Co-management Of Natural Resources Research Articles

Assessing the extent of community participation in co-management of natural resources at Vwaza Wildlife Reserve in Malawi: an integrated approach

Assessing the extent of community participation in co-management of natural resources at Vwaza Wildlife Reserve in Malawi: an integrated approach

Investigating the Co-Management of Natural Resources: Lessons Learned from the iSimangaliso World Heritage Site, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Co-managed protected areas globally provide economic and environmental benefits through an equal partnership with communities. However, the African context of natural resource co-management differs, necessitating further research. This paper examines if the co-management of iSimangaliso World Heritage Site’s natural resources in South Africa leads to sustainable use. Qualitative research was conducted via semi-structured interviews and random surveys were conducted with Khula Village residents. The results suggest partial success with challenges such as poaching, non-compliance, communication gaps and gender differentiation over land ownership. Some recommendations include transparency from the co-management committee with residents, education and empowerment programmes on co-management, and involvement of all residents, including non-landowners in co-management decisions for resource protection.

Decision making processes and power dynamics in timber production co-management: A comparative analysis of seven Brazilian Amazonian community-based projects

Power asymmetries are a major obstacle to inclusive and robust decision making in collaborative management (or co-management), whereby multiple actors, principally government and local communities, jointly make decisions to achieve natural resource management goals. We compared seven community-based timber projects under different co-management arrangements within three Brazilian Amazonian extractive reserves to illuminate how decision making was organized (structure) and how it actually operated (function) with respect to power dynamics among multiple actors. Over a 15-month field season, we conducted participant observation and 52 semistructured interviews, systematically analyzed over 30 key timber management decision-making meetings, and employed Q-methodology to ascertain diverse actor perspectives of power dynamics. Our overall analysis revealed that decisions across all seven timber projects were gradually made through multiple meetings at community, extractive reserve, and beyond extractive reserve levels – a positive approach that can lead to continuous problem-solving. The 16 Q-sorters perceived decision making in these meetings to be participative, respectful of all actors' rights to speak, and allowed for some knowledge exchange, suggesting that unequal power dynamics (as observed in our study) does not necessarily prevent the opportunity to voice one's opinion. This participation also decentralized decision-making processes, boosting chances that community-level actors used their crucial local knowledge and advocated for their interests. Still, in one reserve, community members were ill prepared to make informed decisions, lacking sufficient technical training and trusted long-term support from non-governmental external actors. Furthermore, some Q-sorters noted insufficient community-level actors in decision-making processes, because deliberative spaces were beyond their physical reach. Yet in two reserves, innovative logistical strategies were developed to compensate and accommodate this challenge. In the third reserve, however, in the absence of intentional and creative solutions to geographical and cultural distances, there were limited interactions among the communities and external actors, giving rise to minimal information flow and weakened representation of community interests in decision making. We also demonstrated that actors in power (government forest administration officers) or those with perceived power (financial or forest technical providers, community leaders), sometimes acted strategically over other actors, particularly those perceived as without power (community residents), to alter their behavior, constrain their choices, and influence their expectations regarding decision outcomes. We conclude that power asymmetries can be overcome in natural resource co-management decision making, using deliberate, thoughtful, and creative participatory approaches.

How can an alternative natural resource co-management system be established? —Evidence from Chinese community forestry

ABSTRACT In developing countries, interest in community forest management (CFM) has steadily increased over the last decade. Based on the extended political institutional analysis and development (P-IAD) framework, this paper analyzes the Chinese CFM system by combining the political-economic context, rules-in-use, and discourses to show alternative co-management practices. We find that CFM is rooted in national-level development strategies, embedded government-society relationships, and social development claims. This governance structure determines that the public sector guides the development and utilization directions of forest resources based on development planning and national discourses, while community leaders serve both villagers and the public sector. Over the course of development, this co-management system undergoes dynamic adjustments and gradually fulfills the evaluative criteria, including employing varied institutions, ordinary rules, and cross-scale connections. Compared with the previous co-management system, the current system presents the features of national layer penetration, continuous power coordination, and development orientation. The experience of Chinese CFM shows that scholars should focus on the impact of national-level macro strategies and social construction on natural resource management, not just cooperation between civilian agencies and the community. The findings provide developing countries with new thoughts for designing natural resource management systems.

