In Defence of Lives and Livelihoods: Co-creating Pathways towards Peace and Prosperity for the Lake Chad Region [DEFENCE]
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Greenwich
Department Name: Natural Resources Institute, FES
Abstract
Peace and prosperity underpin the success of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): from reducing extreme poverty and violent conflicts to ensuring peaceful and inclusive societies. But there are now more conflicts worldwide than at any time in the past 20 years, spurring massive displacement of millions of people, intensifying livelihood struggles in places such as the Sahel, and reducing opportunities for social cohesion and economic development. Many conflicts are a result of extreme poverty, especially in the Lake Chad region where over 30 million people are in poverty and almost every family is threatened by livelihood insecurity. Without concerted, collaborative action to promote peace and prosperity across the world, violence could drive 100 million people into poverty by 2030. This research is a direct response to this concern. Working in three fragile and conflict-affected Lake Chad territories in Chad, Niger and Nigeria, it will research and co-create locally valid, locally owned and locally sustained peace and prosperity pathways that will serve as decision-support tools to foster sustainable and inclusive development planning in fragile environments.
The pursuit of peace and prosperity can involve interconnected social, economic, ecological and governance challenges that entangle competing interests, norms, values, priorities and memories of historical past. As such, research on peace and prosperity pathways must incorporate a diversity of perspectives, worldviews and knowledge systems. Working with partners across the Lake Chad region (which include the University of Differ, University of N'Djamena, University of Maiduguri, and the Lake Chad Basin Commission), the research will (collaboratively) create a system of interlinked research and learning spaces (in the form of Transboundary Citizens Learning Alliances) to reveal the foundations of citizens' preferences and strategies for both socio-economic development ('prosperity') and meaningful and non-violent interactions ('peace'). It will employ a range of interdisciplinary, multi-scale, mixed method approaches (including young citizens panels, participatory scenario-based forecasting and backcasting) underpinned by the principles of knowledge co-creation (such as orientation on societal perspectives, acknowledgement of complex contexts and set of actors, and evaluation on the basis of contextual adequacy with iterative feedback loops).
The research brings together science and society in a reciprocally useful way to advance an innovative approach to knowledge co-creation and change-making. While it draws on pertinent research from relevant disciplines, such as conflict, peace, environment, development and ethnography, the focus on co-creation and use of peace-prosperity pathways to refocus development practice - notably in the Lake Chad region - represents a new innovation.
The goal of achieving peace and prosperity in the Lake Chad region has enormous economic and political significance for the UK (e.g. continued violence in the region has the potential to trigger youth migration threats in the UK in the longer-term). The research will generate new knowledge, alliances and tools that will foster sustainable peace and prosperity in the region and beyond. New knowledge on the dimensions of, and pathways towards, peace-prosperity will enhance progress towards SDG 1 (poverty reduction) and 16 (peaceful and inclusive societies); all leading to improved lives and livelihood opportunities for citizens. Additional impact will include: development of new knowledge co-creation approaches that can be applied in fragile settings; as well as capacity building of a new generation of young academics in conflict, peace and development research.
The pursuit of peace and prosperity can involve interconnected social, economic, ecological and governance challenges that entangle competing interests, norms, values, priorities and memories of historical past. As such, research on peace and prosperity pathways must incorporate a diversity of perspectives, worldviews and knowledge systems. Working with partners across the Lake Chad region (which include the University of Differ, University of N'Djamena, University of Maiduguri, and the Lake Chad Basin Commission), the research will (collaboratively) create a system of interlinked research and learning spaces (in the form of Transboundary Citizens Learning Alliances) to reveal the foundations of citizens' preferences and strategies for both socio-economic development ('prosperity') and meaningful and non-violent interactions ('peace'). It will employ a range of interdisciplinary, multi-scale, mixed method approaches (including young citizens panels, participatory scenario-based forecasting and backcasting) underpinned by the principles of knowledge co-creation (such as orientation on societal perspectives, acknowledgement of complex contexts and set of actors, and evaluation on the basis of contextual adequacy with iterative feedback loops).
