In development efforts, especially in the management of agrarian and natural resources, conflict is inevitable. It is evident that this is a hindrance to the progression of the development process as a whole. Numerous attempts have been made to address these conflicts, and one of the models of conflict resolution that is currently being explored is the mediation approach at the local level. Evidence suggests that, despite being implemented at the local level, efforts to address this issue necessitate backing from policy makers at the higher level. Additionally, in Indonesia, a great number of agrarian conflicts are the result of regulations and policies from the past, as well as the current rapid changes in regulations and policies.

To date, CRU has encountered a vast array of cases, each of which is distinct due to the diverse contexts in which they arise. Consequently, CRU endeavors to learn from each case in order to provide policy makers and implementers with the necessary information and insight to make informed decisions.

Despite the potential for knowledge transfer from downstream to upstream levels, several challenges must be addressed in order to effectively implement this practice. Primarily, there is a disconnect between the policy makers at the upstream level and the practitioners who manage conflicts at the downstream level, as well as the parties involved in the conflict. For those at the downstream level, the conflict is of utmost importance as it has a direct and tangible effect on their lives. Additionally, due to the sheer number of conflicts that need to be addressed, it is difficult for policy makers to accurately assess the impact of their policies on the conditions of each conflict at the site level.

In addition to the disparity in outlook, the absence of communication between conflict management practitioners at the local level and policy makers is also a major issue. Practitioners typically do not have access to the policy-making processes. This leads to important information, such as the primary points of the conflict, the circumstances of the conflicting parties and the interests they are striving for, as understood by actors at the local level, not being taken into consideration by policy makers at the higher level. Consequently, conflict handling policies at the higher level may be misguided, complicate conflicts at the local level or even give rise to new conflicts.

It has been observed that there are deficiencies in the communication and coordination between policy-making institutions, which has led to the creation of overlapping or conflicting policies. This ego-sectoral approach is likely to be a contributing factor to the emergence of conflict or, at the very least, impede its resolution.

It has been observed that the frequent changes in leadership and rotation of positions, coupled with inadequate communication regarding the status of the conflict, has resulted in inconsistencies in policies and conflict management efforts, thus impeding the effective resolution of conflicts.

The aforementioned account serves to highlight the importance of sharing experiences and learning from both upstream and downstream levels for conflict management practitioners, as well as the difficulties they may face in their endeavours. Nevertheless, there are several objectives that conflict management practitioners can strive to achieve, such as establishing communication with policy makers. This must commence with the capability and willingness to consistently learn from the cases handled and share the acquired knowledge. This also entails the documentation of lessons learned from conflict handling at the site level, which can be a source of knowledge for other parties, as well as attempts to disseminate them through publications and interaction with pertinent government institutions at various levels. This interaction can begin from the level that is most likely to be reached, such as the district level for instance, so that conflict management efforts become a collaborative effort at both upstream and downstream levels.

Photo by Raditya.