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Presence of territorial conflicts

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jfverdugo edited this page Feb 3, 2023 · 5 revisions

Dimension: Threats

Category: Humanitarian access

Population type: Country's total population

What does this indicator measure?

Definition: A territorial conflict is defined as an opposition between two or more parties concerning a dispute over a resource (land, water, etc.), and it's distinguishable by a delimited territory in its influence. The motives that originate the conflict can include the deterioration of property or infrastructure; a productive activity that is being created or amplified (like the mining industry); the presence of external negative effects that affect the community (pollution); and issues with access to services1.

To consider a confrontation between two actors in a territory as a conflict, it should be observable a declared engagement that carries some form of violence, restriction of movement (blockage of public routes), or any other form that affects the daily life of the counterpart. This means that a confrontation that only relies on symbolic (mediatization, verbal assault, public signs) or legal actions should not be considered a territorial conflict. Another delimitation that should be considered in this definition it's that groups of people should handle the conflict, it is no interest a conflict between only two people.

Calculation: The indicator is calculated by expert consultation. The tool is a questionnaire that aggregates points to measure the level of conflict in a territory (administrative level 2). The maximum number of points (10) means a total state of conflict, meanwhile, 0 points mean there is no conflict.

Questionnaire:

1. Is there an active exchange of violence between two or more well-defined groups in the community? (single choice question)

  • Yes (pass to the next questions)
  • No (0 points and the questionnaire ends)

2. Which tools of confrontation are used by the parties involved? (multiple choice question) (total of 3 points)

  • Limitation of mobility. (0.75 points)
  • Use of assault weapons (0.75 points)
  • Use of rudimentary weapons (0.75 points)
  • Attack on households, crops, or other forms of private property (0.75 points)

3. How long has the conflict endured? (single choice question) (total of 0.5 points)

  • Less than a year (0 points)
  • More than a year (0.5 points)

4. How frequent are the confrontations? (single choice question) (total of 0.5 points)

  • Once or more every month (0.5 points)
  • Once every six months (0.25 points)
  • Once a year (0 points)

5. Which incidents are common in these confrontations? (multiple choice question) (total of 4 points)

  • Private property is harmed, burned, or destroyed. (0.5 points)
  • There are multiple people with wounds that require medical assistance. (0.5 points)
  • Citizens are killed. (0.5 points)
  • Public infrastructure is harmed, burned, or destroyed. (0.5 points)
  • Local leaders are harmed or killed (0.5 points)
  • Families have to move temporarily outside their homes or communities (0.5 points)
  • Economic activity has to be suspended (this includes the production, transportation of goods, commerce, and services) (0.5 points)
  • Police or army special forces are involved (0.5 points)

5. What is the level of control local authorities have over the conflict? (single choice question) (total of 1 point)

  • Government authorities try and manage to control the conflict. (0 points)
  • Government authorities try to control the conflict but fail to do so. (0.5 points)
  • Government officials do not try or are not allowed to interfere in the conflict. (1 point)

Methodology for the calculation of the indicator

The methodology for calculating this indicator is the sum of all the points assigned for each answer selected. There are two types of questions that lead to different aggregation of points:

  • Single-choice questions: only the value of the chosen answer is counted.
  • Multiple-choice questions: all the points assigned to the various answers selected had to be added.

Indicator considerations:

Data sources: Expert consultation

Comments and limitations: There is a possibility of having a dataset of territorial conflicts for the country of analysis. Instead of doing expert consultations, it would be advisable to use that data if it is disaggregated by geographical location.

Bibliography:

  1. Torre, A., Melot, R., Magsi, H. et al. Identifying and measuring land-use and proximity conflicts: methods and identification. SpringerPlus 3, 85 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-1801-3-85
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