NGO Participation Research Articles

Sistemas agroalimentarios locales e innovaciones tecnológicas: intercambio de saberes garantizando la soberanía alimentaria y la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional en comunidades del sureste de México

In rural areas of Mexico, the marginal conditions have increased, the rural support programs, welfarist and vertical, have failed to respond. An alternative to solve it, represents family farming and rescue knowledge and awareness of rural people. The stated objective is to raise awareness of women's groups on nutritional importance of plants they have in their plots (backyard) and their potential contribution to food security and nutrition. With the participant group, the backyard are crossed, plants and animals that have consumed and are identified as, conducting a knowledge sharing. Participatory workshops on the basic principles of human nutrition known, the nutritive content of the products of the backyard and the design and development of balanced dishes (wise). It has worked in communities in the states of Oaxaca, Tabasco and Veracruz, with the participation of academic institutions, NGOs and government organizations. They have documented inventories of agro-biodiversity of backyard and recipes of dishes made. In working with people, a real process of knowledge exchange is established, all learn from all recognizing the own knowledge, allowing reaffirm and share. We conclude that the most important has been the consolidation of teams that have enabled the training of human resources on the importance of food sovereignty and food and nutrition security, contributing to the creation of local food systems.

Environmental impact assessment on frequency of pesticide use during vegetable production

An investigation was carried out to study frequency of pesticide use during vegetable production and its impact on environment. A structured questionnaire and researcher’s observation were used for this study. The data were collected from six different villages of sixty farmers at Mymensingh sadar upazilla in Bangladesh during February to May, 2013. More than half of the respondents (51.7%) were illiterate and lack of knowledge on pesticide use. About 60% respondents had 16-20 years farming experience and showed comparative knowledge on pesticide use. About 56.7% respondents practiced monthly communication with extension worker (Block Supervisor). About 66.7% respondents spent 04-06 hours to media every day. Half of the respondents had low level knowledge on pesticide use, where only 3.3% respondent showed high level knowledge on pesticide use. About half of the respondents (51.7%) used pesticide 16-20 times during the season. About 21.7% respondent used pesticide 21-25 times during the season. For selective vegetable okra showed highest frequency, about 16.7% respondents used pesticide 26-30 times during the season, while one third respondents (33.3%) used pesticide 16-20 times. About 58.3% respondent used pesticide 16-20 times for brinjal, while 8.3% respondents used 21-25 times. About two- fifth respondents (41.7%) used pesticide 16-20 times and 21-25 times for bitter gourd, while 8.3% respondents used 05-10 times and 10-15 times. About 58.3% respondent used pesticide 16-20 times for snake gourd, while 16.3% respondents used 21-25 times. About 66.7% respondent used pesticide 16-20 times for cucumber, while 16.7% respondents used 21-25 times. It indicated farmers used pesticide to their field 1-2 times in a week during the season in some vegetable cultivation. Therefore it has a high chance of remaining pesticide residues in the vegetables and soil. Moreover, most of the respondents applied pesticides without any protection measure and faced health problem due to expose with pesticide. Routine research work with wide public awareness, government and NGO participation, and government regulation are needed for food safety and sound environment.Progressive Agriculture 26 (2): 97-102, 2015

Profile of Contributors of University Radio in Spain: The Case of Students in the Area of Information Science

This article examines the reality of Spanish university radio, a relatively recent and poorly studied reality (only 40 years since Radio UNED began its first recordings). University radio in Spain is very heterogeneous and diverse, these features are clearly reflected in one of the parameters of analysis of this phenomenon; the profile of its contributors and / or participants. In this sense, Spanish university radio agglutinates a wide range of possibilities, from broadcasters who make their broadcats available to the university community as a whole (Professor-Research, university staff and students) as well as to the rest of society, building bridges with them and bringing about the participation of anonymous citizens, associations or NGOs. At the other extreme, there are radio stations that only allow the participation of students from the area of information science, configuring them as authentic practical platforms for these students, and they receive additional training that may be essential in order to gain access to the labour market. This has been evident on many occasions, and we have corroborated this in interviews carried out with various partners and those in charge of the stations.

Reportage: Beyond Prague's “Precious Legacy”: post-communist Jewish exhibits and synagogue restorations in the Czech Republic

The 10 Stars project, a linked network of restored or re-restored historic synagogues, associated buildings, and exhibitions in 10 towns around the Czech Republic, is the most ambitious single Jewish heritage project to be carried out in the Czech Republic since the fall of communism. Inaugurated in 2014, it falls within (and is the culmination of) a multifaceted program for Jewish heritage preservation and promotion in that country that was already being implemented in the early 1990s, thanks to the strategic vision of Jewish communal leaders and the active involvement and participation of municipalities, NGOs and others. As a result, in the past quarter century, the Czech Republic has seen the restoration of more than 65 synagogues, as well as the creation of regional Jewish museums and the installation of many local exhibits on Jewish history and heritage. This essay examines elements of the strategic process that achieved these results and shows how the various stages of its implementation led up to the 10 Stars.

Payment of Ecosystem Service to Alleviate Poverty from Kyrgyz Republic in Central Asia Considering Climate Change and Extreme Weather Condition

The major focus of payment of ecosystem services (PES) approach is that those who provide environmental services should be compensated for doing so and that those who receive the services should pay for their provision. This work tried to explore the potential of payment of ecosystem services under water related ecosystem service in the Krygyz Republic in central Asia to reduce poverty. Also it focussed on the kind of payment method which can be used for implementing PES. A very important aspect is to explore the policy research interface to make it a powerful tool. The site identified based on the pilot project by CAREC can be used as the building block to design further PES scheme in Krygyz Republic. The first and important finding in the report is that PES can become a helping hand to reduce poverty from Kyrgyz Republic with a mode of generating an extra income for poor but we cannot say it is very effective and completely capable of eradication of poverty from the country. The key findings are most dependent on the factors like interest among stakeholders for new tools to address water resource management, a very strong local organization which can do the mediation in implementing the site projects, broker the agreement between sellers and buyers and monitoring the project in further stage and various tensions between downstream and upstream water users. The local governing body needs to set up an institution established to bring together ecosystem service buyers and sellers (KAESBS - Krygyz association of ES buyer and seller). The important step is to design the mechanism so as not to exclude poor land users by keeping transaction costs as low as possible, and being creative in responses and strong local organizations such as community groups or NGOs participation plays a great role in designing and negotiation process.

FİNANSAL EĞİTİME BAKIŞ

This study determines the importance of financial education in contemporary societies. A review of various organizations for increasing financial education whose individual and societal importance has been internationally accepted is also offered. Towards this end initiatives undertaken by international organizations and national authorities are examined. Aspects of these initiatives that can be offered as best practices for developing nations are identified. For the Turkish case financial education examples that can be organized under public authority leadership, with NGO participation are collated. Various experiences about measuring and increasing financial literacy are examined. Among these are the implementations in Australia, Japan, England and the United States. It is put forth, in light of international experience, that increasing access to financial education and efficiency of financial services are possible through, informing, education and consulting.

호주의 국가정신보건전략을 통한 정신보건개혁과 융복합 정책적 함의

본 논문은 호주의 국가정신보건전략에 대한 주요 내용과 국가정신보건전략을 통한 정신보건개혁 이후의 변화들, 그리고 정신보건개혁에 대한 논의를 통해서 우리나라의 정신보건정책의 문제점들을 개선하기 위한 현실적인 시사점과 융복합 정책적 함의를 찾는데 그 목적이 있다. 1992년에 발표되어 2008년에 개정된 국가정신보건정책, 1993년부터 2014년까지 네 차례에 걸쳐 수립된 국가정신보건 5개년 계획, 2006년 호주정부협의회에 의해 수립된 정신보건실행계획, 그리고 2012년 호주정부협의회에서 채택한 국가정신보건개혁을 위한 로드맵(2012-2022)을 포함한 국가정신보건전략은 지난 20년 동안 호주의 정신보건개혁의 광범위한 과정을 선도하는 대단히 중요한 정책 준거를 제공하였다. 1992년 시작된 국가정신보건전략을 통해서 정신보건재정 확충, 지역사회 중심의 치료 및 보호시스템 구축, 정신병상의 변화, NGO의 참여와 역할의 증대, 정신장애인과 가족(보호제공자)의 참여 확대 등과 같은 변화를 이루었다. This study aims to understand main contents of the National Mental Health Strategy and changes after mental health reform through the National Mental Health Strategy in Australia, and to find some convergence policy implications on mental health policy in South Korea. The direction of reform has changed considerably over the 20 years that the National Mental Health Strategy has been in place including the National Mental Health Policy(1992, 2008), the National Mental Health Plan(1993~2014), COAG National Action Plan on Mental Health(2006~2011), the Roadmap for National Mental Health Reform 2012-2022. The National Mental Health Strategy has advocated fundamental change in the national spending on mental health, mental health service provision, the expansion of community-based mental health services and care system, NGO, consumer and carer participation in mental health care.

