After decades of political upheaval in the Somali region, land tenure systems in Somaliland lie in grim
disarray. Years of civil war steadily eroded traditional systems of managing land and resources and
resolving conflict, the Somaliland government has been unable to fully restore or replace these systems, and poverty is extensive throughout. Together, these three factors have provided the conditions for a scramble for dwindling natural resources that now poses a great threat to the people of Somaliland, to her environment, to economic growth and to prospects for lasting peace. The problems in tackling natural resource-based conflicts led to its identification by stakeholders as a priority concern and prompted the Academy for Peace and Development (APD), in partnership with Interpeace, to help Somaliland government institutions establish policies and laws to tackle the underlying causes of these conflicts, improve natural resource management systems and help
consolidate peace in the region.