The research brings together science and society in a reciprocally useful way to advance an innovative approach to knowledge co-creation and change-making. While it draws on pertinent research from relevant disciplines, such as conflict, peace, environment, development and ethnography, the focus on co-creation and use of peace-prosperity pathways to refocus development practice - notably in the Lake Chad region - represents a new innovation.
The goal of achieving peace and prosperity in the Lake Chad region has enormous economic and political significance for the UK (e.g. continued violence in the region has the potential to trigger youth migration threats in the UK in the longer-term). The research will generate new knowledge, alliances and tools that will foster sustainable peace and prosperity in the region and beyond. New knowledge on the dimensions of, and pathways towards, peace-prosperity will enhance progress towards SDG 1 (poverty reduction) and 16 (peaceful and inclusive societies); all leading to improved lives and livelihood opportunities for citizens. Additional impact will include: development of new knowledge co-creation approaches that can be applied in fragile settings; as well as capacity building of a new generation of young academics in conflict, peace and development research.
Publications
Okpara U
(2022)
Harms to Community Food Security Resulting from Gender-Based Violence
in Land
Scheffran J
(2023)
Tipping cascades between conflict and cooperation in climate change
Spaiser V
(2023)
Negative social tipping points
| Description | Work Package A.1: Drivers, dynamics and challenges of violent conflict in the Lake Chad region A novel mixed methods approach was developed for (i) understanding the policy environment in which violent conflict is undermining lives and livelihoods, as well as to (ii) unpack the drivers, dynamics and challenges of violent conflict in the Lake Chad region. First, results indicated that the policy environment across the region is characterised by decade-long, reoccurring high level engagements amongst politicians (ministers, governors), UN entities (UNDP, OCHA, UNEP), international donors (EU, USAID, UK, AU, World Bank, AfDB), the military (MNJTF), civil society groups, NGOs and citizens through a variety of regional and international platforms (e.g. the Governors' Forum, Council of Ministers of the Lake Chad Basin Countries, Summits of Heads of State and Governments of the Lake Chad Basin Countries, High Level Conferences on the Lake Chad Region, Donor-Led Regional/International Conferences, etc) involving the Lake Chad Basin Commission. These have led to multiplication of debates, policies and action plans on resilience, peace and development (policies are somewhat needs-based and driven largely by external donors operating at institutional/government decision-making levels). It is unclear what roles citizens (and in particular victims of conflict, climate and emergency) play in policy decisions, especially those relating to rehabilitation, reconstruction, resettlement, stabilisation and peacebuilding. Mismatch between state/donor interventions and citizens' expectations contribute to heightened hostility towards regional policies. In the face of entrenched distrust and heightened aggression, several vulnerable citizens are now more inclined to accept the seemingly hopeful ideologies of terrorist actors who (with the enticement of banknotes and the promise of eternal salvation as martyrs or of a wealthy life as rebel fighters) manage to recruit (former) fishermen, farmers and herdsmen into their ranks. The worsening conditions of citizens in the face of increasing fragility, conflict and complex emergencies suggest a need to rethink the way in which policies and development programmes are framed, negotiated and pursued across the region. Second, drivers of conflict cut across sociocultural, economic, environmental, political, psychological and cognitive factors. Our research observed that a less understood driver of conflict in drylands is thermal discomfort. We investigated this and found substantial evidence suggesting a link between thermal discomfort and conflict through population growth and behavioural vacillation (aggression, hostility, unpredictive adaptive response patterns) in the presence of social, economic, political and environmental stressors. In other words, rising thermal discomfort leads to higher conflict events (during wet and dry seasons); and significant rise in the number of human population experiencing thermal discomfort leads to increases in the rate of violent conflict. This finding advances new insights in research on the psychology of social conflict and violence, as well as enquiries relating to climate security and development. Dynamics of conflict in the region is observable across dry and wet seasons. In particular, conflict and violence often increase during the wet seasons when water and land are readily accessible and weather conditions are favourable for livelihood activities. Zero-sum struggles during surplus seasons often diminish cooperative interactions. With increases in vegetation density and forest cover, conflict actors intensify attacks on citizens and retire to their (secret) hideouts afterwards; and as many transit (conflict-prone) territories become flooded and unmotorable, the capacity of the military to provide protection for citizens become weakened. The challenges arising from conflict