The research reported in this paper investigated the role of identity construction in the emergence and escalation of conflict in the participatory management of protected areas in Benin. The study shows that social identity salience was dynamic and played an important role in the emergence and escalation of conflict in the studied cases. Conflicts emerged when identities became salient as a result of the stake - holders’ framing of contextual factors as a threat to their identity. The conflicts escalated when decisions and actions undertaken in the management process were framed as top-down and as posing a threat to the identities of the stakeholders. We conclude that, although the government in the management of the protected areas introduced participation, unilateral decisions taken about the way the conflicts should be managed caused disappointment and distrust, and thus led to a greater distance between the parties involved and to conflict escalation.
Buckles, D. and Rusnak, G. (1999) Cultivating Peace: Conflict and Collaboration in Natural Resource Management (Ottawa). In: Buckles, D., Ed., Cultivating Peace: Conflict and Collaboration in Natural Resource Management, World Bank Institute, Washington DC, 1-10.
Castro, A.P. and Nielson, E. (2003) Indigenous People and Co-Management: Implications for Conflict Management. Environmental Science & Policy, 4, 229-239. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1462-9011(01)00022-3
Hares, M. (2009) Forest Conflict in Thailand: Northern Minorities in Focus. Environmental Management, 43, 381-395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-008-9239-7
Mola-Yudego, B. and Gritten, D. (2010) Determining Forest Conflict Hotspots According to Academic and Environmental Groups. Forest Policy and Economics, 12, 575-580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2010.07.004
Hellström, E. (2001) Conflict Cultures: Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Environmental Conflicts in Forestry. Silva Fennica Monographs, 2, 2-84.
Tyler, S.R. (1999) Policy Implication of Natural Resource Conflict Management. In: Buckles, D., Ed., Cultivating Peace: Conflict and Collaboration in Natural Resource Management, World Bank Institute, Washington DC, 264-280.
Smith, D. (1997) Language and Discourse in Conflict and Conflict Resolution. Current Issues in Language and Society, 4, 190-214. https://doi.org/10.1080/13520529709615498
Desloges, C. and Gauthier, M. (1997) Community Forestry and Forest Resource Conflicts: An Overview. Proceeding of the 14th World Forestry Congress, Antalya, 13-22 October 1997.
Yasmi, Y., Guernier, J. and Colfer, C.J.P. (2009) Positive and Negative Aspects of Forestry Conflict: Lessons from a Decentralized Forest Management in Indonesia. International Forestry Review, 11, 98-110. https://doi.org/10.1505/ifor.11.1.98
El-Hadj Issa, A. (2001) Bilan de la mise en œuvre de plan d’aménagement des forêts classées de Tchaourou Toui Kilibo. Proceeding of the IIe Séminaire International sur l’aménagement intégré des forêts naturelles des zones tropicales sèches en Afrique de l’Ouest, Parakou, 25-29 June 2001, 232-244.
Tchiwanou, M. (2001) Bilan de la mise en œuvre de plan d’aménagement des forêts classées de Tchaourou Toui Kilibo. Proceeding of the IIe Séminaire International sur l’aménagement intégré des forêts naturelles des zones tropicales sèches en Afrique de l’Ouest, Parakou, 25-29 June 2001, 132-139.
Zoundoh, L. (2001) Bilan de cogestion des forêts classées de Sota, de Goungoun et de Goroubi avec les populations riveraines au Nord Bénin: Cas du projet Aménagement Participatif des Forêts Naturelles et Reboisement Villageois pour la Réduction de Carbone. Proceeding of the IIe Séminaire International sur l’aménagement intégré des forêts naturelles des zones tropicales sèches en Afrique de l’Ouest, Parakou, 25-29 June 2001, 275-289.
