SOLLIMS Sampler Volume 9, Issue 2 | Page 9

as a strict nature reserve for five years in return for compensation in the form of health, education,
infrastructure, and livelihood investments.
Environmental peacebuilding – bringing people together to agree on nature, rather than nature being the
cause of conflicts – requires different tools and approaches. The lessons from Liberia show that adhering
to free and open dialogue among all stakeholders and listening to the different concerns and priorities of
each group were essential steps to finding a lasting solution for both people and nature in East Nimba.
Recommendation.
Full participation is essential for bringing about meaningful change at the community level. The CI Liberia
case shows that disputes over resource rights can prevent sustainable resource management. International
actors should ensure community involvement through inclusive, multi-stakeholder dialogues and
discussions to ensure strong local ownership and sustainability.
Implications.
In the absence of participatory, transparent community engagement, conservation efforts will not be
sustainable and can contribute to or instigate local conflict. In order to help CI staff and partners be more
effective in our work, we developed this environmental peacebuilding training manual to lay the foundation
for consensus-based, participatory, and transparent processes to strengthen existing efforts for biodiversity
conservation.
Event Description.
This lesson was based on natural resource conflict and peacebuilding involving non-governmental
organization (NGO) actors in Liberia. For more information, please see: Environmental Peacebuilding
with Communities Around the East Nimba Nature Reserve in Liberia, J. Donovan & E. Niesten, Arlington,
VA: CI, (2014).
Lesson Author: Janet Edmond, Conservation International
Submitted on her behalf by Lydia Cardona, Coordinator
East Nimba Nature
Reserve, Liberia
(22 July 2013)
East Nimba Nature
Reserve forest.
Photo Credit: © Conservation
International/photo by Bailey
Evans (Used with Permission)
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