In violent (ethnicised) conflicts, property rights to resources become highly volatile, since traditional and modern institutional arrangements in resource management break down and are replaced by temporary arrangements. New networks of power and clientelism erupt and often determine the access to resources of different social and ethnic groups. In Sri Lanka, the civil war between the central government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ravaged the northeast of the island for almost 20 years until both parties reached a ceasefire agreement recently. Access to land and water has been one of the main causes of the conflict, since the Tamil minority felt threatened by colonisation schemes of the central government in what they perceived as their traditional homeland.

In the multi-ethnic districts of the East, Muslim, Singhalese and Tamil villagers compete for the utilisation of land and water resources. The war has dramatically altered the land use pattern and land use rights, since people fled their lands, while other land is currently not accessible due to security reasons. Access and occupation of land largely depends on the ethnic affiliation of villagers due to political and security reasons. This 'ethnicisation' of entitlements has created grievances among all three major communal (ethnic) groups.

The research project aims at

• identifying factors determining access to land and water resources for agriculture in the war zone,
• tracing actors and institutional arrangements (rules in use) in land and water resource allocation and management currently practiced, and how these affect peace building,
• investigating the role external agencies (e.g. international co-operation) currently play in resource management and how this affects resource allocation and conflict resolution.

The project forms part of the research group "Determinants and effects of alternative institutions for natural resource management in developing countries", funded by the Robert-Bosch Foundation.

Specialisation / Discipline

(selected)
Bigdon, C.; Korf, B. 2001. 'The Role of Development Aid in Conflict Transformation - Facilitating Empowerment Processes and Community Building' In Berghof-Handbook for Conflict Transformation, eds. N. Ropers et al. http://www.berghof-center.org/handbook/articles. (forthcoming)

Korf, B. et al. 2001. Conflict - Threat or Opportunity? Land Use and Coping Strategies of War-affected Communities in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. (Schriftenreihe des Seminars für Ländliche Entwicklung, No. S 195), Berlin.

Bauer, E.; Korf, B. 2001. ‚Gabenökonomie oder Marktwirtschaft? Humanitäre Maßnahmen in Konfliktregionen: Der Nordosten Sri Lankas'. Entwicklungsethnologie, X, 1+2

Bauer, E.; Bigdon, C.; Korf, B. 2000. ‚Anspruch und Wirklichkeit in der Konfliktbearbeitung - Was kann Entwicklungszusammenarbeit wirklich leisten? Das Beispiel Sri Lanka'. Peripherie, 79, 43-68.

Korf, B. 2000. ‚Ökonomie der Zeit. Über Wege zu Wassermühlen, Partizipation und Gender - Beobachtungen aus Tansania'. Entwicklungsethnologie, IX, 1, 28-42.  

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