Participatory Resource Management Research Articles

A Study on Role of Rural Women of District Anantnag of Kashmir Valley in Natural Resource Management

A natural resource is a material that comes from the natural environment and in its raw or “natural” state is of value for support and sustenance of life on earth with its ecological value and diverse resources. The natural resource management is the taking care of natural resources like land, water. It has been noticed that use and abuse of natural resources is a key issue that has been caused by mankind. The misuse of natural resources directly or indirectly refers to excessive use, destructive use or achieving imbalance between natural resources either individually or in combination. The purpose of current study was to investigate the role of Rural women in natural resources management and utilization in Anantnag, J&K. The role of women in natural resource management is crucial for sustainable development. This abstract explores the multifaceted contributions of women of this domain, including their roles as farmers, forest users, and water managers women”s local knowledge and expertise often lead to effective resource conservation and community resilience .Despite their significant contributions ,women often face barriers such as limited access to resources and decision making power and empowering women in natural resource management can enhance conservation efforts and promote equitable and inclusive development. In the current study quantitative as well as qualitative data was collected from 100 rural women selected at random using simple random sampling technique. The data collected were analyzed using appropriate statistical tools. The study revealed that the respondents understudy in majority have limited access of latest technology, skill training, education, extension services and current information. In order to strengthen the women’s participation in resources management and sustainable uses, the researchers suggest that suitable measures should be taken to empower women in decision making, skill training, education and extension activities.

Examining the powers decentralized to community resource management areas in Ghana

Decentralizing forest control to community-based groups is a widely promoted form of governance around the world. Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) in Ghana, a form of forest decentralization, is a relatively recent government strategy to reduce forest loss, promote restoration, and improve local control and participation in resource management. This paper examines the powers devolved to CREMAs in Ghana, using a political ecology lens. Using a variety of qualitative research methods, the paper found that CREMAs receive limited powers from the State and these powers mainly restrict local access to resources, an action the State has often failed at. The results also suggest that CREMAs impose responsibility on local people without accompanying resources and often at the expense of security and safety of local volunteer enforcers. The findings also highlight the lack of coherence between forest decentralization and exiting political decentralization processes; the incoherence between the different institutional regulations for CREMAs; and tensions between new and traditional forms of local resource governance. The study suggests that critical approaches to evaluating the performance of decentralized regimes could be a useful approach to understanding the drivers of vulnerability among local resource users, dependents, and their institutions.

Procuring Plant Services for Ecological and Human Well Being

Ecosystem services offered by two native tree species viz. Azadirachta indica, Morinda tinctoria, and four exotic species viz. Tamarindus indica, Prosopis juliflora, Leucaena leucocephala, and Ipomoea carnea in the Mathippanur village of Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, India were assessed to augment their valuable ecosystem services and to get the management strategy for sustainable use. The selected plant species provide economic benefit through their products, regulating soil health, sequestering carbon, and supporting nests of animals. However, they cause discomfort to the associated vegetation and human beings. Both native and exotic species play a crucial role in the ecosystem and the removal of exotic species will lead to disturbance in the ecosystem resilience. For sustainable management, mixed plantations of tree species can be raised in barren and fallow lands. The plantations will aid in monetary support to the local inhabitants, people’s participation in resource management and conservation, and effective use of land and tree services.

Inducing perspective-taking for prosocial behaviour in natural resource management

Natural resource management often involves social dilemmas which other-regarding preferences and pro-social behaviour can help overcome. Interventions that induce resource users to consider a perspective broader than their own may help promote pro-social behaviour. Such interventions are often applied in participatory resource management approaches. To the best of our knowledge, nonetheless, no previous study has isolated and assessed the effect of inducing perspective-taking on natural resource users’ prosocial behaviour. In this study, we do so in the context of watershed management. We conducted a lab-in-the-field experiment with downstream farmers in a Peruvian watershed. In the experiment, participants were induced to imagine the perspective of upstream farmers before deciding on a donation that can help the latter improve their well-being without compromising the water supply downstream. We find that inducing perspective-taking increases unilateral prosocial behaviour. This effect cannot fully be explained by the additional information on the social and ecological characteristics of the watershed received during the perspective-taking experience. Rather the effect of the perspective-taking intervention is likely to work by inducing other-regarding preferences. Our results contribute to the study of pro-social behaviour in natural resource management and the ways in which it could be induced by interventions targeting other-regarding preferences.

