From conflict to collaboration: how local natural resource management conventions foster peacebuilding between farmers and herders in central Mali

In the Inner Niger Delta, socio-spatial transformations have profoundly reshaped relationships between communities and natural resources, intensifying tensions around access and management. In this context, local conventions (LCs) have emerged as essential instruments of social and environmental regulation in response to resource degradation, climate variability, competition over land, water, and pastures, and persistent insecurity. This study investigates the role of LCs in enhancing natural resource governance and peacebuilding. Using qualitative methods, the research involved 7 focus-group discussions and 11 interviews across three communes in the Mopti Region, Mali. The findings highlight how LCs, developed through a participatory and inclusive process anchored in Mali's decentralisation legal framework, facilitate dialogue among diverse stakeholders and establish negotiated rules for access to and use of natural resources, thereby reducing tensions over resource use and clarifying the rights and responsibilities of different user groups. Yet, challenges remain, such as dependence on external funding and insufficient local capacities. LCs emerge as vital tools for mitigating conflicts in natural resource management and promoting inclusive governance. Their sustainability depends on strengthening local ownership and capacities while integrating more equitable institutional frameworks to ensure their long-term effectiveness.