Conservación Sensible al Conflicto

This guide, published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in 2011, provides a framework for conservation professionals and NGOs to integrate conflict sensitivity into their work. It outlines how conservation activities can inadvertently trigger or exacerbate conflicts, how they are affected by violent conflict, and how they can be leveraged to support peacebuilding. The manual offers a three-step process for organizational adoption and a practical methodology for analyzing and responding to conflicts in the field.

• Conservation activities can inadvertently contribute to violent conflict in three primary ways: by restricting access to essential livelihood resources (e.g., creating protected areas without compensation), by imposing new economic burdens or risks (e.g., crop damage by wildlife), and by creating an unequal distribution of benefits (e.g., elite capture of tourism revenues).
• In conflict-prone areas, conservation efforts can unintentionally escalate violence if management decisions—such as staff selection, beneficiary choice, or resource delivery methods—are misinterpreted or manipulated to serve opposing agendas.
• Conservation can serve as a mechanism for peacebuilding by addressing the root causes of conflict (such as environmental degradation and resource scarcity), mitigating the impacts of violent conflict by restoring natural resource bases, and creating a favorable environment for dialogue and cooperation between conflicting parties.
• The manual defines 'Conflict-Sensitive Conservation' (CSC) as the programming and execution of conservation actions that account for the causes, actors, and impacts of conflict to minimize risks and maximize peacebuilding opportunities.
• For an organization to successfully adopt CSC, it must meet several minimum conditions: active leadership commitment, a willingness to change, support for staff development, strategic alliances with flexible donors, and accountability mechanisms.
• The process for making a conservation organization more sensitive to conflict involves three steps: understanding organizational capacity, assigning human resources (specifically a CSC Champion and a CSC Team), and formulating CSC principles.
• The practical application of CSC in the field consists of two main phases: conflict analysis and the design, execution, and monitoring of CSC solutions.
• The manual proposes three specific analytical tools for the Conflict Analysis Workshop: the 'Conflict Tree' to map root causes and effects, the 'Conflict Map' to visualize actor relationships and power dynamics, and 'Stakeholder Profiles' to identify underlying interests and basic needs.
• To ensure the sustainability and safety of CSC interventions, the guide recommends incorporating processes such as consultation, dialogue, negotiation, and mediation, while applying a 'gender lens' to recognize that men and women experience conflict and conservation differently.
• The guide emphasizes that conflict analysis is not a one-time event but an iterative process; organizations must periodically update their analysis to adapt to the volatile nature of conflict zones.

APA

Hammill, A., Crawford, A., Craig, R., Malpas, R., & Matthew, R. (2011). Conservación Sensible al Conflicto. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/csc_manual_es.pdf

Chicago

Hammill, Anne, Alec Crawford, Robert Craig, Robert Malpas, and Richard Matthew. Conservación Sensible al Conflicto. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2011. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/csc_manual_es.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hammill |first1=Anne |last2=Crawford |first2=Alec |last3=Craig |first3=Robert |last4=Malpas |first4=Robert |last5=Matthew |first5=Richard |title=Conservación Sensible al Conflicto |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2011 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/csc_manual_es.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hammill2011conservacin, author = {Hammill, Anne and Crawford, Alec and Craig, Robert and Malpas, Robert and Matthew, Richard}, title = {{Conservación Sensible al Conflicto}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2011}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/csc_manual_es.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }