Abstract
Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) is a concept critical to managing socio-ecological systems, but whose implementation needs strengthening. Scenario-planning is one approach that may offer benefits relevant to CBNRM, but whose potential is not yet well understood. We therefore designed, trialled and evaluated a scenario-planning method intended to support CBNRM at three cases, located in Colombia, Mexico and Argentina. Implementing scenario-planning was judged as worthwhile in all three cases, although aspects of it could be challenging to facilitate. The benefits generated were relevant to strengthening CBNRM: encouraging the participation of local people and using their knowledge; enhanced consideration and adaption of future change; and supporting the development of systems thinking. Tracing exactly when and how these benefits arise is challenging, but two elements of the method seemed particularly useful. Firstly, using a systematic approach to discuss how drivers of change may affect local socio-ecological systems helped to foster systems thinking and identify connections between issues. Secondly, explicitly focusing on how to use and respond to scenarios helped identify specific practical activities ('response options') that would support CBNRM despite the pressures of future change. Discussions about response options also highlighted the need for support by other actors (e.g. policy groups): this raises the question of when and how other actors and other sources of knowledge should be involved in scenario-planning, so as to encourage their buy-in to actions identified by the process. We suggest other CBNRM initiatives may benefit from adapting and applying scenario-planning. However, these initiatives should be carefully monitored since further research is required to understand how and when scenario-planning methods may produce benefits, and their strengths and weaknesses versus other methods.
Highlights
Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is a hugely influential concept in natural resource management and conservation (Western et al 1994)
The benefits generated were relevant to strengthening CBNRM: encouraging the participation of local people and using their knowledge, enhanced consideration of and adaptation to future change, and supporting the development of systems thinking
We discuss in detail if and how the method contributed to (1) considering future change, (2) fostering participation, and (3) supporting systems thinking
Summary
Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is a hugely influential concept in natural resource management and conservation (Western et al 1994). It is premised on the idea that people should be involved and empowered in the management of the social-ecological systems of which they are a part. When they are, this is thought to result in the most equitable and sustainable outcomes. Some projects have not fully involved or empowered all community members (Méndez-López et al 2014), some have struggled to achieve their aims because of external pressures (e.g., Scholte 2003), and others have caused negative social and/or ecological impacts because of unintended side effects (e.g., Haller et al 2008). CBNRM, needs strengthening; not doing so jeopardizes both ecosystems and the well-being of those people whose lives and livelihoods depend on them (Dressler et al 2010)
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