and violence in the region are many. A key concern is the spill-over economic and humanitarian effects which oftentimes drive new forms of conflict (kidnapping, banditry, gender-based violence), undermining (open) regional trades and fuelling conflict economies - these factors often compound one another, reinforcing fragility (weak state capacity and authority, and absence of state legitimacy) and trapping the region in a vicious circle of conflict and complex emergencies. Stakeholders invited to our project inception workshop in Borno State Nigeria in February 2023 validated the findings from WP A.1. They inspired new interests in conflict transformation driven by social justice, human rights and citizen wellbeing. Our Lake Chad Observatory for Conflict and Environmental Incidents (LCOCEI), launched in 2022, has made progress in addressing information gaps related to conflict dynamics and ecological transitions in the Lake Chad region. The observatory generates, tracks, and documents data on risks such as conflict, violence, agriculture, food security, climate change, and environmental factors across Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad. Since its inception, LCOCEI has produced 32 monthly series of factsheets, providing data to support informed decision-making. The observatory integrates both primary and secondary data sources to assess social and ecological risks. Through daily data collection and analysis, it provides monthly updates on the region's situation, assisting in risk assessment. Looking ahead, we plan to enhance LCOCEI's public accessibility by uploading three years' worth of factsheets to the project website. This will further bridge the information gap for decision-makers, development actors and researchers. By providing accessible data and evidence, the observatory is positioned to inform policy and practice, contributing to more effective conflict transformation and environmental management strategies in the Lake Chad region. Work Package A.2: Conflict prevention and mitigation processes for peaceful societies While a lot of effort is ongoing across the Lake Chad region to tackle fragility, conflict and violence, a significant gap exists regarding how to practically harmonise different conflict handling approaches to bolster a more holistic path towards peace. This is particularly in relation to approaches targeting conflict prevention, mitigation, resolution, management and transformation (CPMRMT). Harmonisation means aligning and integrating CPMRMT strategies into a cohesive framework that enhances their overall impact. A harmonised CPMRMT approach offers a comprehensive response that adapts to specific contexts while optimising resources. Practitioners and policymakers often struggle with when and how to merge different approaches effectively. We discovered that conflicts in Lake Chad often consist of numerous sub-conflicts, evolving through phases and cycles with fluctuating intensity. Understanding the phases and cycles of conflict - alongside its intensity and duration - is critical for determining when and how to apply different conflict-handling approaches. Relatedly, we discovered that CPMRMT approaches have definitional and operational differences but could sometimes be mutually reinforcing. There are outbreak prevention, escalation prevention and relapse prevention - practitioners seldom talk about these. Conflict has energy and intelligence; it presents an opportunity that should not be wasted when we focus on 'conflict transformation'. In addition, we discovered that sensitivity to CPMRMT interconnectedness, complementarity, synergies and trade-offs, combined with knowledge of conflict phases and cycles, can inform better harmonisation (covering timing, sequencing and simultaneous application of CPMRMT). In order word, when CPMRMT are prioritised and applied sequentially and in a timely manner, they can produce synergistic effects, potentially yielding outcomes greater than the sum of their individual impacts. To move forward, we developed a CPMRMT harmonisation framework that accounts for varying conflict-handling approaches, conflict cycles and conflict phases. The framework considers the vital roles of people, institutions and resources in building lasting peace. Since the project is still active, a summary of preliminary results from other cross work-package activities is presented below: Work Package A.3 examined the dimensions and political economy of prosperity-peace. Citizens primarily view prosperity as wellness and life satisfaction, and peace as freedom from fear of violence. The notion of 'dimensions' crosscut social-economic-environmental concerns. The political economy of prosperity and peace is about how power structures, institutions, interests, ideologies, incentives and economic systems interact to create conditions that support both prosperity - defined as wellbeing and high quality of life - and peace, defined in terms of social stability and cohesion. This idea recognises that prosperity and peace are interconnected, with each having the capacity to reinforce or undermine the other depending on how political and economic systems are organised. While numerous interventions (e.g., community reconstruction, environmental stewardship) are ongoing in the Lake Chad region, state actors' understanding of prosperity-peace dimensions remains unclear when viewed through the lens of existing interventions. Mismatched