Local perceptions of mangrove protection and livelihood improvement in Co-management: Lessons learnt and recommendations

Co-management has been widely used for sustainably managing forest resources, particularly in developing countries. Co-management becomes more effective when voices from related stakeholders are adequately heard. Until now, there has been limited knowledge with respect to local perceptions of their outcomes in protecting mangrove forests under co-management programs. We used the example of Kien Giang, Vietnam to address the above question because Kien Giang represents an appropriate case study in this regard. This study was undertaken using multi-year (2005 and 2022) shoreline change analysis together with semi-structured interviews with local communities and the assigned government agency with respect to mangrove protection and shoreline change. The results show that economic circumstances of local communities are an underlying cause of poor protection of allocated mangrove forests while insufficient knowledge of mariculture significantly contributed to the ineffective use of the forests for livelihood improvement. Meanwhile, limited staffing, capacity, and resources have been major constraints on effective protection of allocated mangrove forests and shoreline protection by the government agency. The findings help explain why the Kien Giang shoreline has been continuously changing without proper control measures. Therefore, documentation of local perceptions of the outcomes of their involvement should be emphasized as an integral part in co-management regime to improve the performance of co-management of natural resources.

Listening to Indigenous Voices, Interests, and Priorities That Would Inform Tribal Co-Management of Natural Resources on a California State University Forest

Indigenous communities have experienced a loss of access and ability to contribute to the management of natural resources due to removal from lands, marginalization, and conflicting knowledge systems. Currently, there is increasing momentum toward re-engaging tribes as stewards of their ancestral lands. This article outlines tribal views on co-management and identifies the forest management objectives of a tribal partner to help better inform a forest co-management partnership between a Native American Tribe (Wiyot Tribe) and a California Polytechnic State University (Humboldt). Qualitative research methods were used to analyze 13 semi-structured interviews utilizing an adaptive co-management framework with enrolled tribal members and representatives to understand the expectations and perceived barriers to a successful co-management relationship. Interviewees repeatedly mentioned interest in the management of wildlife, forest health and resilience, and fuels reduction. Participants also expressed interest in incorporating education and training of tribal youth in the management of forest resources and traditional ecological knowledge. The semi-structured interviews provided participants a platform to share their thoughts and express their feelings regarding the future stewardship of ancestral forest lands.

Challenges of Conserving and Co-Managing Khadimnagar National Park and Ratargul Fresh Water Swamp Forest in Bangladesh

National Parks are protected areas conserving all types of flora, fauna and their habitats regardless of generic diversification. In Bangladesh, protected area managers face difficulties to conserve these areas. This study is formulated to find out those existing difficulties against effective co-management of natural resources based on the local people’s perception. A purposive sampling is followed by a semi-structured interview to gather data from the field level of Khadimnagar National Park and Ratargul Fresh Water Swamp Forest from September 2019 to December 2019 by interviewing 100 local people for RFWSF and KNP on the basis of a qualitative research method. Both inhabitants and the Forest Department are found to be responsible for inhibiting the effective management of the subjected areas meanwhile difficulties related to motivation, cordiality, alternative job generation, financial support to management authority, tourism management and resource extraction from forests mainly prevail. To ensure substantial sustainability, both of the actors should come forward to find out a way to get rid of this devastation and to ameliorate the socio-economic condition of these areas. Arranging more conferences to raise motivation, awareness about the forest offenses and generating alternative sources of income can be counted as a strategy to reduce pressure on both forests.

The Fast Track Land Reform Programme and its effect on the loss of forests: the case of the Mafungabusi Forest Reserve in Zimbabwe

Land reform in Zimbabwe, commonly known as the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP), was established in early 2000. Since the inception of the FTRLP, loss of forests and biodiversity has been on the rise. In this paper, an analysis of the rate of forest loss pre-FTLRP, during and post-FTLRP to date (1995–2019) is presented for the Mafungabusi Forest Reserve. Data were collected from semi-structured questionnaires, interviews, satellite imagery and fieldwork. Land Cover, Land-Use Change Maps were obtained from supervised classification of satellite imagery and regression graphs for the rate of change of forest area were also obtained. Results show that the forested areas decreased at a rate of 308 ha per year (2.4%) during the FTLRP and at a rate of 481 ha per year (5.2%) post FTLRP. The inception of FTLRP and the withdrawal of funds to support the Community Involvement in Forest Management (CIFM) resulted in forest loss as the population grew and demand for land increased. Given the current rate of forest loss, the Mafungabusi Forest will probably disappear in the next 20 years if no measures are taken to reduce the rate of forest loss. Thus, there is need for the Zimbabwe Forestry Commission, Environmental Management Agency and other relevant stakeholders to engage resettled farmers in sustainable co-management of natural resources. Such efforts will help in combating effects of climate change and conserving biodiversity.