Land use/land cover dynamics and perception of the local communities in Bita district, south western Ethiopia

ABSTRACT Human settlements and swift expansion of agriculture have simplified the natural ecosystems and causing the loss of copious biological diversity. The current study was conducted in Bita district, southwestern Ethiopia to examine the pattern of land use/land cover (LULC) dynamics using multispectral satellite data for the years 1973, 1986, 2000 and 2018. The remote-sensed data were processed using ERDAS imagine 2014, ArcGIS map 10.5, and ENVI software. A supervised maximum likelihood classification algorithm was employed along with the visual interpretation of satellite images to classify each Landsat image into LULC categories. Semi-structured interviews and Focus Group Discussions were employed to identify major driving forces, impacts, and periodic LULC changes. The result revealed an alarming decrease in forestland but with an increase in the cropland. During the study periods, cropland, bareland and settlement areas have augmented by over 450% each. Conversely, grasslands and forestlands have reduced by over 45% each. The local communities perceived the population growth, and the expansion of coffee plantations and other croplands as the dominant drivers of LULC changes. The respondents also observed that the decline in forest cover triggered the loss of biodiversity, soil fertility and water availability. Decision-making on issues related to natural resource conservation, utilization and participatory resource management has to involve the engagement of the local community and other stakeholders. The deterioration in ecosystem services such as lack of benefits from medicinal plants from the forest, increase land degradation, and the decrease in water availability found to be the impacts of LULC change. This calls for a proper natural resource management plan and improvement in the livelihood of the community in the study area.

Analysis of participation in collective action initiatives for addressing unilateral agri-environmental externalities

The fact that agriculture is associated with negative external effects on ecosystems is of great concern. Most of these agri-environmental externalities are public goods in nature and therefore solving them through conventional market and regulation tools is challenging. Collective action has been identified as an option in dealing with externalities emanating from activities touching on agriculture and the environment especially in circumstances where markets and government regulation are not effective. In this paper, we assess the potential for collective action in addressing agri-environmental externalities. The study achieves this objective using cross-sectional household survey data collected from 307 households in the Lake Naivasha basin, Kenya. Results indicate that non-participation in collective action initiatives is a dominant strategy in the Lake Naivasha basin. The study also identifies factors that influence the probability of participating and therefore could be catalysts to encourage participation. Such factors include expected private incentives, labour endowments and agricultural commercialization. Positive perceptions and attitudes, the presence of social sanctions and norms of trust were also found to significantly influence participation. To deal with agri-environmental challenges through collective action, policy needs to focus on facilitating selective incentives, awareness creation and embracing local participation in resource management.

Inducing Perspective-Taking for Prosocial Behaviour in Natural Resource Management

Natural resource management often involves social dilemmas. Institutional and behavioural economics have shown that other-regarding preferences and pro-social behaviour can help overcome such dilemmas. Interventions that induce resource users to consider a perspective broader than their own may then be useful to promote and strengthen pro-social behaviour. Such interventions are often applied in participatory resource management approaches. To the best of our knowledge, nonetheless, no previous study has systematically assessed the effect of induced perspective-taking on resource users’ prosocial behaviour in a controlled manner. In this study, we do so in the context of watershed management. We conducted a lab-in-the-field experiment with downstream farmers in a Peruvian watershed. In the experiment, farmers were induced to imagine the perspective of upstream farmers before deciding on a donation that can help these upstream farmers improve their wellbeing without compromising the water supply downstream. We find that induced perspective-taking increases prosocial behaviour. This effect cannot be explained by the additional information on the social and ecological characteristics of the watershed received during the perspective-taking experience, nor by an ‘experimenter demand effect’. Rather the effect of the perspective-taking intervention is likely to work via an activation or strengthening of other-regarding preferences. Our results contribute to the study of pro-social behaviour and the ways it could be induced by interventions targeting other-regarding preferences.