expectations between citizens and the state call for investigation of intervention outcomes, raising questions about the politics of knowledge. Young Citizen Panels (YCPs) in work package A.4 revealed that knowledge politics in the region is shaped by external actors (e.g., donor agencies who despite lacking nuanced understanding of local dynamics, hold more authority in shaping narratives and interventions), while local voices and expertise are either side-lined or exploited. This has led to interventions that are often misaligned with on-the-ground realities and needs. Amidst disrupted education, psychological trauma, loss of homes and lack of economic opportunities, young people struggle to envision a positive future. Theme B has four work packages (WPB. 1-4). WPB.1 mapped >500 stakeholders from diverse sectors at the local and national levels, engaging them via inception workshops, the projects Transboundary Citizen Labs (TCLs) and interviews. WPB.2 developed a system of interlinked research and learning spaces for vertical, horizontal, experiential and experimental learning and knowledge co-creation. We call this system TCLs, composed of three arms: Borno Citizen Lab, Diffa Citizen Lab and N'Djamena Citizen Lab. Initial results from WPB.3 and WPB.4 indicate that prosperity-peace pathways serve as vital roadmaps for transitioning societies from deprivation and instability towards collective well-being and strengthening of social cohesion. Pathways are co-created to reflect a multidimensional construct with pillars such as leadership values and citizen agency; levers of change like adherence to the rule of law; political economy considerations like institutional incentives; and desired outcomes including access to decent livelihoods and social justice. To date, local stakeholder perspectives and voices have shaped and helped co-create six sets of prosperity-peace pathways - covering 'human rights'; 'human and regional security'; 'linked natural resources, livelihoods, and food security'; 'technology and innovation'; transforming conflict economies'; and gender and youth-centred pathways' - with six more expected by July 2025. Evaluations using indicators assessing pathway relevance reveal that co-created pathways demonstrate key attributes such as context specificity, multidimensionality, adaptability, local validity, and local ownership. In addition to pioneering (i) innovative Transboundary Citizen Labs (TCLs) and youth panels (these brought together diverse stakeholders to understand, co-create and evaluate prosperity-peace pathways), (ii) an observatory for conflict and environmental incidents that provides ongoing data and insights for the research team with ongoing engagements to make these resources widely available to stakeholders through an open-access portal, (iii) multi-country surveys covering 1,000 respondents to ground the research in local realities and (iv) participatory scenario-based forecasting and backcasting exercises engaging over 500 stakeholders to envision multiple futures, the project has pushed the boundaries of knowledge in the field. Leveraging on the project findings, the PI led panel sessions at 4 major international events in Canada, USA and the Netherlands in 2023-4, and delivered 24 invited talks in 2 years at various academic institutions and knowledge-sharing forums, including the Royal Society of Edinburgh ECRs forum. This extensive engagement has fostered valuable collaborations, culminating in the PI's contribution to the growth of the global Environment, Climate, Conflict and Peace Community of Practice which now has nearly 1,000 members, enhancing interdisciplinary dialogue, learning and capacity building in these critical areas of study. A teaching module on Fragility, Conflict and Emergency has been developed from this research and is offered at the University of Greenwich to educate MSc students in Global Sustainable Development. Comprehensive training has been provided for all team members in co-creation practices, stakeholder mapping, participatory research methods in violent environments, data analysis, and academic writing. This has strengthened their ability to connect with communities and execute meaningful research. The achievements outlined above extend beyond academia into policy and practice. The Transboundary Citizen Labs (TCLs) developed as a co-creation vehicle in the research were endorsed by the Department of State Services in Borno-Nigeria. Recommendations on ways to harmonise different conflict intervention strategies within the Lake Chad peacebuilding ecosystem are being prepared for submission to the Lake Chad Governors following the project's successful knowledge exchange events in January 2025 at the Lake Chad Governors' Forum. Socially, the TCLs mechanism brought together >250 stakeholders, linking science, society and government. The YCP empowered >50 young people with knowledge products to take proactive measures against injustice and insecurity. Through the TCLs and YCP, state actors and practitioners, who normally would not work together, are now doing so. This has reinvigorated citizen innovation, increasing understanding and changes in perspectives, setting a powerful example that will inspire similar initiatives elsewhere. Our next step is to take these findings (and achievements) forward to inform additional ongoing activities and our cross work-package deliverables in the coming months. |