Land-use and climate related drivers of change in the reindeer management system in Finland: Geography of perceptions

Drivers of change in the reindeer management system are rather well-known. But when developing the governance to support the traditional livelihoods, it is crucial to understand also practitioner perceptions. Systematic research on these is lacking. We analyzed the land-use and climate related drivers within the reindeer management area (RMA) in Finland, and, using a perception geography approach, studied the herder perceptions towards these. We conducted an on-site questionnaire survey with herders from 51 herding districts. Factors directly affecting the welfare of reindeer were perceived as crucial by herders, for example basal icing affecting the forage availability, and land-use related factors limiting the seasonal pasture access. Perceptions of herders on biophysical factors were rather homogeneous. The regional heterogeneities in perceptions towards land-use related factors could be explained by spatial differences in land-use and varying herding traditions. Cumulative land-use impacts raised particular concerns. Our approach can be utilized in the co-planning of the northern land-use and more widely in the co-management of natural resources.

Tackling challenges for co-management of natural resources: the community council in Limpopo National Park, Mozambique

ABSTRACT Mozambican law recommends community councils to promote the co-management of natural resources in protected areas. In the Limpopo National Park, the park committee has served as the community council for the last two decades. Based on fieldwork conducted in 2009–2019, this practical note identifies challenges that the committee faces and suggests two pathways to tackle the challenges: the committee members should be selected based on individual capacity; and financial resources must be directed towards developing their capacity. Further research on how to establish these pathways are imperative to enable the committee members to focus on activities for the co-management.

Co-Management of Small-Scale Fisheries in Chile From a Network Governance Perspective

We examine decision-making, shared authority, and pluralism as key characteristics for the effective co-management of natural resources. Drawing on the concept of network governance, we complement this approach by studying localized practices of governance that support existing and compensate for missing aspects in the regulation. The regime of territorial use rights for fisheries (TURF) in Chile is a recognized example of large-scale co-management that has given rise to local organizations that manage and exploit benthic resources. Based on multi-sited qualitative fieldwork across five regions, we analyze practices with respect to two governance objects: the deterrence of illegal fishing and the periodic assessment of the fisheries’ biology fields. Our analysis shows that local fisher organizations have institutionalized informal practices of surveillance and monitoring to fill in the gaps of existing regulations. Although fisher organizations and consultants—the so-called management and exploitation areas for benthic resources (AMERB)—have managed to operate the TURF regime, they depend on the government to enforce regulations and receive public subsidies to cover the costs of delegated governance tasks. We suggest that governance effectiveness could benefit from delegating additional authority to the local level. This would enhance the supervision of productive areas and better adaptation of national co-management regulations to the specific geographical context.

Challenges of mangrove management in supporting climate change mitigation policy in East Kalimantan

East Kalimantan Government has set up mangrove programs such as rehabilitation, silvofishery, social forestry and land reform to support its commitment in reducing emission from deforestation and forest degradation. This paper investigates potential challenges in implementation of the programs by exploring local community’s understanding on the role of mangroves in climate change and their acceptance to the mangrove programs. The results are discussed in the context of theories related to community-based natural resources management and property rights. Survey using questionnaires is followed by in-depth interview and it shows that most respondents understand the importance of mangroves in climate change mitigation but are not well informed about the programs. They are also objected to the land reform and social forestry programs because the programs do not provide comparable compensation. This finding is congruent with the theories of property rights and co-management of natural resources. To increase community’s acceptance, legalization of occupied mangrove land, therefore, needs to be followed by other interventions such as awareness raising programs, financial support and market control as extra benefits for the local communities. The central and local governments also need to intensively communicate with the local communities to arrange technical, administrative and political mechanisms in collaborative mangrove management.

