Improving Natural Resource Governance through Citizen Engagement
A Commonwealth Professional Fellowship Programme
At the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR), Coventry University in cooperation with the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales
23 March – 21 April 2017
The “Improving Natural Resource Governance through Citizen Engagement” fellowship programme has two key objectives. First, it aims to help improve the knowledge and skills of civil society fellows in engaging in natural resource management, thereby empowering them to contribute to poverty reduction and peacebuilding in their home countries. Second, it aims to disseminate the civil society fellows’ achievements and challenges in engaging with the issues around natural resource-based development and hence to create synergies with the CTPSR and its networks for future cooperation.
The programme responds to the development and peacebuilding needs of natural resource endowed countries, especially in East African countries where there have been recent discoveries of oil resources. While the natural resource sector can be a catalyst for development, unequal distribution of socio-economic and environmental impacts from the sector often leads to tension and conflict in society.
The Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations in Coventry University, has a unique position to design and offer this highly inter-disciplinary fellowship programme. The CTPSR draws on Coventry’s historical heritage in peace and reconciliation to provide teaching, training and research in peacebuilding and social relations. It also works with other University departments, including the renowned Centre for Agro-ecology and Water Resilience (CAWR) located at Garden Organic, the Geography, Environment and Disaster Management (GED) department which teaches popular oil, gas and environment courses, as well as with external networks in the UK. In addition, the centre has strong links with universities, civil society actors and regional federations in East Africa.
The fellowship programme will combine a variety of workshops, seminars and field trips, over a period of four weeks. It uses reflective learning process throughout the programme. Learning journals and weekly reflection sessions with programme mentors will be used to develop action plans and ideas for their organisations and communities, and for future collaboration with the new networks at the end of the programme.
This current fellowship builds on two successful programmes, which ran in 2015 and 2016, hosting Fellows from four African countries. This 2017 programme seeks to further strengthen our networks in East Africa in particular and also with the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales which will play an even stronger role in the implementation of the training component.
The focus is on three themes of (1) governance challenges, societal transformation and the role of community engagement for improving natural resource governance; (2) sustainable use of resources, ecosystems services, land use and water management; and (3) sustainable development, conflict prevention and global perspectives. The fellowship also offers professional training on equality and diversity, communication and intercultural dialogue, advocacy and participatory research.
There was significant interest in the first courses from very well qualified candidates and these courses were of great value both to the CTPSR and the Fellows. The CTPSR team seeks to re-run this successful programme in Spring 2017, to further develop and share expertise around the governance of natural resources and the role of citizen engagement in improving it.
The following outlines in more detail the weekly programme:
Week 1 – Introduction to the University and City of Coventry, and questions of natural resource governance in the UK
The first week will include introductions from the programme coordinator, programme mentor, and the Director of the CTPSR. Fellows will be given access to a working space, the university library and student resource centre. They will tour the city and University, and also learn about the role of the City Council, local charities and the Cathedral in peace building and in environmental issues of the city. Fellows will visit innovative projects in Coventry and the Midlands, including engineering programmes championed by the university such as the Microcab project’s zero emissions hydrogen car or the work of the University’s engineering department for low impact building. Fellows will participate in initial trainings in equality and diversity and intercultural communication to introduce them to common research themes of the CTPSR and to facilitate their integration into the working life of the Centre. At the end of week one, fellows will have the opportunity to introduce their own areas of work, and specific challenges in their home countries. Their perspectives and feedback will also enrich the programme. The programme team will seek to respond and adapt some of the field trips and interlocutors where possible to maximise the impact for the fellows and organisations met with in the UK.
Week 2 - Sustainable useof natural resources, governance challenges, societal transformation and the role of community engagement
During week 2, Fellows will begin to engage with questions of natural resource governance in the UK and also share their experiences as professionals working in this sector in Africa. They will visit Ryton Organic gardens, the Centre for Agroecology and Water Resilience, and meet with the Centre’s research staff working on these questions. They will meet with local NGOs, as well political actors campaigning on natural resource issues. They will attend the global greens congress in Liverpool before moving to the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales.