| Exploitation Route | Our research outcomes will be taken forward through both academic and non-academic routes to ensure broad dissemination and practical application. Findings will inform future project activities e.g., consensus conferences to showcase all prosperity-peace pathways and reach a consensus on desirable Lake Chad futures, advancing localisation of SDGs 1 and 16. Dissemination will be through peer-reviewed publications, blog posts, broadcast media and the project website (www.prosperityandpeacepathways.co.uk), including presentations at specialist fora around the world. Our observatory's outputs, including results from our monthly factsheets, will serve as critical resources for policymakers, civil servants, and development practitioners. The observatory's planned open-access portal will further amplify its impact by making three years' worth of data publicly available. This initiative ensures that high-quality evidence is accessible to a wide range of stakeholders, empowering them to make informed decisions that promote sustainable peace and resilience in the Lake Chad region. Additionally, policy briefs targeting decision-makers will translate research insights into actionable strategies for conflict transformation. Local communities, NGOs, and regional organisations such as the Lake Chad Basin Commission can utilise findings from our Transboundary Citizen Labs to design targeted interventions and enhance regional cooperation and development. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Education Environment Government Democracy and Justice Security and Diplomacy |
| Description | Our data collection work and stakeholder engagement have opened up opportunities to establish a Lake Chad Region Conflict and Environment Observatory to provide a regionally responsive conflict and environment open data platform, offering an integrated one-stop data shop and a unified data access to different public and private entities. Our factsheets produced every month (since May 2022) track, monitor, collate and document conflict and environmental incidences across the region. PI Uche Okpara is aware (through his engagement across the region) that decision makers and development actors are being asked to make multiple and complex environmental, peace and development decisions in quick succession. The range and urgency of evidence they require is continuously growing - and this is not easily accessible. Currently, data and information on conflict and environment in the region are scattered over different websites, portals, platforms and databases on the state, regional and international level. The factsheets (that the observatory produces) contribute to global media accounts of the conflict, climate and security situations in the region; and fulfil requests from the Lake Chad Governors' Forum for briefings on conflict and ecological trends. Ongoing work on social impact pathways prioritises the observatory as a useful data source that could support the peace and conflict transformation work of different decision makers and stakeholders - helping to advance the Lake Chad Basin Commission Information and Knowledge System Services; and facilitating the translation of data and transmission of findings into policy and practice. Building on the groundwork of this project and in response to the lack of a clear conceptual understanding of how the idea of prosperity and peace pathways draws on and accounts for the knowledge held by local communities and stakeholders in fragile developing states, PI Uche Okpara facilitated an international dialogue forum in Abuja Nigeria in July 2022 which brought together different actors/practitioners. At the behest of the Germany's Federal Foreign Office and the US Department of State, PI Uche Okpara addressed the Ministerial Conference on "Sustaining peace amidst the climate crisis" in Berlin in May 2022, offering insights on ways to tackle differential vulnerabilities in climate and conflict hotspots using the Lake Chad region as a case study. In addition, drawing on insights from this project, PI Uche Okpara has developed a new module on Fragility, Conflict and Emergency (for postgraduate students) and he continues to contribute to the training and development of the next generation of conflict and development researchers and practitioners. Discussion of pathways to societal impact during our inception workshop in Borno State Nigeria in February 2023 led to the creation of a local citizen lab at the University of Maiduguri to advance our project plan to connect and innovate in order to deliver meaningful prosperity and peace pathways. This lab (called the Transboundary Citizen Lab) has so far brought together policy experts, politicians, traditional and religious leaders, academics, local citizens and other stakeholders to co-create different prosperity and peace pathways for the region. Meanwhile, research on conflict and climate has enabled the development of a new framework that could help improve understanding of the role of thermal discomfort in conflict outcomes in drylands. This has opened up new opportunities for further research on gender-based violence in climate conflict contexts (Co-Investigator in a new funding award on gender-just landscape) and conflict data scoping research in Northern Nigeria (Co-Investigator in another funding award), including a new Sahel Conflict Economy Project. Notably, a new conflict data ecosystem model developed during our