Ecosystem service preferences across multilevel stakeholders in co-managed forests: Case of Aberdare protected forest ecosystem in Kenya

A better understanding of Ecosystem Services (ES) contributes to sustainable use while conserving the ecosystems mainly in resource-rich developing regions. This paper explores multilevel stakeholder perceptions on the most important ES provided by Aberdare Forest Ecosystem (AFE). The importance rank matrix model was employed to establish the ES preferences of 15 selected key organisations involved in AFE co-management. A two-way ANOVA inferential analysis was used to compare the differences in ES type importance. The results revealed statistically significant differences between provisioning, regulating and cultural ES. Regulating ES were identified as the most important compared to provisioning and cultural ES; a gradual stakeholder preference shift from forest tangible goods. Water, wildlife habitat, flood regulation, carbon intake and climate regulation were identified as the most important ES by all the stakeholders. Therefore, it is important to understand the gradual changes in ES preferences by various stakeholders involved in the co-management of natural resources. This knowledge could be important to the decision-makers in sustainable co-management planning for natural resources and to enhance sustainable utiliation of ES.

Central African Republic

President Touadéra signed a new peace agreement on February 6, 2019 with 14 armed groups. This agreement calls for the establishment of an inclusive government, the deployment of joint brigades, an acceleration of decentralization efforts, and the co-management of natural resources. While its implementation has started, including with the appointment of more inclusive government, the security situation remains volatile. The World Bank (WB) and the European Union (EU) have substantially increased their budgetary support (grants) for 2019–20. The authorities have expressed a strong interest in a successor arrangement.

What (De)Motivates Forest Users’ Participation in Co-Management? Evidence from Nepal

The co-management concept has been echoed in scientific literature for over two decades. Emphasis has been tailored towards an understanding of structural and functional issues linked to its application and the outcomes thereof. However, a crucial aspect which still begs for scientific and policy edification, concerns the motivational drivers of actors’ participation in co-management arrangements. Studies contend that actors are motivated to participate in co-management based on their perceived benefits (e.g., income). Conclusions from these lines of argument further raise a theoretical quagmire, requiring further grounding, with regards to context-specific (de)motivators of users’ participation in co-management. The case of Nepal is pertinent. Although Nepal has a rich community-based forest management history, scientific investigations have virtually ignored the motivational drivers of participation in the co-management of natural resources (forests). Against this background, this paper seeks to explore the following: (i) the decision-making and monitoring structure of rules regulating the co-management of forests, (ii) the implications of this system on users’ motivation to participate, and (iii) the motivational drivers of users’ participation in co-management. To achieve this, five focus group discussions and 10 key informant interviews were conducted in five villages (Kunjo, Titi, Parshyang, Cchayo, and Taglung) within the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA). We further employed narratives, framework, and thematic analyses to discuss the decision-making structure and motivational aspects of co-management. The results point to the following conclusions: (1) Despite the rather top-down decision-making setting, users remain motivated to participate in co-management. (2) Interestingly, the motivation by actors to participate is not largely driven by users’ perceived benefits. The results present another twist, a deviation from the previously understood rationale, which should be factored into co-management theory development. However, the paper equally makes a succinct request for further studies, including quantitative investigations, to ground this assertion.

A Comparative Analysis of Collaborative Environmental Management of Natural Resources in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Study of Cameroon and South Africa

In Africa, rural communities thrive on social capital and tend to have a number of commonalities that force them to share natural, physical and social resources. It has been a trend in sub-Saharan Africa to have either formal or informal collaborative management agreements to manage common pool resources (CPRs) to accommodate different actors and interests. This paper draws lessons from past and contemporary collaborative schemes in Cameroon and South Africa to enhance the practice and governance processes of natural resources in sub-Saharan Africa in order to promote sustainable development. Using research methods inspired by the tradition of participatory research to collect field-based data and complemented by reflections on previous and existing studies, the paper highlights the importance and benefits of participatory democracy as opposed to representational democracy in co-management of natural resources in rural spaces. It further discusses the need to redefine the roles of national and local governments, the youths and women in ensuring effective participation and the essence of unifying the judicial and culture. To guarantee sustainability of collaborative community-based natural resources, the paper emphasises the role and importance of youth and women empowerment. These issues have been discussed within the broader sustainability discourse.