Towards integrated coastal governance with Chinese characteristics – A preliminary analysis of China's coastal and ocean governance with special reference to the ICM practice in Quanzhou

After the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, Rio, 1992), theories and concepts of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) have been further developed and thus have promoted the implementation of ICM worldwide. As a major maritime country, China attaches great importance to ocean governance and started its implementation of ICM in 1994 when China joined the GEF/UNDP/IMO Regional Programme for the Prevention and Management of Marine Pollution in the East Asian Seas for the first time. In the last two decades or so, while implementing and scaling up ICM in cooperation with the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), the authors found that the local government-based ICM with active participation of all stakeholders is a suitable integrated coastal management approach for China. This is actually an adaptive ICM with Chinese characteristics—integrated coastal governance (ICG).In this paper, the authors illustrate the characteristics of ICM implemented in China with a positive analysis of the practice of ICM in Quanzhou, Fujian Province. To break down the barriers among sectors in the implementation of ICM, the municipal government established a special leading group (ad-hoc committee) to exercise the centralized leadership of the Government for leading the implementation. Though there was not significant participation of NGOs in the implementation of ICM, the broad public participation under the leadership of the local government laid the groundwork for the success. Finally, this paper gives a discussion on possibilities for further improvement of China's ocean governance.

Polish Development Aid to Tajikistan – The Difficult Question Concerning The Meaning of Help

No matter what the reasons are for providing development aid, the “how and where” of the countries doing it infiuences their image in international relations and testifies to the intelligent power of a country. Helping a country such as Tajikistan is difficult, and not only because of its geographic location or high level of poverty. It is hard to make some changes there (especially in the field of democracy) when a donor country has to face the despotic presidency of Rachmon and the high level of support for Putin’s policies. Since 2004 Poland has been providing aid to this country (mainly with the participation of Polish NGOs), regardless of the fact as to whether it was on the list of priority countries or not. What are the main areas of Polish aid there? And what does Poland want and expect to achieve by helping the Tajiks? In this research and analysis the author looks for answers to these two questions.

Lietuvos psichosocialines paslaugas teikiančių nvo socialinio ir ekonominio matmens darna

In Lithuania the NGO sector is currently undergoing dramatic changes, alongside the public and private sectors. Its complexity is apparent not only in its relative growth and intrinsic significance, but also in its possibilities for integration into the other sectors. This complexity produces difficulties in understanding and defining third-sector organisations. This article addresses the issue of the compatibility of the social and economic aspects of Lithuanian NGOs with sustainable development. The relation between NGOs and the market is not clearly defined; for instance, it is often said that voluntary NGOs cannot compete with the service sector in terms of incomes. Such notions make an understanding of the role and place of NGOs between public and private sectors even more remote. Qualitative research shows that the concept of the NGO is unclear not only to the public but also to government and business. If the participation of NGOs in the market is becoming problematic, it is because their origin, nature and activities are very complex. Over half of all NGO founders already knew, at the time of inception, that the social programmes or missions of the organisations they had created would involve economic activity. While NGO leaders declare that such activity is necessary for survival, a necessary supplement to the main work of their organisations, informants agree that the sale of services should never become the main impetus of NGOs, since this would risk their ability to question existing social structures, to pose solutions to pressing social problems, and to enter into partnerships with society, the market and the state.

