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UNISCI Discussion Papers, Nº 33 (Octubre / October 2013) ISSN 1696-2206South Kordofan. The first type of conflict is traditional, which appears to have escalatedduring the past few years partly because of the civil war as a result of the breakdown in thetraditional arrangements regulating the use of pastureland and access to water on the RiverNile. The nomads from the Kosti area and from South Kordofan who use Shilluk land duringthe dry season have in recent years adopted a hostile attitude towards the Shilluk and nolonger honour past agreements regulating their access to the dry season pastures. The 1989/90violent conflict between the Shilluk and the nomad groups in Jebelein Area in which manyShilluk lost their lives, made the Arab groups have a feeling of superiority over the Shillukwho were regarded as supporters of the SPLA/M. The civil war was felt in this North-Southborder area during the 1980s and early 1990s when attacks by the SPLA resulted in a largenumber of displaced people who fled their agricultural lands to areas North of Jebelein and toKosti and Rabak towns. Although the Shilluk were affected equally by these attacks, theywere regarded as allies of the SPLA and they became targets of the Arab groups in the area.4. Discussion: Water, Pasture and CommunitiesIn many parts of border zones of South Sudan and Sudan, human and animal life depends onthe delicate balance of ecosystem. During the last four decades this equilibrium was upset,particularly in the vast arid and semi-arid areas of the northern half of the country. In additionto the persistent drought, unsustainable methods of land use and overgrazing in marginallands are destroying the eco-zone of many parts of Sudan, forcing many communities toabandon their areas and move to new ones in search of survival. Desertification andoverexploitation of natural resources undermines the support systems that human life dependson, reduce carrying capacity, and increase the competition for nominally renewable yet scarceresources. In some areas, rapidly expanding human and livestock populations are outstrippingthe carrying capacity of the local resource base.Those conflicts resulting from competition for water and grazing land were treatedbefore South Sudan and Sudan were separate countries as isolated local disputes, which arenot linked to national politics. Local governments in border areas dealt with issues of grazing,water, movement of livestock as petty disputes since the colonial period. It was not in theirinterests to sensitise pastoralists about their collaboration to articulate their demands forsharing water resources and grazing lands within the framework of national water policies.Equally important, depletion of grazing lands and inequitable access to natural resourcesare also seen as a main cause contributing to previous, ongoing and potential future conflictsin the border areas. The management and resolution of conflicts raises a number of issuesrotating around access to natural resources. This is widely seen as the cause of actual andpotential future conflicts in many parts of South Sudan and Sudan, in particular, conflictsbetween pastoralists and settled agriculturalists, the local governments and/or other interestgroups. Thus, it is also recognized that resolving and mitigating conflicts at the local levelrelated to access to natural resources and services is an important aspect of development andservice delivery.The degradation and depletion of natural resources is a critical issue in several parts ofthe two Sudans, both in terms of environmental perspectives and in terms of impact oneconomic livelihood and poverty in which natural resources (mainly crop production andlivestock) form the backbone of the economy. Organizing conflict management andresolution, access to and the quality of natural resources and social services, as well as104