Idrissou, L., Paassen, A.V., Aarts, N. and Leeuwis, C. (2011) The Discursive Construction of Conflict in Participatory Forest Management: The Case of Agoua Forest Restoration in Benin. Conservation and Society, 9, 119-131. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-4923.83722
Idrissou, L., Aarts, N., Paassen, A.V. and Leeuwis, C. (2011) From Cohesion to Conflict in Participatory Forests Management: The Case of Ouémé Supérieur and N’Dali (OSN) Forests Management. Forest Policy and Economics, 13, 525-534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2011.06.001
Idrissou, L., Aarts, N., van Paassen, A., Vodouhè, S. and Leeuwis, C. (2013) Trust and Hidden Conflict in Participatory Natural Resources Management: The Case of the Pendjari National Park (PNP) in Benin. Forest Policy and Economics, 27, 525-534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2012.11.005
Haslam, S.A. (2001) Intergroup Negotiation and Conflict Management. In: Haslam, S.A., Ed., Psychology in Organizations: The Social Identity Approach, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, 179-206.
Hjortso, C.N. (2004) Enhancing Public Participation in Natural Resource Management Using Soft OR: An Application of Strategic Option Development and Analysis in Tactical Forest Planning. European Journal of Operational Research, 152, 667-683. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0377-2217(03)00065-1
De Jong, W., Ruiz, S. and Becker, M. (2006) Conflicts and Communal Forest Management in Northern Bolivia. Forest Policy and Economics, 8, 447-457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2005.08.011
Götmark, F., (2009) Conflicts in Conservation: Woodland Key Habitats, Authorities and Private Forest Owners in Sweden. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 24, 504-514. https://doi.org/10.1080/02827580903363545
Macias, T. (2008) Conflict over Forest Resources in Northern New Mexico: Rethinking Cultural Activism as a Strategy for Environmental Justice. Social Science Journal, 45, 61-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soscij.2007.12.006
Bergami, M. and Bagozzi, R.P. (2000) Self-Categorization, Affective Commitment and Group Self-Esteem as Distinct Aspects of Social Identity in the Organization. British Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 555-577. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466600164633
Aspinall, E. (2007) The Construction of Grievance: Natural Resources and Identity in a Separatist Conflict. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 51, 950-972. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022002707307120
Assal, M.A.M. (2006) Sudan: Identity and Conflict over Natural Resources. Development, 49, 101-105. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.development.1100284
Dalton, M. and Chrobot-Mason, D. (2007) A Theoretical Exploration of Manager and Employee Social Identity, Cultural Values and Identity Conflict Management. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management, 7, 169-183. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470595807079382
Korostelina, K. (2007) The System of Social Identities in Tajikistan: Early Warning and Conflict Prevention. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 40, 223-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postcomstud.2007.03.001
Livingstone, A. and Haslam, S.A. (2008) The Importance of Social Identity Content in a Setting of Chronic Social Conflict: Understanding Intergroup Relations in Northern Ireland. British Journal of Social Psychology, 47, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466607X200419
Chapman, J. (2006) Anxiety and Defective Decision Making: An Elaboration of the Groupthink Model. Management Decision, 44, 1391-1404. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740610715713
Flippen, A.R. (1999) Understanding Groupthink from a Self-Regulatory Perspective. Small Group Research, 30, 139-165. https://doi.org/10.1177/104649649903000201
Henningsen, D.D., Henningsen, M.L.M., Eden, J. and Cruz, M.G. (2006) Examining the Symptoms of Groupthink and Retrospective Sensemaking. Small Group Research, 37, 36-64. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496405281772
Stets, J.E. and Burke, P.J. (2000) Identity Theory and Social Identity Theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 63, 224-237. https://doi.org/10.2307/2695870
Zhou, X. and Mori, H. (2011) National Institutional Response to Climate Change and Stakeholder Participation: A Comparative Study for Asia. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 11, 297-319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-010-9127-5
Tajfel, H., Billig, M.G., Bundy, R.P. and Flament, C. (1971) Social Categorization and Intergroup Behaviour. European Journal of Social Psychology, 1, 149-178. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2420010202
Tzeng, O.C.S. and Jackson, J.W. (1994) Effects of Contact, Conflict, and Social Identity on Interethnic Group Hostilities. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 18, 259-276. https://doi.org/10.1016/0147-1767(94)90031-0
Hogg, M.A. and Reid, S.A. (2006) Social Identity, Self-Categorization, and the Communication of Group Norms. Communication Theory, 16, 7-30. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2006.00003.x
Tajfel, H. (1972) La catégorisation sociale. In: Moscovici, S., Ed., Introduction à la psychologie sociale, Vol. 1, Larousse, Paris, 272-302.
