environmental degradation as a cause of conflict in - Steiner Graphics

• In areas with still higher resource potentialities, precise knowledge of the soilproductivity and the dominant socio-economic conditions should be collectedand made accessible for planners and policy makers.• Limitation of wood cutting should go hand in hand with experimentation inenergy saving methods, such as introducing charcoal ovens instead of thecommonly used open wood fires.• Improvement of infrastructure and enlargement of the market functions ofthe central places in the transitional zone (Umm Kaddada, al-Fasher, Mellit,Kutum).• Both private and cooperative agricultural ownership and management of projectsare highly recommended to exploit the agricultural potentials at the wadibasins.• Seasonal flow of rainwater should be conserved and oriented toward irrigationpurposes.• Large rural development projects should act as a regulator factor in droughtyears, to keep millet prices within the purchasing power of the majority of thelocal inhabitants.• Availability of high quality raw materials in the form of wool, leather, wood,and palm leaves, together with the inherited tradition of handicrafts in theregion, should help to encourage the expansion and improvement of manufacturing.The Way ForwardThe concept of the UPEACE Africa Programme to link the problem of environmentaldegradation with the dispute in Darfur proved useful in propelling efforts by theSudanese people, and particularly the Darfurians, to find a permanent settlement.The findings of the conference corroborated the assumption that there is an indisputableconnexion between the conflict in Darfur and environmental depletion.Those who attended the sessions from national institutions and internationalorganisations, and the representatives from different countries, have urged UPEACEto go one step further and develop the findings of the conference into a projectedaction plan. A group of distinguished Sudanese scholars from various disciplineshave affirmed their willingness to work in partnership with UPEACE in this area.The dissemination of papers presented at the conference, to be available for allconstituencies, will pave the way for continued discussion and research, whichmay take the form of academic seminars, teaching workshops, public lectures, andongoing research projects.22