Along the road into town I pass the UN Compound, shacks, cows, goats, garbage, flying plastic bags and trucks loaded with imported food and supplies that are the lifeblood for some of the poorest people in Africa.  In many ways, Juba is an overgrown village.  It is composed of a rather dilapidated ‘downtown’ with crumbling stores and street stalls, African markets, very poor housing and a number of hotels and compounds.  The town lays claim to the only paved roads in the country.  During the wet months, the only way to get between towns and cities is to fly, as the roads are totally impassable.”

…Thus began CDR Partner Chris Moore’s consultancy in Southern Sudan on the development of land and property dispute-resolution systems for the Southern Sudan Land Commission and UN HABITAT.

Southern Sudan is currently part of the country of Sudan.  Since the 1980s, the Northern Arab and Southern African regions of the country have engaged in a brutal 20-year civil war, which resulted in the deaths of over 2.5 million people and over 5 million displaced.  In 2005, the North and South signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended the violent conflict and provided for a period of five years for the country to stabilize and conduct a referendum to determine whether the South would secede and become independent.  On January 9, 2011, citizens of Southern Sudan voted in a referendum to determine the final status of the South.  

Southern Sudan is a territory the size of the state of Texas, with an estimated population of roughly 8 million.  The South has more than 200 ethnic groups.  Among the most contentious issues between the North and South, and within the South, is land.  Historically, the vast majority of land in the country is held by tribal groups and administered by traditional authorities and customary law.

During Northern rule, a significant amount of traditional land was nationalized.  Concessions were issued without consultation or consent by local communities.  The civil war led to a breakdown of traditional land conflict resolution mechanisms between pastoralist groups and between pastoralist and agricultural communities. The peace resulted in the creation of new boundaries between states and counties, many of which were established with limited or no consultation with affected populations.  Migration from rural to urban areas, and the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, have put pressure on municipalities and traditional communities to expand or relocate people. 

To address the above problems and conflicts, UN HABITAT is partnering with the Southern Sudan Land Commission to provide technical assistance and develop dispute-resolution mechanisms to resolve a range of land disputes in three Southern Sudan states. CDR Partner Christopher Moore is a senior member of the UN HABITAT team working on this issue.

Among the issues to be resolved are:  boundaries between states and counties, pastoralist land and water issues, pastoralist and agricultural community interface problems, municipal acquisition of traditional lands, land grabbing, urban development and removal of informal settlements.

For more information on CDR’s Sudan project, contact Chris Moore at 1-800-MEDIATE or cmoore@mediate.org.

Features in Edition Two

• CDR to Present Papers at Prestigious International Mining Conference in June

• New Course Builds Practical Conflict Management Skills for Transportation and  Environmental Professionals

• Idaho, Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Plan Becomes Law

• The Mediation Process Training

• Multiparty Mediation Capacity Building in Romania

• CDR helps the Middle East Desalination Research Center and the Palestinian Water Authority

• CDR Collaborates with UNITAR on Capacity Building

If you haven’t visited the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado, it is one you should really put on your list to see.  Set in the central part of the state in the rugged Rocky Mountains, the 30, 300 acre Park embraces the 53-mile Black Canyon gorge through which flows the Gunnison River.  Whereas the Grand Canyon in Arizona is fairly wide and drops in steps to an incredible depth, the walls of the Black Canyon are sheer, at places only 1,300 feet apart and drop to a depth of 2,425 feet (equivalent to a 194 story building)!  Often the bottom of the Canyon is not easy to see, because it is enveloped in shadows.  Those who are uncomfortable with heights should approach the railing slowly!

An interesting part of the Park’s history is the 30-year conflict and related litigation that surrounds its Federal water rights.  When the Park was first established as a National Monument in 1933 and was later elevated to a National Park in 1999, it was guaranteed adequate water from the Gunnison River to preserve its ecosystem and protect Park purposes.  However the water right was never quantified.  Since the Park’s creation, much has changed on the Western Slope of Colorado – construction of the Wayne Aspinall Unit of the Colorado River Storage Project (multiple hydropower and water storage dams), agricultural expansion, extensive recreation and municipal growth.  All of the above have led to significant competition and conflict over water. 

In 2003, conservation groups filed litigation contesting an agreement between the Department of Interior and the State of Colorado over minimum streamflows for the Park.  The judge agreed with the plaintiffs and threw out the pact. 

In 2007, the services of CDR Associates’ Partner Christopher Moore were secured by leading parties to assess the feasibility of a negotiated settlement and conduct the mediation. In the fall of 2007, the parties began mediated negotiations assisted by Moore and two CDR Program Managers, Diane Tate and Jennifer Graham.  After 11 months of intensive talks, the parties reached a settlement that guarantees the Park required amounts of water, protects power generation capacities and agricultural needs, and incorporates measures to address flooding concerns in the City of Delta.       

Click here to View CDR Associates’ FIrst Edition of Talking Points, a Glance into the Work We Support.

