Abstract
Critics of participation often examine the undesirable consequences of state-led systems without much analysis of institutional knowledge at the local level. In this paper, we investigate whether smaller institutions could offer useful knowledge for meeting the development needs of local people. Using participation theory and related literature on development and power, we investigate a co-management system in communities around Mount Cameroon National Park (MCNP), in sub-Saharan West Africa. Our study adopts a multimethod approach to survey officials in 16 agencies and locals in 17 village groups. The findings indicate factors that hinder the effectiveness of local participation and avenues by which institutional knowledge can be customized to meet local development priorities. This system of participation, we conclude, could work better through open dialogue that is explicitly accountable and transparent.
Highlights
In the past few decades, community participation has become an important concept in advocating for the needs of local people, i.e., individuals who exist in and belong to an area where they live permanently, when making decisions for the collaborative management of natural resources
The previous parts of this paper reviewed the legalities of participation between communities and institutions around Mount Cameroon National Park (MCNP)
This study deliberated on the role of institutions that nest in contradictory spaces of participation between local people and co-management regimes
Summary
In the past few decades, community participation has become an important concept in advocating for the needs of local people, i.e., individuals who exist in and belong to an area where they live permanently, when making decisions for the collaborative management of natural resources. Scholars use the concepts of ‘community’ and ‘participation’ to identify processes for engaging actors to undertake responsible roles in society [2]. These processes could include groups representing a large number of persons [3], as well as democratic measures that engage citizens [4,5]. We use examples from Cameroon to examine why a co-management system involves difficulties pertaining to participation and ask whether we can build on the knowledge of institutions that exist within this system
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