international stakeholder forum in Abuja is influencing new practices in conflict data stewardship and pointing peacebuilding interventionist organisations to new ways of harmonising conflict data. One non-academic stakeholder wrote "ever since the last meeting that brought together stakeholders in the conflict data sector ended, I have been working and walking towards achieving a more data-driven society that would enhance policy formulation and decision making; I have expanded my niche in championing SDG goals via quality sensitisation, especially in the internally displaced persons' camp in my region". To sum, the outcomes of this project have been applied in both academic and practical contexts, targeting meaningful change in education, policy and regional development. Findings from our Transboundary Citizen Lab (TCL) have informed the development of a new educational programme on fragility and conflict, currently implemented at the University of Greenwich. The programme is anticipated to expand to three regional universities in the Lake Chad region, fostering local capacity-building in peace and conflict transformation, and knowledge sharing on critical issues affecting the region. Additionally, the project has produced knowledge products (factsheets and frameworks) that propose ways to harmonise conflict-handling approaches. These resources are being prepared for dissemination to frontline security service providers and the Lake Chad Governors to equip them with data and evidence-based strategies to address conflict dynamics. This ensures that our findings directly contribute to improving security in the region. Moreover, the co-created prosperity-peace pathways emerging from our work are anticipated to be adopted by regional organisations. These pathways aim to maximise benefits for the Lake Chad region by refocusing development practices. By integrating local ownership of the TCL system and evidence-based approaches in knowledge co-creation, our project demonstrates how collaborative, interdisciplinary research can target policy and practice, ultimately contributing to sustainable peace and prosperity. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | Contribution to influential Global Tipping Points Report launched at COP28 |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | There were 789 pieces of coverage in international outlets in the first 2 weeks following launch (6 to 20 December 2023). Reactions from experts (see https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-the-global-tipping-points-report-2023/) indicate a change in public understanding and attitudes towards social and climate tipping risks. |
| URL | https://www.nri.org/latest/news/2023/nri-contributes-to-influential-global-tipping-points-report |
| Description | Security sector stakeholders seek harmonisation of conflict data ecosystem |
| Geographic Reach | Africa |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | This is a contribution towards improved professional practice in conflict data stewardship. Diverse stakeholders (including conflict data users, conflict data developers, conflict data journalists and conflict data regulators) became aware of the value of conflict data ecosystems. Better understanding, delivery of a new model and changed attitude towards conflict data stewardships mean security stakeholders are now able to more proactively harmonise and advance quality conflict data in support of conflict prevention and peacebuilding. |
| URL | https://globalsentinelng.com/security-sector-stakeholders-seek-harmonization-of-conflict-data-ecosys... |
| Description | Network Plus Project - "Gender-just landscapes: Gender based violence and community protection in land, natural resource and climate conflicts" |
| Amount | £86,946 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 09/2023 |
| Description | Agricultural innovation pathways to peace in fragile contexts |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Presentation/talk given to students on 'Agriculture for Sustainable Development' programme at the University of Greenwich, UK. The purpose was to inspire new ways of viewing agricultural innovation through my research and experience of working in conflict zones where people's livelihoods revolve around agriculture and the use of natural resources. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | COP26: Mobilise Now to Counter Climate Conflict |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | On the occasion of COP26, I advanced an opinion piece to inspire new global conversations on ways to counter climate conflict, outlining the approaches I am adopting in my project to help overcome the security consequences of climate change in the Lake Chad region. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.nri.org/latest/news/2021/cop26-mobilise-now-to-counter-climate-conflict |