English

Natural resources provide any material from the natural environment that can be used by people for support and sustenance of life on earth with its ecological value and manifold resources. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of rural women in natural resources management and utilization in Ethiopia by taking Delanta as the case. The research design was descriptive survey using stratified random sampling technique along the agro-ecology. Both quantitative and qualitative data collected. The target population was 300 sample households from the total of 2992 households in six Kebeles. The data were analyzed using both descriptive (percentage, mean score, cumulative frequency) and inferential (Chi-Square tests) statistical techniques. The results have shown that women are good natural resources managers and the primary gatherers of fuel-wood (76%), fetching water (71%), agriculture participation (83%) and fodder to meet immediate household needs. However, women are culturally denied the right to register and control land resources. Women have also limited access of technology, skill training, education, extension services and information. The depletion of natural resources directly impact on women with increasing workload and drudgery, and the overall livelihood of people who depend on natural resources. Henceforth, women’s role in natural resources exploitation and management cannot be undermined. To reinforce and build up women’s participation in resources management and sustainable uses, all concerned bodies should take appropriate measures to empower women in decision making, skill training, education, extension services and information.   Key words: Agriculture, environment, natural resources, resources management, resources utilization.

Production of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and diversity of harvesting practices and decision-making processes in northern Thailand’s community forests

Previous research on community forestry in Thailand has mainly focused on its institutional dimensions. Comprehensive knowledge on the production of non-timber forest products and on harvesting practices and decision-making processes is therefore still limited, particularly in relation to community-based forestry. A survey was performed to estimate the production of non-timber forest products and to characterise the diversity of harvesting practices and decision-making processes in northern Thailand’s community forests. Field investigations were conducted once a month for 12 months in seven community forests in the Lainan sub-district in Nan Province, using a grid-based sampling technique. Production and productivity of the main non-timber forest products were calculated by total fresh weight. In-depth interviews were conducted individually with 231 local harvesters to understand their NTFP harvesting practices and decision-making processes. Young shoots of Melientha suavis, queen broods of Oecophylla smaragdina and edible mushrooms were found to be the three main non-timber forest products collected, with productivity of 2, 12, and 2 kg/ha/year, respectively. Harvesting practices were characterised as applied by (A) landless villagers, (B) small- and medium-sized landholders, (C) larger landholders, and (D) outsiders. Local harvesters displayed different decision-making processes in resource harvesting depending on periods of resource availability, the duration of harvests and the quantities harvested. These quantitative data on resource productivity together with knowledge of harvesting practices and decision-making processes among harvesters will provide input to a participatory resource management process to support exchanges of knowledge among local stakeholders and explore scenarios for appropriate rules of access so as to improve the sustainability of non-timber forest product harvesting.

Participatory Water Resource Management in the Bhutan Himalayan Foothill Environment of Baksa District, Assam

Participatory water resource management assumes great significance in the changing context of fresh water availability and use. The forces of market economy, in most cases, have transformed the rural social scenario in such a way that community participation in resource management has become almost a far cry. But the Himalayan foothill area in Assam sets a good example of management and sharing of water resources by the communities living in the area in eco-friendly and socially just ways. This study is an attempt to analyse the traditional management practices called dong-bandh system evolved by the local people to harvest and share the stream water for agricultural and domestic purposes. Based on data collected from secondary sources and generated through primary survey, the study focuses on the organizational set-up of the community participation, water distribution policies, conflict resolution and perception of the people on dong–bandh governance. The challenges faced by this traditional system during the recent period have also been discussed.

How valuing cultural ecosystem services can advance participatory resource management: The case of the Dutch peatlands

•We present a participatory approach to support a local planning process.•Cultural ecosystem service valuation was combined with cost-benefit analysis.•The approach successfully engaged the key stakeholder groups of the research area.•The results enabled deliberations across monetary and social value dimensions.•Stakeholders appreciated the approach’s ability to support planning processes.

Challenges and opportunities associated with the role of forestry in promoting water-energy and food security nexus in Ethiopia

This paper discusses the extent to which decentralised and participatory forest resources management contributes to promoting synergies and reducing trade-offs in the water-energy and food security nexus in Ethiopia. After having briefly highlighted the historical and institutional context of forest management policy in the country, we provide an articulated and holistic nexus framework that takes into account the complementarity and interconnectedness that emerge from simultaneous natural resources uses. Moreover, the proposed framework takes into account the competing interests that exist between forest and other natural resources such as water, energy and land use for agriculture. Forest policy is therefore elaborated in a broader context where there are synergies and trade-offs associated with natural resource management. This paper finally outlines the institutional settings and governance structures that support a nexus management approach, which provides policy innovations that are required to achieve optimal economic and non-economic values of forest and alternative natural resources uses.

