Abstract
Rural development or natural resource management program planning and implementation frequently confront challenges of environmental resource competition and conflict, particularly where common pool resources are a major component of rural livelihoods. This paper reports on an approach to multistakeholder dialogue, supported by participatory action research, to address the roots of such competition and conflict. The approach, called “Collaborating for Resilience,” includes principles and guidance on building a shared understanding of risks and opportunities, weighing alternative actions, developing action plans, and evaluating and learning from the outcomes. Working in partnership with government, community and civil society actors, the approach was developed and refined through applications in large lake systems in Uganda, Zambia, and Cambodia. This paper presents a synthesis of lessons addressing practitioners in government, nongovernmental development organizations, and international development agencies. These lessons include guidance on the context of multistakeholder dialogue processes, addressing gender equity, building stakeholder relationships and accountability across scales, and encouraging learning and innovation over time.
Highlights
Some degree of competition or conflict is intrinsic to natural resource management
Rural development or natural resource management program planning and implementation frequently confront challenges of environmental resource competition and conflict, where common pool resources are a major component of rural livelihoods
This paper reports on an approach to multistakeholder dialogue, supported by participatory action research, to address the roots of such competition and conflict
Summary
Some degree of competition or conflict is intrinsic to natural resource management. In many places, community-based institutions have developed to manage local competition over the environmental commons; these institutions are typically inadequate to address more complex challenges involving diverse actors across multiple sectors and scales (Gruber 2010). Much remains to be learned about undertaking collaborative assessments with local stakeholders and building on the insights gained to support institutional innovation and learning, including approaches that draw on and enhance existing, traditional conflict management processes (Sanginga et al 2007; Ratner et al 2013) Taking these challenges and observations as a starting point, the Strengthening Aquatic Resource Governance (STARGO) project developed guidance and tools to support multistakeholder dialogue (Ratner and Smith 2014; Rüttinger et al 2014) and adapted these through application in three freshwater ecoregions – Lake Victoria (Uganda), Lake Kariba (Zambia), and the Tonle Sap Lake (Cambodia) during 2012–2014. We highlight the distinction between participatory consultation and collaborative decision-making, and the importance of practitioners engaged in this work to exercise an appreciation of existing institutions and relationships, including questions of equitable representation and access to decision-making fora
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