Analysis Community’s Coping Strategies and Local Risk Governance Framework in Relation to Landslide

Analysis of people perception and analysis of the coping strategy to landslides are the two elements that are es-sential to determine the level of preparedness of communities to landslides. To know the preparedness of government and other stakeholders in facing landslide, the analysis risk governance framework was required. A survey using questionnaires with random sampling was applied to assess the level of people perception and people coping strategy related to landslide. Analysis of risk governance frame work was done at the district and sub-district level. ἀe study found that people perception related with landslide dominated by high and moderate level. Age and education are two factors that inḀuence the people’s perception to landslide. Local people applied four types coping strategy, which are: economic, structural, social and cultural coping strategy. Totally, 51.6% respondents have high level, 33.3% have moderate level and only 15.1% respondents that have low level of coping strategy. ἀe factors that inḀuence the level of coping strategy are education, income and building type. Analysis of risk governance framework is limited to the three components including stakeholder involvement, risk management and risk communication. Based on the data analysis, the level of stakeholder involvement at the district scope was categorized on the moderate till high and the level of stakeholder involvement at sub-district level was categorized on the high level. Generally, the risk management of Karanganyar was categorized on the moderate level and high level and the risk management in Tawangmangu was categorized on the moderate level. ἀere are some elements must be improved on the risk governance framework, those are data management, the pattern of relationships among stakeholders, increased participation of NGOs, constructed and updated landslide risk map, enhancement of microᴀnance role in helping the com-munity when disaster strikes and dissemination of information about the landslide to the local community.

How can poor and disadvantaged households get an opportunity to become a leader in community forestry in Nepal?

Nepal established community forestry institutions to manage natural resources at a local level with the intention of improving environmental and economic outcomes. While environmental successes have been made under community forestry, economic improvements, particularly for poor and marginalised groups, have proved elusive. This study examines how personal and social attributes influence the membership of the Executive Committee of Community Forestry User Groups (CFUG) in Nepal, and whether there are factors that enable the poor and disadvantaged to gain membership of the Executive Committee of CFUGs. Statistical analysis using data from the middle hill district of Baglung, Nepal indicates that decision-making positions are dominated by the local elite, who are typically from higher castes and relatively wealthy, as measured by land holdings, livestock units, food sufficiency and off-farm income. The results also suggest that leadership experience gained through participation in NGOs provides poor and disadvantaged people the ability to overcome their lower socio-economic status and gain leadership positions within CFUGs. This is an important outcome in that it provides an opening for policy initiatives that encourage the development of leadership skills for the poor and disadvantaged, which in turn will improve representation of these groups.

Urbanization and its Impacts on Land Use, Biodiversity and Ecosystems in India

India, a predominantly rural country, is going through a slow but constant and broad transition towards urbanization. The amount of cities and mega cities has increased from 5,161 to 7,935 in 2011. The united Nations predict that, by 2031, 15% of the urban population of the world, about 600 million people, will be living in Indian cities. This increase in urban population will cause repercussions in terms of environment, ecology and sustainability, which will manifest themselves in demands on urban services and governance of the urban ecosystem. In addition, urbanization generates significant tension in terms of land cover, native habitats, biodiversity, protected areas and services to the ecosystem that are basic for human wellbeing. In this paper we analyze some challenges and opportunities for urban development in India that include the participation of governments, private agencies, NGOs, and citizens from different social and economic strata.

Multilevel Governance and Participation: Interpreting Democracy in EU-programmes

This article offers an ethnographically oriented, interpretive approach for the research into the democratic qualities of multilevel governance (MLG). The complex and networked MLG arrangements, such as the European Union's (EU) participatory policy practices, are changing the traditional roles of public administration and politics in ways we cannot yet fully foresee. Especially, the impact on democracy is subject to debate. With two case studies, this article seeks to shift the focus of the discussion on the democratic possibilities of MLG from theoretical analysis to empirical research into local and mundane experiences concerning EU policy implementation. The cases studied are the rural development programme LEADER and the youth policy programme Youth in Action. The studies suggest that the participation of NGOs or individual citizens cannot automatically be seen as a counterbalance to administration since the participants seem capable of adopting technocratic or administrative identities and roles. In addition, participatory practices may be geared to impact on the participants instead of functioning as their democratic opportunity to impact on governance. Therefore, this article suggests that the assessments of democracy should not only concentrate on the formal status of the participants: a credible democratic legitimation requires both the possibility and the will to act politically.

Enthusiasm crushed by apathy: the survival condition of the NGOs under a social management system in Mainland China

The Chinese government is currently endeavouring to establish a new social management system, with the participation of the government and different parties in society, among whom NGO participation in social management is considered the essential approach for social management system innovation. The post-disaster relief and reconstruction of the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008 left an indelible mark in the developmental history of Chinese NGOs, and provides an opportunity for us to examine the survival condition of NGOs. For this paper, we use a qualitative research method to trace the four-year relief and reconstruction process of a severely afflicted township in Sichuan Province during the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, and examine the work of NGOs at different stages of the post-disaster operation, the role that NGOs played during the relief and reconstruction process, and the survival conditions of NGOs in China's contemporary social management pattern. By analysing the obstacles that NGOs have encountered in the participation of social management, this paper offers suggestions for the innovation of the social management system.