Forming perceptions and the limits to public participation on ocean commons: evidence from a citizens jury workshop

This article presents data from a citizens jury-inspired deliberative workshop held to tease out stakeholder views of management priorities for a section of the North Sea: the Dogger Bank. As this article reveals, the lessons learned from the Dogger Bank workshop advocate not simply what is required for managing one particular ocean commons, but also highlight some of the public participation research design failings, taking public participation in resource management further by adding to the literature and theoretical discussions on the public sphere. Analysis of the citizens jury-inspired deliberative workshop also highlights the critical issue of power inherent, yet often unacknowledged, in public participation in environmental management. Stakeholder opinions uncovered through workshop discussions also show how commons are viewed today – as an economic resource-- highlighting the trend of the mainstreaming of the commodification of the commons.

Evidenciação do Controle Social nas Prestações de Contas do Programa Dinheiro Direto na Escola no Município do Rio de Janeiro

Education in Brazil have expanded the debate concerning the quality offered, as well as being a constitutional guarantee, there are the State's efforts in the allocation of financial resources annually. In the case of Basic Education was created in 2007 the Direct Money in School Program (DMSP) that the Union transfers financial assistance to state and local public schools, and encourage widespread participation in resource management. Thus, the study’s objective was to investigate how civil society involved in the management of public resources of TSA, in a descriptive research with a quantitative and qualitative approach. The data collection was a documentary research: 29 accounts rendered digitized Direct Money in School Program (DMSP) from schools and day care centers located in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro for the year 2012. Consolidating research, we sought to understand the perception of the Director of School / Day Care and President of the Community Council-School on the subject employing a questionnaire. In addition to the Audit Services scanned the TSA was checked for evidence of compliance with the principle of accountability and encouraging the social control in the electronic media. The results show the need to improve the participation of civil society, given that this study found that schools/nurseries do not provide the program information on official websites, minimizing transparency, and there is the existence of oversight failures in the assessment of benefits accounts and composition of the Councils.

COMMUNITY TOURISM DEVELOPMENT: PROPOSITIONS BASED ON EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM SRI LANKA

Reaching the goals of socio-economic development is an important aspect for any country that largely depends on the stock of resources available as well as efficiency and effectiveness of managing those resources. This study critically views on the area of development that necessarily to be inclusive of community participation and especially draws its attention to the context of alternative livelihood development and participatory resource management. The study follows the qualitative approach and multiple case study design where empirical evidence gathered from in-depth interviews at two phases as a longitudinal study. Based on the analysis, three major propositions have been developed. The discussion takes a critical reflection on community tourism experience of Sri Lanka with the support of propositions. Further, theoretical and managerial implications have also been surfaced in order to characterises Sri Lankan perspective on Community Environmental and Tourism Initiatives (CETIs).

Enforcement encourages participation in resource management: explaining a fisheries management paradox in Hawaii

AbstractThis paper uses a case study of fisheries co‐management in Hawaii to explore barriers to community participation in resource management and the reasons for these impediments. Our study suggests that while fishers may disobey regulations to maximise personal gain, they may also understand the necessity for regulations and desire more stringent enforcement. This seeming paradox reflects the tension between a recognised need to conserve resources through restricting harvests and competitive pressure among individual fishers. When fishers observe insufficient enforcement on the part of government agencies, this may fuel an already present sense of disrespect for and distrust of the government, inhibiting community participation in co‐management efforts. This study suggests that rather than attempting to directly encourage community members to participate in co‐management efforts, managers should instead focus on enhancing enforcement to alleviate communities' frustration and disrespect. Thus, enhanced enforcement efforts may boost participation in management activities and lead to a more sustainably managed resource.

