An initiative led by TrustWorks Global (TrustWorks) and the European Institute of Peace (EIP) with the support of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
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For over a decade, the tri-border region of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger - also known as Liptako Gourma - has been the epicentre of violent conflict
For over a decade, the tri-border region of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger - also known as Liptako Gourma - has been the epicentre of violent conflict
What started with a rebellion and the occupation of Northern Mali by jihadi groups has now turned into a decade-long conflict with violence spreading across the Liptako Gourma region. Neighbouring countries in the Sahel and coastal regions are increasingly suffering from the spill-over effects of the conflict.
The conflict is characterised by a large and highly diverse array of non-state armed groups, including jihadi groups and self-defence militias, with complex and shifting alliances which make deciphering local conflict dynamics extremely challenging.
The conflict is characterised by a large and highly diverse array of non-state armed groups, including jihadi groups and self-defence militias, with complex and shifting alliances which make deciphering local conflict dynamics extremely challenging.
International approaches to the conflict have been dominated by military interventions which have struggled to contribute to any lasting stability.
International approaches to the conflict have been dominated by military interventions which have struggled to contribute to any lasting stability.
And, regional and national security approaches have so far demonstrated little progress in preventing or diminishing violence against civilians.
The departure of the French Barkhane force in 2022 and MINUSMA in 2023 and arrival of Russian Wagner Group has led to renewed clashes in northern Mali.
The end result is a complex, fragile and highly insecure context that continues to rank among the most violent conflicts in the world - with deep repercussions for the people of the region.
1,742
Battle-related deaths (From 2012 to October 2023)
3,894
Internally displaced persons
2,122
Refugees
In Liptako Gourma, land, natural resources and the dynamics of climate change are deeply intertwined with the drivers of violence and fragility.
The agricultural sector - fully reliant on land and water and highly vulnerable to climate change - represents 27% of Sahel’s GDP, and employs 80% of the labour force.
Since many people in the region are highly reliant on farming and pastoralism for their livelihoods, climate change and environmental degradation are increasingly exacerbating tensions between communities.
Transhumance, which has been a pattern of life in the Sahel for centuries, depends upon accessible pasture and water to nourish herds and move between areas.
However, these corridors need to constantly adapt depending on changing rain patterns. Changing patterns of transhumance have contributed to increased conflicts between herders and farmers.
Artisanal and small-scale mining, such as panning for gold, sustains livelihoods for many communities. However, armed groups have also exploited such revenues, notably from artisanal gold mining.
Mining practices can also have significant adverse impacts on the environment, leading to soil degradation and the loss of biodiversity.
Protected forests and national parks are vital to ensure sustainable use of natural resources, and to preserve fragile ecosystems.
Simultaneously, forests function as safe havens for armed groups, providing natural cover against attacks and access to natural resources to finance their operations.
In the Gourma-Rharous desert in the border-region of Mali, the Gourma elephants are the last surviving members of the West African elephants and hold significant cultural value for communities.
However, elephant poaching increased in the years following the Mali rebellion; elephant tusks are viewed as valuable resources that can be sold by armed groups on the black market.
In March 2022, TrustWorks and EIP with the support of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg launched a Liptako Gourma-wide initiative on environmental peacemaking, designed to help better address some of the environmental root causes of violence and conflict.
Our work has promoted a different approach to building peace, focused on working with local actors to support them to address natural resource-related challenges and climate impacts in their own peacemaking work. It is an approach anchored in understanding how land and natural resources can promote peace.
Working with diverse local and national partners, we have produced a wide range of resources designed to support all actors interested in environmental peacemaking. We have made these resources available through this site to ensure this knowledge goes well beyond this project, and to help others infuse this approach into their work.
At the start of the project, TrustWorks and EIP conducted a mapping of issues and initiatives relevant to environmental peacemaking in the Liptako Gourma region. We found that while there are numerous mediation initiatives underway at the local level there is a need for greater attention to, and integration of, land, natural resources and climate change-related issues.
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Insights, lessons learned and best practices garnered throughout the initiative suggest that addressing the root causes of conflict in a comprehensive and sustainable manner requires a two-pronged approach: First, better integrated land, natural resources and climate-related issues into peacemaking processes, better known as environmental peacemaking
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Second, integrate conflict-sensitivity and peace-positive approaches into the management of land, natural resources and climate-related initiatives, what we term here as peace-positive natural resource management.
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We have summarised these two complementary approaches in these two reports.
One of the major insights to emerge from stakeholder consultations, interviews, workshops and more broadly our experience throughout the project was the centrality of land governance to the majority of conflicts across the Liptako Gourma region. We therefore undertook a deep and comparative dive on the role of land commissions in preventing and resolving conflict in the region.
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One of the main components of the project involved working with local and national actors to understand lessons learned from their own experiences of integrating land, natural resources and climate change-related issues into their peacemaking efforts. These insights are captured in four practice notes, which can be explored by interacting with each area on the map.
HACP
The experience of the High Authority for Peace in Niger (HACP) and their approach to environmental peacemaking: A holistic approach to peace and the specific case of the Banibangou Agreement of 23 January 2023 (Tillabéri Region, Niger).