| Description | Forum on Conflict Data Ecosystem |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Led by the PI (Dr Uche Okpara), the Forum on Conflict Data Ecosystem was a knowledge co-creation exercise. It involved world cafe sessions and keynote presentations which offered useful (intellectual) resources for knowledge integration and co-creation. The overarching aim was to kickstart, for the first time, a global conversation on Conflict Data Ecosystem in the context of increasing conflict tipping risks and the open data movement. This was a hybrid event with up 500 participants. A key output was a conflict data ecosystem model for Nigeria, co-created by diverse stakeholders operating within the conflict data landscape. The event revealed how a harmonised conflict data ecosystem could create and deliver value to various conflict data stakeholders/actors. It raised questions on the authenticity and accuracy of data currently used by conflict data consumers, and stimulated interest in conflict data ethics, conflict data systems and conflict data stewardship. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://prosperityandpeacepathways.co.uk/2023/06/09/international-stakeholder-forum-on-nigeria-confl... |
| Description | International Dialogue Forum on the Prosperity and Peace Nexus in the Context of Increasing Climate, Conflict and Food Insecurity Risks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In both prosperity research and peace studies, there has been no conceptual enquiry and almost no reference to a wider notion of prosperity and peace pathways that draws on and accounts for the vast wealth of knowledge held by local communities and stakeholders in fragile developing states. This realisation informed the hosting of a two-day (hybrid) international dialogue forum in Abuja Nigeria in July 2022. The forum brought together participants from academia, NGOs, CBOs, national and subnational governmental agencies and the private sector. Over 35 in-person participants attended and contributed to the dialogue forum. Being a hybrid event, 63 persons registered online via our Eventbrite platform - 33 participants joined and engaged with the various dialogue sessions virtually. The dialogue forum was structured around: - 4 keynote speeches by leading (invited) scholars in the UK, US and Nigeria - 3 spotlight personality interviews (coordinated by the project team - co-designed interview guides supported this activity) - 4 world café sessions (coordinated by the project team - co-designed information sheet supported this activity) Institutional affiliations of in-country organisations invited to support the hosting of the dialogue forum include: the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nigeria), Bayero University Kano and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. They all offered in-kind planning ideas/advises, recommended speakers and expert participants, disseminated information about the event and generously shared their knowledge and experiences of prosperity and peace during the event. Outcomes from the forum include (i) new interdisciplinary meanings of prosperity and peace in crisis contexts; and (ii) a co-designed approach for framing prosperity and peace nexus and pathways. NGO participants reported that the interdisciplinary model of engagement adopted offered new learning and opened new ways of bringing together individuals and organisations who are less likely to work together on prosperity and peace topics. The forum informed the launch of a special issue (call for papers in related subject areas - Climate, Land, Food Security and Sustainable Peace) in the Journal of Land with a deadline for May 2023. Impacts include: NGO participants (inspired by new understanding of prosperity and peace pathways) reported decision to apply the knowledge gained in their ongoing community work, pursuing cross-sectoral engagements and practice in related subject areas in their communities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.nri.org/latest/news/2022/prosperity-and-peace-examining-the-nexus-between-the-two |
| Description | Interview for international news |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | High-profile interview on the Nigerian Television Authority, broadcast globally, showcased the project's innovative citizen engagement approaches and contributions to addressing Lake Chad Basin challenges, significantly amplifying awareness, boosting citizen participation, and enhancing credibility among policymakers and international partners |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Knowledge Co-creation via the Borno Citizen Lab |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Borno Citizen Lab assembles diverse stakeholders to co-create prosperity and peace pathways for the Lake Chad region. Six pathways have been co-created to date covering human and regional security, human rights, technology and innovation, youth and gender, transforming conflict economy, natural resources and food security. The Lab has brought together >250 stakeholders, linking science, society and government. The Young Citizen Panel (YCP), which is another arm of the Lab, has empowered >50 young people with knowledge products to take proactive measures against injustice and insecurity. Through the Lab and YCP, state actors and practitioners, who normally would not work together, are now doing so. This has reinvigorated citizen innovation, increasing understanding and changes in perspectives. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024,2025 |
| Description | Leveraging science to advance peace and development |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | As the world observed the 2023 World Science Day for Peace and Development, this blog post highlighted the pivotal role of science in expanding our understanding of the world and shaping society. This post inspires innovative approaches to harnessing science for catalysing sustainable peace, development and prosperity for all, emphasising its potential to drive transformative change globally. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.nri.org/latest/news/2023/leveraging-science-to-advance-peace-and-development |