Retracted: Environmental Conflict between Internally Displaced Persons and Host Communities in Iraq

The environment, population and conflict thesis remains major to existing environment and security arguments. Throughout the 1990s, a huge increase in scholarship and policy focus was committed to unraveling the linkages amongst the three parameters. While it can very easily be asserted that both the analysis and policy communities have made substantial improvements, the academic results and policy instructions continue to be the subject matter of intense discussion. This article explores an assumptive method for the environment–conflict connection that views a collection of local parameters. The variable of resource management regimes is explored in more detail, illustrated by a case study from an Iraqi Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp. The article finds theoretical and empirical evidence to support the view that participatory and inclusive resource management regimes may enable communities to construct resource-use conflicts in ways that help to prevent unproductive conflict. Such forms of governance can potentially be initiated in places where the state is failing to mitigate conflict through its own institutional resources. Thus, there may be an opportunity to respond to the ‘ingenuity gap’ that Homer-Dixon identifies as a key linkage between scarcity and conflict.

Caught Between Mediation and Local Dependence: Understanding the Role of Non-government Organisations in Co-management of Coastal Resources in Eastern Indonesia

ABSTRACTResolving contestations over resource management rights around coastal villages remains a focal challenge for co-management initiatives in remote coastal zones. Contemporary socio-political settings increasingly see local people having to negotiate between local long-standing (horizontal) relationships and new emerging (vertical) relationships which involve collaborations with outside actors who try to assume neutral mediating positions. Using two conflicts, this article examines the rise and fall of a participatory coastal resource management program in eastern Indonesia involving a fishing community engaged in a co-management arrangement with a conservation non-government organisation (NGO). An actor-oriented approach is applied to analyse how these conflicts shape, drive and direct collaborations across the community–NGO interface. We discuss how these impact the implementation of the conservation ethics and sustainable natural resource management practices, and show how particular mediating capacities of an NGO may overcome, and even build forth on, conflict in some contexts but fall short in others. We argue that local resource user groups and conservation teams operate according to strong local relationships that are entrenched in cultural–historical hierarchies of power. We moreover note that these local relationships significantly influence the extent of neutrality of external groups in their mediating, coordinating and technical advisory roles. The effectiveness of co-management partnerships hinges on the ability to balance actors’ mediating capacity with their local dependence for operation.

Green Watershed in Yunnan: a multi-scalar analysis of environmental non-governmental organisation (eNGO) relationships in China

ABSTRACTResponding to China's major environmental challenges, researchers are increasingly exploring dynamics between international non-governmental organisations, the nation-state, and local communities. Much less understood are domestic environmental non-governmental organisations (eNGOs) and their interactions with actors across scales. This paper responds by exploring domestic eNGOs and interactions with institutional actors, including international donors, and with levels of Chinese government. The practices of eNGOs in China are influenced by interactions at various scales. Rather than being directly influenced by international partners and simply constrained by state regulations, Chinese eNGOs are embedded in more complex power relations. These interrelationships are exemplified in the operations of Green Watershed, a domestic eNGO working in Yunnan Province. Green Watershed has extensive interactions with international donors and various levels of government as a result of its national campaign and long-term local projects. Relationships between eNGOs’ international donors and the Chinese government are significant in influencing eNGO practice. NGO–government relations in China are inconsistent and constantly changing owing to the diverse interests and priorities of the various levels of government. The impacts of the local practice of Chinese eNGOs are deeply informed by their relationships both at and beyond the local level. Complex interrelationships make it difficult to achieve bottom-up, participatory resource management in China.

Assessing Farmers’ Perception of Enclosures, Kewot District, Northeastern Ethiopia

The environmental and socioeconomic effects of land resources degradation are severe, especially in developing nations, where inappropriate land use and farming systems are practiced. Consequently, management options like enclosures are among rehabilitation strategies practiced in the degraded areas of Ethiopia. This study was conducted to assess the farmers’ perception of enclosures in Kewot District, North Shoa, Ethiopia. Observation and questionnaire were used to collect data in the study sites. A total of 168 households were selected from two peasant associations using systematic sampling technique. Data were presented in descriptive statistics. The results indicated that the local farmers had perceived the existence of land degradation and its possible causes. Local farmers perceived enclosures positively and are optimistic to the performance of enclosures. However, the benefit sharing has satisfied the community moderately. As a result, participatory resource management strategy is recommended to ensure the sustainability of the enclosures.