Strengthening social capital for propelling collective action in mangrove management

Abstract

The concept of social capital has gained lots of attention as an important instrument to induce collective action on Common Pool Resources management. However, evidence demonstrated amply that social capital alone was not always enough to encourage collective action. There were other factors needed as a leverage to activate social capital but research regarding this issue is still limited. This research was intended to elucidate how to strengthen the role of social capital and the preconditions required to encourage community members to conduct collective action. The research was carried out using survey methods at the eastern coastal area of East Sinjai sub district, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The research results show that strong social capital, indicated by high value score of trust, norm and networking would not always engender collective action in natural resource management. In order to achieve collective action, social capital had to be activated to function optimally. This was done through the intervention of symbolic power which is inherent in role models to initiate and mobilize action in mangrove management. The process to convince people to perform collective action was a crucial one which had to be resolved and is known as common knowledge. External support from local governments could facilitate the emergence of symbolic power through provision of enabling conditions for leadership promotion.