Hogg, M.A. and Terry, D.J. (2000) Social Identity and Self-Categorization Processes in Organizational Contexts. The Academy of Management Review, 25, 121-140.
Ashforth, B.E. and Mael, F. (1989) Social Identity Theory and the Organization. The Academy of Management Review, 14, 20-39.
Cohen, A. and Caspary, L. (2010) Individual Values, Organizational Commitment, and Participation in a Change: Israeli Teachers’ Approach to an Optional Educational Reform. Journal of Business and Psychology, 26, 385-396. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-010-9186-1
Fischer, P., Haslam, S.A. and Smith, L. (2010) “If You Wrong Us, Shall We Not Revenge?” Social Identity Salience Moderates Support for Retaliation in Response to Collective Threat. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 14, 143-150. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017970
Van Knippenberg, D., Van Knippenberg, B., Monden, L. and De Lima, F. (2002) Organizational Identification after a Merger: A Social Identity Perspective. British Journal of Social Psychology, 41, 233-252. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466602760060228
Phinney, J.S. (1991) Ethnic Identity and Self-Esteem: A Review and Integration. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 13, 193-208. https://doi.org/10.1177/07399863910132005
Gaertner, S.L., Mann, J., Murrell, A. and Dovidio, J.F. (1989) Reducing Intergroup Bias: The Benefits of Recategorization. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 239-249. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.2.239
Hewstone, M., Rubin, M. and Willis, H. (2002) Intergroup Bias. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 575-604. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135109
Gaertner, S.L., Rust, M.C., Dovidio, J.F., Bachman, B.A. and Anastasio, P.A. (1996) The Contact Hypothesis: The Role of a Common Ingroup Identity on Reducing Intergroup Bias among Minority Group Members. In: Nye, J. and Brower, A., Eds., What’s Social about Social Cognition? Research on Socially Shared Cognition in Small Groups, Sage, Newbury Park, 230-260. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483327648.n10
Akpado, L. (1996) Etude sur la valorisation et le développement du bois d’ œuvre dans le cadre de l’Aménagement des Massifs Forestiers des Monts-Kouffé, Wari-Maro et Agoua. MDR/DFRN/PBF, Cotonou.
PGRN (1999) Plan d’Aménagement Participatif des Forêts Classées de l’Ouémé Spérieur et de N’dali.
Fairhurst, G.T. (2004) Textuality and Agency in Interaction Analysis. Organization, 11, 335-353. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508404041996
Jordan, B. and Henderson, A. (1995) Interaction Analysis: Foundations and Practice. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 4, 39-103. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327809jls0401_2
Arouna, O. (2006) Evaluation du plan d’aménagement participatif des forêts classées de Goun-Goun, de la Sota et de la Réneraie de Gouroubi au Bénin: critères et indicateurs pertinents de réussite. The Colloque international GECOREV sur Gestion concertée des ressources naturelles et de l’environnement, du local au mondial: pour un dialogue entre chercheurs, société civile et décideurs, Saint-Quentin, 26-28 June 2006, 1-29.
MDR and PGFTR (1999) Audit Institutionnel du Secteur Forestier. Diagnostic du Secteur Forestier. MDR (Ministère du Développement Rural)/PGFTR (Projet Gestion des Forêts et Terroirs Riverains), Cotonou.
Siebert, U. and Elwert, G. (2004) Combating Corruption and Illegal Logging in Benin, West Africa: Recommendations for Forest Sector Reform. Journal of Sustainable Forestry, 19, 239-261. https://doi.org/10.1300/J091v19n01_11