Special Issue "Approaches to the Non-conflictual Use of Resources"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 September 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Petra Schneider
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Water, Environment, Civil Engineering and Safety, Hochschule Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Interests: interdisciplinary research; ecological engineering; water and waste management; environmental assessment and impact mitigation; responsible use of resources
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Dr. Fengqing Li
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Water, Environment, Civil Engineering and Safety, Hochschule Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Interests: biodiversity and climate change; water ecology and management; waste water treatment; energy production
M.Sc. Naveedh Ahmed Sekar
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Water, Environment, Civil Engineering and Safety, Hochschule Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Interests: resource management; waste management; circular economy; sustainability assessment; MFA; LCA

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Natural resources are the material, energetic, and spatial basis of our standard of living. However, disputes over the ownership, use, and extraction of natural resources often play a disruptive role in peace and security (Brown & Keating, 2015). Several types of natural resources, such as metals and industrial minerals, are reaching their availability limits due to an increase in the world’s population and global prosperity. However, resources such as forests, water, pastures, and land might be subject to competitive usage claims. Resource scarcity is recognized to be one of the greatest structural risks for differences or conflicts in the 21st century, and resource use is changing ecosystems, often permanently. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2005) underlined the types of differences that can lead to conflict situations: a) there is competition over material goods, economic benefits, property, or power; b) parties believe that their needs cannot be met; and c) parties perceive that their values, needs, or interests are under threat. The United Nations (2012) promoted the strengthening of the capacity for conflict-sensitive natural resource management in order to promote and support the non-conflictual use of resources.

The extraction and processing of non-regenerative raw materials are often energy-intensive, involve considerable interventions in the natural and water balance, and lead to emissions of pollutants in water, soil, and air. Furthermore, the production and extraction of renewable raw materials is often associated with a high degree of energy, material, and chemical use that is sometimes water-intensive and might be associated with a wide range of pollutant emissions. In order to obtain new production areas, natural land is converted and, in some cases, entire ecosystems are destroyed. In addition to the environmental impact, the use of natural resources also has a variety of social impacts as it is connected with further issues such as the distribution of raw materials, safe access to fresh water, and food security for people worldwide. The per capita consumption of raw materials in the industrialized nations is currently estimated to be four times higher than that in less-developed countries. While a large proportion of the added value of raw material use is produced by industrialized countries, less-developed countries are often disproportionately affected by the ecological and social effects of raw material extraction. The competition for resources has become the second most common cause of disputes and conflicts with a broad range of dimensions and scales that range from community stakeholder involvement to transboundary resource access competition.

This Special Issue aims to provide interdisciplinary input to the further development of approaches to the non-conflictual use of resources at all scales. We welcome contributions that:

  • address the mitigation of resource disputes and conflicts at all scales and levels;
  • explore the potential of a circular economy to decrease the use of non-renewable resources and quantify the overall risk reduction potential;
  • explore the role of responsible mining in the context of the non-conflictual use of minerals; or
  • address the usually complex causes of conflictual resource use, which often lie primarily in political issues.

This Special Issue further aims to unlock the economic dimensions of peace-building in resource conflicts as proposed by Maphosa (2012).

Prof. Dr. Petra Schneider
Dr. Fengqing Li
M.Sc. Naveedh Ahmed Sekar
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • quantifying resource scarcity and competitive use
  • mitigation of resource disputes and conflicts
  • recommendations for responsible resource use
  • stakeholder involvement for resource conflict mitigation

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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Article
Analyses Implementation Realities of Legal Frameworks for Sustainable Management of Tanguar Haor Fisheries Resources in Bangladesh
Sustainability 2021, 13(16), 8784; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168784 - 06 Aug 2021
Viewed by 465
Abstract
Tanguar Haor (TH) is considered one of the Ecologically Critical Areas (ECAs) of Bangladesh and is internationally recognized as RAMSAR wetland (2nd Ramsar site) known to provide multiple ecosystem services to the society. Nevertheless, multidimensional threats and stressors, the capacity to supply ESs, [...] Read more.
Tanguar Haor (TH) is considered one of the Ecologically Critical Areas (ECAs) of Bangladesh and is internationally recognized as RAMSAR wetland (2nd Ramsar site) known to provide multiple ecosystem services to the society. Nevertheless, multidimensional threats and stressors, the capacity to supply ESs, and the biodiversity of the TH significantly degrades and threatens this wetland’s conservation and sustainability. Although the legal framework promises the sustainable conservation of fisheries resources, information on the implementation scenarios of fisheries laws, regulations, and policies in the TH Ramsar are scant. By merging qualitative and quantitative data of primary and secondary sources, this research aimed to analyze the legal framework to check the effectiveness of regulations for non-conflicting fisheries resources and the sustainable conservation of the TH Ramsar. Primary empirical data were collected by employing Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools, i.e., 204 semi-structured questionnaire-based individual interviews with fishers, three focus group discussions, and 14 key informants’ interviews in three fishing villages in the TH. In contrast, secondary data was set by reviewing published literature and related official documents. Results showed that, due to weak enforcement with inadequate surveillance and poor implementation of the legal framework, there was a high non-compliance with fishing laws, rules, and policies. Destructive and prohibited fishing gears, e.g., the use of small mesh fine nylon nets (current jal), purse seine net (ber jal), and the harvesting during ban period-illicit catch were widespread in the study areas. In addition, catching undersized fish, fishing at the restricted areas (sanctuary area), and fishing during spawning seasons occur often. There is a crying need for a comprehensive legal and policy framework to contextualize the local context, ensure the proper implementation of the fishing laws and regulations, increase the managerial inefficiency of enforcing agencies, ensure livelihood support during the fishing ban, and afford good alternative income options are still significant issues for good governance in the Tanguar Haor ECA. Findings might help to identify the gaps and misunderstanding of the existing legal practice while submitting urgent attention to the need for drawing a comprehensive legal and policy framework (contextually modified according to the local context), taking initiatives and acting synchronously for proper implementation, and calling transdisciplinary collaboration and cooperation among the agencies that may ensure the non-conflicting use of the natural resources of the TH that can be also helpful for the better conservation of this Ramsar wetland. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Approaches to the Non-conflictual Use of Resources)
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Case Report
Water Conflicts in Central Asia: Some Recommendations on the Non-Conflictual Use of Water
Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3479; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063479 - 21 Mar 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 645
Abstract
Central Asian states, where freshwater is a strategic resource, are oriented towards regional conflict rather than cooperation. First, the article analyses the role of the unequal distribution of freshwater that has been generating conflicts in Central Asia in the post-Soviet period. Next, these [...] Read more.
Central Asian states, where freshwater is a strategic resource, are oriented towards regional conflict rather than cooperation. First, the article analyses the role of the unequal distribution of freshwater that has been generating conflicts in Central Asia in the post-Soviet period. Next, these conflicts are examined. Finally, we provide some recommendations on the non-conflictual use of water. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Approaches to the Non-conflictual Use of Resources)
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