Using the systemic-resilience thinking approach to enhance participatory collaborative management of natural resources in tribal communities: Toward inclusive land reform-led outdoor tourism

Community participation is at the heart of environmental governance as it facilitates and promotes a sense of ownership in a society's decision making and social development issues. This paper, using both primary and secondary data collected through methods inspired by participatory research, set out to discuss a methodological approach aimed at understanding how common pool natural resources are managed by multi-actors and stakeholders in a developing country context in an effort to promote inclusive land reform-led outdoor tourism. It combines two ‘soft-systems’ schools of thought, systemic thinking and resilience thinking, to analyse the effectiveness and efficiency of collaborative management of natural resources in tribal communities established through land reform processes in South Africa. It is argued in the paper that the two schools of thought can play key roles in identifying and informing the development of appropriate intervening measures and strategies that can contribute towards the adoption of effective and sustainable systems of community natural resource management and bring about more meaningful community development through community-based tourism. These observations have been made within the broader and contemporary arguments of sustainable environmental management and community development. Management implications•The systemic-resilience approach appears to be critical for increasing stakeholder participation in conservation endeavours aimed at outdoor recreational activities and tourism.•The intervention approach in complex tribal communities is key for establishing accommodations that will enable developing action plans to enhance stakeholder participation in co-managing common pool natural resources earmarked for community-based ecotourism.•The systemic-resilience approach promotes strong and genuine grassroot-grown community participation in environmental management decision making, thereby promoting stakeholder participation of interested actors in outdoor recreation and tourism.•Systemic-resilience facilitates the attainment of social capital elements which are key to the successful co-management of natural resources, i.e. participation, transparency, reciprocity and effective communication.

Participation, Power, and Equity: Examining Three Key Social Dimensions of Fisheries Comanagement

Comanagement of natural resources is a well-established approach to the management of common-pool resources such as small-scale fisheries, operating in multiple contexts and settings for over two decades. These programs are expected to be adaptable and promote social and ecological benefits, such as sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity goals. As programs mature, it is important to consider how some core principles of comanagement have manifested in practice, as well as whether they deliver on these promised benefits. Drawing from the conservation, small-scale fisheries, and fisheries management literature, this paper examines three fundamental principles of fisheries comanagement: participation, equity, and power. The conceptualization, definitions, and measures of each theme are presented, with discussion of the current gaps in the literature. We also demonstrate the deep interrelationships between these key dimensions of comanagement, and the need for greater attention to their combined influence on comanagement outcomes and processes. While the literature offers foundational ideas for incorporating these themes into fisheries comanagement practice, tethering these concepts to clear, but context-specific goals and practices is essential for improving social outcomes. We find that key goals of fisheries comanagement could be impeded by the lack of depth in addressing these themes in practice, and suggest the need for greater critical attention to their expressions in comanagement processes.

Formation of new property rights on government land through informal co-management: Case studies on countryside guerilla gardening

Extant research on guerilla gardening, defined as the unauthorized cultivation of land belonging to another, has hitherto focused on public space in urban areas, neglecting those that occur in rural settings. This rural land policy study examines a form of guerilla gardening in the countryside in Hong Kong, carried out by specific walker communities who routinely do early morning walks. Most of the gardens they have cultivated have become part of country park protected areas. This study identifies five phases of land use status evolution undergone by these morning walkers’ gardens (MWG), from the time the phenomenon of guerilla gardening in the countryside began in the 1960s to recent times, illustrating the role of land use change in enabling squatters with a degree of property rights by way of informal land resource co-management. Through the three case studies presented in this article, it is argued that MWGs can represent the emergence of incipient forms of natural resource co-management in Hong Kong. This study emphasizes the important role of resource user leadership in enhancing the land use value of land in itself and for the wider community. Some recommendations are provided to enhance resource user participation in land resource management.

Playing by whose rules? Community norms and fisheries rules in selected beaches within Lake Victoria (Kenya) co-management

Co-management of natural resources has developed within the premise that sustainable management is more likely achieved through decentralized and participatory governance. For Lake Victoria (Kenya), the introduction of co-management through the establishment of beach management units (BMUs) coincided with apparent increases in unsustainable fishing practices associated with concurrent decline in fish stocks. In this article, we identify what institutions at the community level influence practices and how these shape the interpretation and application of formal rules laid down by fisheries policies. Primary data collected from four beaches on the Kenyan side of Lake Victoria document local fishing practices. We found fishing practices are often contrary to government regulations, despite the creation of BMUs that were established to implement government regulations. Instead, fishing practices regulated by the BMUs are highly influenced by kinship ties and corruption. This analysis uses the concept of institutional bricolage to discuss how norms and rules interact to affect resource management. The findings build on existing evidence which challenges the view that devolution of natural resource management to local institutions, even those that follow national guidelines for participatory management, provides for more sustainable fishing. We suggest the need for a perhaps radical rethink of the design of participatory fisheries within Lake Victoria if sustainable management goals are to be realized.