource based conflicts.
• To establish a Resource Centre on natural resource based conflict transformation.
• To study and conduct research on the status of natural resources and contributions it can create in the livelihood of people.
• To support the livelihood of people through integrated management of natural resources and by creating employment opportunities through enterprises development.
• To study the impacts of global climate change and work for the minimization of its effects.
• To share work experiences, good practices, lesson learned, research based analytical reports, articles and achievements across national and international arena.

Upholding the Principles of Conflict Transformation

The natural resource based conflict transformation process adapted by NRCTC-N is a unique approach in dealing with natural resource based conflict; it is participatory, inclusive, fair and transparent. Conflict Transformation process aims to establish a harmonious relationship between conflicting parties by facilitating dialogue between them and creating win-win situation. Unlike other methods of conflict resolution, transformation process does not provide decisions on conflict, it encourages conflicting parties to rise above their agendas and come to an agreement addressing each other’s inner desires. In this process, at first conflict facilitators invests an ample amount of time meeting conflicting parties for conflict mapping in which they try to find the cause of conflict, perspectives of all parties on conflict, parties affected by conflict and parties that can affect the decision on the conflict, then NRCTC-N identify and form a team of key people (Spiders) from among the conflicting parties and stakeholders and enhance their facilitation capacity through training. Now this spider team along with the facilitators arranges dialogues with conflicting parties to find their issues and ultimately find points of agreement to transform the conflict. Finding agreement is half work done in conflict transformation, and then starts the actual transformation as the agreement is implemented gradually, relationships are improved, peace is established giving way to various development activities.

Where and with Whom?

NRCTC-N has been implementing its natural resource based conflict transformation programs in villages of sixteen districts of Nepal, which have been divided into three regions:

• Mid Region – Bhaktapur, Kavre, Shindhupalchowk and Dolakha.
• East Region – Sarlahi, Sunsari, Dhankuta, Jhapa, Bhojpur and Shankhuwasabha.
• West Region – Kanchanpur, Kailali, Banke, Bardiya, Doti and Dadheldhura.

NRCTC-N has been coordinating with its district partner organizations – Federation of Community Forest User’s Association (FECOFUN), National Federation of Irrigation Water User’s Association-Nepal (NFIWUAN) and Freed Kamaiya Youth Society (FKYS) while implementing programs in a particular district. Depending on the nature of conflict, NRCTC-N facilitators coordinate with concerned government and non-government agencies, media personnel and political party representatives; for instance if it’s a conflict related forest then government agencies like District Forest Office, Area Forest Office, Range posts will be approached for their concerns, local stakeholders such as Village Development Committees, User groups, Youth societies, Journalists, political leaders etc. will not be left out of the process.

Main Activities in the Field of Conflict Transformation

Natural Resource Conflict Transformation Project Phase-III

NRCTC-N has implemented Natural Resource Conflict Transformation Project (NRCTP) – III phase under the financial and technical support of US donor agency, TMF. The project duration of NRCTP-III phase is two years from February 1, 2014 to January 31, 2016. The overall goal of the program is to contribute in conflict transformation and peace building process focused on natural resources management through capacity building and mobilizing of local, regional and national resource team.

Objectives of the projects are;

• To transform 60 natural resource based conflicts in local communities of Nepal by mobilizing facilitators, and regional/central project team.
• To prepare digital database with detail information of identified conflicts and disseminate it through publication.
• To orient about natural resource conflict transformation project’s overall goal, objectives, geographical coverage, strategies, and project updates among concerned stakeholders, government bodies, journalists, political party’s representatives and program implementing partners.
• To document and disseminate good practices and lessons learned through practice sharing and learning/experience sharing workshop and publication of success story, newsletter, and other IEC materials on conflict transformation process
• To create awareness on conflict transformation process through mobilization of media (FM/radio, print media, website, etc.)
• To initiate the preparation of seven modular training for next phase of the programme.

Awareness Campaigns

Community level awareness campaigns are of one day program which were organized to make local people aware about innovative concept of natural resource conflict transformation process apart from traditional approach of conflict management and resolution. Local resource person (LRP) produced from basic training were responsible for conduction of awareness campaign in community level. It was mainly focused at the community where the natural resource (land, water, and forest) conflicts are prevalent. Its main objective was to cover large geographical area and make large mass of people aware about understanding conflict and general concept of natural resource conflict transformation process. The campaign plays the pivotal role in identification of conflict, its occurrence, and nature that will leads in conflict listing and documentation. This will eventually leads in prioritization of conflict based on its severity. Total 634 awareness campaigns wereorganized from Dec 2010 –Jan 2013 in 26 districts. In total 18780 people were involved in awareness campaigns of whom 9018 were female and 9762 were male.

Modular Trainings

Modular trainings are given to spread the concept of conflict transformation process throughout the country through the production of skilled human resource who will be effectively mobilized in transforming the natural resource based conflicts in community level. Therefore, to contribute in conflict transformation and peace building process through capacity building and mobilization of local, regional and national resource team, modular training’s are being organized. Each phase of modular training comprises series of one to seven module modular training.

Basic Trainings

Basic Training were organized with the aim to make all concerned stakeholders working in the field of natural resource aware about basic concept of natural resource conflict transformation process so that they can contribute from their side in the process of conflict transformation stepping upward from traditional method of conflict resolution. They were district level activities conducted in the presence of concerned Government Organizations (GOs), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs), Social organizations (SOs), and political parties’ representatives. Basic trainings helped to raise awareness on natural resource conflict transformation process and collected feedbacks and innovative ideas from participants and resource person which acts as guideline for betterment in future. The training produced active and dedicated local resource person who are responsible for the conduction of community level awareness campaign.

Since, Dec 2010 to Jan 2013, total 117 basic trainings were conducted in 26 districts. Through these trainings total 4292 people (female 1930 and male 2362) have common understanding and basic knowledge regarding natural resource conflict transformation process.