Natural resource conflict and indigenous methods of conflict resolution a comparative study of Arunachal Pradesh and Orissa

Abstract

Conflicts over natural resources have a history as long as the existence of mankind and will continue for ages to come. The unbridled exploitation of natural resources began in earnest with the establishment of the industrial and mercantile age which also witnessed newlinethe intensification of conflicts and wars over natural resources. The process of newlinecolonization was intrinsically linked to the acquisition of new colonies to sustain the need newlinefor natural resources. At present wars over oil and other non-renewable resources makes newlinenatural resources an important element in the onset and continuation of conflicts with newlinehuge stakes hinging on the ability to access and control natural resources. newlineThe efforts to establish linkages between natural resources and conflict have gained newlineconsiderably in the last few decades. The vast array of literature evolving from different disciplines and scholars has provided contradictory and at times ambiguous opinions and theories. Though armed conflicts over natural resources is believed to have decreased after the Cold War, it has manifested in various other forms in which natural resource forms a crucial ingredient in the likelihood and the continuance of conflicts, particularly newlinein the Global South. newlineThe earliest trend of acknowledging the relationship between natural resources and newlineconflict can be traced back to Malthus who postulated that conflicts over natural newlineresources would arise as a direct consequence of population growth coupled with newlineincreasing consumption leading to the scramble for scarce resources. The resultant newlineviolence, wars and diseases would act as equilibrium and positive checks to maintain newlinebalance. Malthus theory though criticized for neglecting the role of technological newlineinnovations that would increase the carrying capacity of the world nevertheless provided newlinethe groundwork for further theoretical considerations regarding natural resource conflicts.