Features in Edition One

• The Mediation Process Training
• A Training Program for Facilitating Powerful Coalitions
• CDR Partner Serves as Principal Author of A Guide to Designing and Implementing Grievance Mechanisms for Development Projects
• Idaho’s Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Advisory Committee reaches Agreement
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison Mediation Settles 30-year Conflict
• Water Issues and Desalination as a Part of the Middle East Process
• CDR Staff Moderates Gaza Dialogue
• CDR Partner Delivers Keynote Address at International Human Resources Congress

I am excited to share the exciting and profound work that I have been a part of in southeast Idaho.  Working intensely for three years in Idaho has changed the way I approach collaborative natural resource problems, including a renewed respect for the complexities of managing a system as large as the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer (ESPA) and the Snake River. Facilitating conjunctive management (surface and groundwater) disputes are some the most vexing and complicating I have experienced. It has been fascinating, challenging, and rewarding. After such effort, a consensus agreement was reached on the ESPA aquifer management.

Water is a unifying and critical feature of life in southeast Idaho. The ESPA covers 29,000 square miles in southeastern Idaho – approximately 35% of the State’s land, all or part of 20 counties, and an area that is inhabited by 1/3 of Idaho’s population. Irrigated agriculture, cities and counties, fish and wildlife, hydropower, an aquaculture industry, and many others depend on the water in the ESPA and the hydrologically connected Snake River. The economic value of goods and services produced in the ESPA region is estimated at $10 billion in 2006. Agriculture holds the most significant segment of the local economy and is the largest consumptive user of water. Though relatively small compared to agricultural uses, domestic, commercial, municipal, and industrial water use is also increasing. Providing for these uses is vital to the future growth of state and local economies. A decline in the aquifer and Snake River levels has resulted in a significant dispute between water users and created the need for a negotiated plan to manage the resource. In response to ongoing litigation and conflict the Idaho Water Resource Board hired CDR Associates to facilitate the development of a Comprehensive Aquifer Management Plan (CAMP).

During our initial interviews with stakeholders an analogy was made multiple times between Idaho and the Middle East. One stakeholder said, “the ESPA issue is a lot like the Palestinian/Israeli conflict – there are no real answers to the problem, and the culture of fighting subsumes most legitimate policy discussion and debate.” Contrary to this operating mindset, a CAMP was initiated and developed through tough negotiation and compromise among water users.

The CAMP Framework (2006) resulted in increased recognition that supply of and demands for water are out of balance, making more deliberate and coordinated management of surface waters of the Snake River and the underground waters of the ESPA a necessity. The declining trends are a result of changes in surface water irrigation practices, extended drought, and groundwater pumping.

The Framework also called for an Advisory Committee to recommend a plan to the Board. The ESPA Advisory Committee (2007) comprised of representatives from irrigation companies, groundwater users, spring water users, hydropower, land developers, environmental/conservation interests, well owners, county assessors and mayors of cities within the ESPA. This forum allowed the diverse and divergent interest groups to express their differences and work together in spite of their differences. The Advisory Committee met 18 times over the course of 2 years. Through difficult and complex negotiations the Committee developed agreement on the management actions, priorities, and funding strategies.

The CAMP sets forth a long-term plan for managing water supply and demand in the ESPA and a phased approach to implementation. The CAMP hydrologic vision is to achieve, in increments, a net ESPA water budget change of 600 thousand acre-feet (kaf) annually. It is expected that this hydrologic goal can be achieved by the year 2030 through implementation of a mix of management measures including, but not limited to, aquifer recharge, ground-to-surface water conversions, and demand reduction strategies. The intent of the CAMP is to guide actions which stabilize and improve spring flows, aquifer levels, and river reaches across the Eastern Snake Plain. To learn more about the ESPA, check out www.espaplan.idaho.gov.

Outside of the fascinating work, personal highlights included eating fish and discussing and learning about the religious and historical development of the Idaho surface water development and later the groundwater irrigation. Stevo’s in Burley and Jakers’ restaurants are recommended. Travel on the other hand is usually quite difficult, though one of the most enjoyable flights is an early morning jump from Idaho Falls (near Yellowstone and the Wyoming border) to Denver. Taking off in the dark with the sky waking up to cast a surreal light on the Grand Tetons and Jackson Lake is something to see.

It was a pleasure to hear from our stakeholders, including thoughts from the following:

“In summary, we supports the balanced, collaborative approach of CAMP, and wants the plan implemented in a way that maximizes benefits to fish and wildlife. We hope that CAMP will become a model for collaborative, stakeholder-driven problem solving on challenging natural resource issues.”

“Thank you for the opportunity to serve as a member of the CAMP committee. I was privileged to meet and serve with a very dedicated and knowledgeable group of fellow citizens in a process that was dynamic and productive for all concerned.”

Thanks for your interest in the ESPA. Talk to you soon,

Jonathan Bartsch