Mediation and development-related conflict

Practice shows that certain development interventions, especially those concerning the use of natural resources and land, come with a high risk of causing social tensions or exacerbating armed conflict. Existing social and economic inequalities, as well as problems left unaddressed in incomplete decolonisation processes, risk aggravating conflict over development projects and cannot be ignored.

Building on IIED’s portfolio of work on land governance in foreign investments and land-related issues in operations by development finance institutions, this report presents a case for the use of mediation as a conflict prevention tool deployed in the planning, assessment and consultation phases of development finance projects.

Our analysis explores how mediation can improve development finance processes by seeking consent-based outcomes for development projects at an early stage, and shows that if carefully designed, mediation could be used more efficiently and creatively in the planning stages of development finance.