Green development, natural resource financialization and emerging conflict in Southern Africa with examples from implementation contexts in Madagascar, Tanzania and South Africa.
Abstract
This report explores existing literature covering policy approaches to the green economy; regional and national green economy policy reforms; natural resource financialization (NRF) concerns related to these reforms; specific project dynamics, and incidences of conflict, in order to determine the broader implications of green economy/NRF policies for emerging conflicts in Southern Africa. The report uses case studies from three countries within the SADC region to illustrate how green economy transitions and NRF policies intersect with national political and conservation policy histories, and are associated with emerging conflicts and conflict potentials in different contexts within the region. These studies include: (1) biodiversity offsetting and ilmenite mining in south-eastern Madagascar; (2) the intersection of community-based forest management (CBFM) and emerging REDD+ policy in Tanzania; and (3) collaboration, conflict and payments for environmental/ecosystem services (PES) in policy around planning the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area in South Africa and Lesotho.