The week will end with transport over to the Wales based training, for a course specifically designed for the fellows by the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT). The training will initially focus on sustainable building, organic farming, and renewable energy through interactive modules and living labs. Training will be hands on, including practical methods, based on the projects within the CAT. It will also include policy initiatives and advocacy carried out by the CAT for a zero carbon Britain and models developed for other contexts.
Week 3 - Ecosystems services, land use and water management;
During week 3, the Fellows will participate in the CAT’s graduate programme on ecosystems services, learning about land use, waste water management and improving systems for the sustainable use of resources. Topics include flooding and drainage, water and waste water, sewage management, food security, liberation ecology, sustainable agriculture, contaminated land, and bioremediation. They will work together with UK graduates, learn from academic and technical experts at the CAT and share their experiences from their home contexts.
Week 4 - Sustainable development, conflict prevention and global perspectives
Back in Coventry during the final week we will ask the fellows to focus on cross border and international perspectives of natural resource governance. The programme will include a one day trip to London to work with international NGOs engaged in monitoring and lobbying for improved natural resource governance. The role of international legislation for the protection of resources will be explored through the CTPSR’s specific expertise in the maritime and minerals sector. Professors teaching on the MA modules on Maritime Security, Peace and Conflict Studies and Environment, Peace and Conflict will guide these sessions. The role of civil society and active citizenship, linking the land-sea nexus, the sustainable development goals, economic growth, oil governance, transparency and accountability will form some of the topics of discussion. Finally in a roundtable discussion on ways forward Fellows will present their findings and give feedback. A seminar presentation to CTPSR and university staff will allow dissemination of the fellows’ expertise and the potential for strengthening the wider network with their national universities. The final week’s sessions will enable the fellows and CTPSR staff to identify and plan future collaboration which will support the fellows to move onto a stronger and strategic level for dealing with questions of natural resource governance, and how it can contribute to poverty reduction and a more equitable use of natural resources.
Over the course of the programme, the fellows will based primarily in Coventry University’s Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, with ten days spent in the CAT training in Wales. Our programme coordinator, who successfully managed last year’s fellowship programme, will support their daily activities. The programme mentor will oversee the programme content and lead weekly reflection sessions.
IMPACT - CATALYTIC EFFECT
As a result of this programme, fellows, staff from the CTPSR, and local communities both in Coventry and in the Commonwealth home countries of the fellows will have an enhanced understanding of the relationship between improving natural resource governance and peace building. Through the sharing of experiences, training and workshops, the programme will develop specific tools to strengthen the work of the fellows in their daily work, engaging with communities and civil society actors.
The programme will provide the fellows with a holistic overview of the UK context for natural resource governance, exploring local, national and international challenges. Participants will be able to use the skills, knowledge and practical experience gained to develop stronger networks, both with the UK and in their region. During the programme they will also share, with UK researchers, NGOs, businesses and public sector bodies in Wales and England, their experiences and knowledge on issues from natural resource related conflict, to sustainable and equitable economic growth and development.
Fellows will deepen their understanding of the key issue areas and strengthen their capacity in terms of advocacy, research and communication and networking. They will develop skills on to how to use the media, to expose issues, communicate and strengthen capacity in the community to raise and peacefully deal with difficult issues. They will be able to utilize their links with the UK, deploy the training and communication tools such as intercultural dialogue to enhance their work with local communities.
Why Coventry? The Centre for Trust, Peace Social Relations is a multi-disciplinary, dynamic new university research centre working with the City and Cathedral, bringing together different perspectives from across the social sciences and beyond. As such the programme will focus not just on natural resource management, but how this links with peace and social relations. The fellows will be able to relate the issues and challenges of natural resource governance to conflict prevention and peace building. The CTPSR will actively maintain the network with the fellows and develop future cooperation initiatives – focusing on peaceful methods to manage and sustain our natural resources, locally, nationally and on an international scale.
Measuring impact :
Fellows will be asked to complete feedback forms at the end of the programme and a follow up questionnaire after three months. This will allow us to learn and to share how the programme has had impact across the countries. It will also enable us to respond to requests for follow up support, and to identify and develop common projects for future cooperation on areas of natural resource governance.