| Description | Meeting with the Governor of Diffa during the 2023 High-Level Conference on the Lake Chad Region |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to take part in a recently concluded High-Level Conference on the Lake Chad Region held in Niamey, Niger Republic, from 23-24 January 2023. The Conference was hosted by the Governments of Niger, Germany and Norway, as well as the United Nations represented by the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in partnership with the Lake Chad Basin Commission. During the Conference, I participated in the session on "Climate change and insecurity - the consequences on food security" which is my core area of research since the past 10 years. I met and interacted with many key stakeholders working on peace and sustainable development initiatives. In particular, I met with the Governor of Diffa, Niger Republic. Diffa region is one of the Prosperity and Peace Pathways project fieldwork site. The meeting sparked an interest to work with the Governor to deliver a workshop and carry out fieldwork in Diffa as part of the project targets in 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://prosperityandpeacepathways.co.uk/2023/02/11/dr-uche-okpara-participated-in-a-high-level-conf... |
| Description | Project Inception Workshop - "Against the Odds: Delivering Meaningful Prosperity through Peace in the Lake Chad Region" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Our project inception workshop in Nigeria was hosted in partnership with the Centre for Disaster Risk Management and Development Studies and the Centre for Peace Diplomatic and Development Studies, both at the University of Maiduguri in Borno State, Nigeria. The workshop (hybrid) brought together thirty-five (35) in-person participants and ten (10) virtual participants - that is 45 people (overall) made up of selected representatives of civil society groups, government officials, the military and the academia. Participants exchanged views on a variety of cross-cutting topics linked to the prosperity and peace pathways project. The workshop was structured around specific project priority activities and stakeholder insider analysis. Our overarching goals were to: - Officially introduce the project to various in-country stakeholders (see project website at prosperityandpeacepathways.co.uk) - Cross-compare statistical results from our climate and conflict research with stakeholders' narratives on the insecurity situation in the Lake Chad region in order to better identify conflict trends, dynamics and triggers, and explore challenges and solutions collaboratively - Discuss contested meanings of conflict prevention, mitigation, resolution and management (CPMRM), including to o describe local CPMRM processes o address what 'everyday' peace and prosperity mean o identify how CPMRM can foster/undermine prosperity and peace goals o identify ways to use cultures and livelihood interests (and other means) to foster CPMRM locally - Confirm safe locations across the basin region where fieldwork can be conducted, including discussions on setting up, operating and managing Local Citizens (Learning) Labs across the region and the benefit of a conflict and environment observatory focused on the Lake Chad region - Identify communities/locations hosting environmental stewardship, livelihood rehabilitation and community reconstruction and resettlement projects The workshop (i) challenged our assumptions about approaches for conflict prevention, management and resolution and how these are different from conflict transformation strategies locally; (ii) enabled us to synthesise knowledge gaps bothering on conflict drivers and the security consequences of climate/environmental change; (iii) inspired us to reframe our questions and methods for establishing and operationalising local citizens labs and a Lake Chad region conflict and environment observatory; (iv) sharpened our reasoning in relation to fieldwork activities in conflict zones; and (v) informed our understanding of how to engage citizens and grassroots organisations in co-creating knowledge and advancing solutions locally. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | The prospects for stabilisation, recovery, and resilience in the Lake Chad Basin Region |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This was a specialist, invited presentation given to a global audience on the topic "complex relationships between climate change, violent conflict and fragility in the Lake Chad Basin Region" jointly organised by the Centre for Global Development and Centre for Global Security Challenges, both at the University of Leeds in partnership with the Lake Chad Basin Commission and UNDP. The talk sparked debates and enquiries into the implications of conflict spill over and how multiple conflict types are interacting and compounding one another in a time of 'polycrisis', inspiring the pursuit of new understanding via a specialist conference on conflict and security holding in May 2023 (see https://css.leeds.ac.uk/call-for-papers-cgsc-and-ejis-conference-18-19-may-2023/). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://css.leeds.ac.uk/events/the-prospects-for-stabilization-recovery-and-resilience-in-the-lake-c... |