Janus-faced NGO Participation in Global Governance: Structural Constraints for NGO Influence

Increasingly, nongovernmental organizations participate in negotiations within international organizations as well as in global working groups and discussion forums. This trend is commonly said to enable the influence of the participating NGOs. Yet this article highlights the negative effects of the high level of NGO participation on the NGOs' influence. It shows, in the case of the UN World Summit on the Information Society, how the NGOs' influence is reduced to less relevant issues and how this influence turns out to be highly selective: while the views and demands of a few NGO actors are successful, more diverse views from the broader NGO community become neglected. This suggests greater caution regarding the usual claim that more is necessarily better with regard to NGO participation in global governance.

Book review: Global governance and NGO participation: Shaping the information society in the United Nations

Book review: Global governance and NGO participation: Shaping the information society in the United Nations

Reducing Inequalities: A Human Rights-Based Approach in Finland's Development Cooperation with Special Focus on Gender and Disability: A Case Study on Ethiopia and Kenya

The study by a team of six independent researchers from Ethiopia, Kenya and Finland investigates how the Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) to development is, and ought to be, applied in Finnish development cooperation with a view to contributing to the reduction of inequality especially for women and persons with disabilities in Kenya and Ethiopia. The two case studies review the policies and practices of multilateral, bilateral and civil society organizations’ cooperation, and projects supported by the Local Cooperation Fund (LCF) that is administered by the Finnish Embassies from the perspective of a human rights-based approach with special focus on disability and gender equality. In Ethiopia, the research focused on the education sector and NGO participation in complementing the primary duty-bearer, i.e., the government of Ethiopia (GoE). More precisely, the case study focuses on two government-run education sector programmes supported by Finland, namely, the General Education Quality Improvement Programme (GEQIP) and the Special Needs Education (SNE) programme. The case study also covers projects implemented by CSOs with the support of the LCF of the Finnish Embassy, the Abilis Foundation and Finnish CSOs, which receive funds from the development cooperation of Finland. In Kenya, the main focus of the research is on the programmes under Objective A of the Finnish Country Strategy for Development Cooperation with Kenya, “a democratic and accountable society that promotes human rights”. In the absence of a major justice sector programme, Finland has been promoting three distinct, yet interconnected, programmes that focus on good governance, human rights, and gender equality. The three programmes are: 1) Support for National Human Rights Institutions (constitutional commissions); 2) Support for elections 2013 through the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the Uraia Trust; and 3) Support for strategic actors (UN Women) working on gender in Kenya. In addition to the examination of the above-mentioned programmes, the research team reviewed and made observations on the Local Cooperation Fund and the Finnish rural development programme known as Programme for Agriculture and Livelihoods in Western Communities (PALWECO) in Busia County.

European Social Policy and the Role of Civil Society. The Participation of NGOs in the OMC/Inclusion in Greece

The presentation addresses the interaction between European social policy and civil society and in particular the role of the latter in the formulation of European social policy through the instrument of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). The presentation will also focus on the Greek experience regarding the involvement of NGOs in the OMC process on social inclusion, based on the preliminary results from the Programme “Working together for an inclusive society”, implemented by the Scientific Society for Social Cohesion and Development and funded under the PROGRESS Community Programme.

Framing Chinese civil actors: earthquake relief and unintended consequences for media coverage

In 2008, the participation of NGOs in disaster relief during and after a severe earthquake attracted public attention and extensive media coverage. This study analyzes how mainstream Chinese news media framed NGOs in 2008. The findings suggest that after the earthquake, not only did the amount of media coverage about Chinese NGOs increase but also the patterns of coverage changed. Furthermore, the Chinese party media and market-oriented media demonstrated different coverage patterns. The party media tended to frame the contributions of NGOs as dependent on governmental leadership and downplayed their role in disaster relief to one of support. The market-oriented media increasingly covered NGOs from multiple angles and depicted them as service providers, decision makers, and resource mobilizers.