Participatory Rural Appraisal Exercises Research Articles

Evaluating community projects through participatory rural appraisal: case study of a CSR initiative in India

ABSTRACT The success of any project depends on the stakeholder participation. There are many methods by which stakeholder participation is ensured in a project. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is an approach that is used by many development projects to incorporate knowledge and opinions of the stakeholders, especially the beneficiaries, in various stages like planning, implementation, and evaluation. This paper documents a PRA exercise done by trained social work students to evaluate a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects implemented in India. Apart from highlighting the process of conducting PRA, this paper sheds light on the possibility of using participatory methods like PRA to assess CSR projects in India, which ensures the inclusion of the perception of beneficiaries. The research adopted a case study approach, and the participants were the beneficiaries of CSR projects in the community. Qualitative feedback was also taken from 20 participants to understand the advantages of using participatory tools in the performance evaluation of CSR. The group discussions, in-depth interviews and PRA techniques were adopted to gather data. The findings underline the relevance of social work professionals in CSR initiatives and also the role of PRA in empowering the beneficiaries.

Participatory rural appraisal for identification ethno-veterinary practices among primitive tribal groups of Girwa block, Udaipur, India

The participatory rural appraisal (PRA) exercise was conducted in Girwa block of Udaipur, India. Girwa (Geog. Lat. 24.58° N, Geog. Long. 73.6962° E) is a part of southern Aravali hills wherein 28% of the population belongs to the primitive tribal groups such as the Bheels, Meena, Gameti and Rawat. Since, animal husbandry is the main economic activity for tribal people of southern Aravali zone; it is important to study current animal health care system in the region. It was in this context that the PRA exercise was done as a pilot study to document, rapidly assess, and promote ethnoveterinary practices. The field work conducted in 15 villages and on 3742 animals which were being reared by the community under study to support agriculture and for milk purpose . A total 26 animal diseases in which ethnoveterinary practices were resorted to and 15 ethno-veterinary medicinal plants were identified as part of the study.

Documentation of floristic diversity & traditional knowledge: A case study of Block Bhunga, district Hoshiarpur, Punjab (India)

The present study aimed to prepare Biodiversity Registers of two villages (Bassi Umar Khan and Atwarapur) in Bhunga block of District Hoshiarpur, Punjab. For the preparation of biodiversity registers, the vegetation of study area, local name, it's associated traditional knowledge, information about community or knowledge holders, conservation status, etc. were documented by using participatory rural appraisal exercise. A total of 294 plant species (including 288 Angiosperms, 3 Gymnosperms & 3 Pteridophytes) belonging to 232 genera and 79 families were recorded from the study area. Fabaceae was the most dominant family followed by Poaceae, Asteraceae, Cucurbitaceae, Solanaceae, etc. Out of 294 species, 142 were herbaceous, 66 trees, 52 shrubs and 34 climbers. Among 294 recorded plant species, only 78 plants were used traditionally in medicinal formulations. This accounted for 26.5% of total reported flora from the study area. Maximum number of herbs were used in different medicinal preparations followed by trees, shrubs and climbers. Maximum numbers of plants (25) were used to treat various gastrointestinal disorders and16 plant species were found to be good to control diabetes. From t he present study, it was concluded that, a rich floristic diversity and traditional knowledge is existing in the study area.

The use and usefulness of inventory-based management planning to forest management: Evidence from community forestry in Nepal

This paper examines the use and usefulness of inventory-based management planning to practical forest management in processes of community forestry in Nepal. The paper is based on case studies in four Community-Forestry User Groups (CFUG) in the mid-Hills of Nepal and draws upon semi-structured interviews, participatory rural appraisal exercises and analyses of aerial photographs. First, we find that the operational plans supposed to guide community-level management are based on sub-standard forest inventories, which limits their potential role in practical forest management. Second, we find that community-level managers do not rely on the operational plans in their practical forest management. Finally, we find that community-level forest managers in these four cases have managed to conserve their community forests over time and appear knowledgeable about the developments in the condition of their forests in the sense that their impressions of past and current forest condition are mirrored in what we can observe from analysis of change in forest condition based on aerial photographs. Based on these results we question the usefulness of inventory-based management planning in the context of community forestry.

Occupational transitions in three coastal villages in Central Java, Indonesia, in the context of sea level rise: a case study

The transition from one system to another as a mechanism of adaptation to an external disturbance is widely discussed in terms of ‘regime shifts’ in resilience research. But occupational transitions by communities due to coastal hazards such as coastal erosion and strong waves have not been studied in depth from a systems perspective. Such a perspective can contribute towards a better understanding of the process and pattern behind transformation among coastal societies. The present case study of coastal occupational communities in Central Java province, Indonesia, includes fishers, brackish pond farmers and labourers. It investigates the historical occupational transitions and the factors that drive them. The study draws on Participatory Rural Appraisal exercises such as historical timeline analysis and participatory discussions along with a socio-economic survey to study the factors and processes that led these communities to transitional pathways. Historical narratives of the community reveal the significance and influence of livelihood capitals such as social, human, financial, physical and natural capital in the transitions. Through the ‘Marble and Cup’ conceptual framework of the systems transitions, the irreversibility of occupational transitions due to the destruction of natural assets is outlined. This depicts a multi-locale and one-dimensional transition to a singular occupational mode (essentially labourers) in the face of a disturbance like sea level rise, necessitating transformation and building of the livelihood capitals across geographical scales.

A multidimensional approach to measure poverty in rural Bangladesh.

Poverty is increasingly being understood as a multidimensional phenomenon. Other than income-consumption, which has been extensively studied in the past, health, education, shelter, and social involvement are among the most important dimensions of poverty. The present study attempts to develop a simple tool to measure poverty in its multidimensionality where it views poverty as an inadequate fulfillment of basic needs, such as food, clothing, shelter, health, education, and social involvement. The scale score ranges between 72 and 24 and is constructed in such a way that the score increases with increasing level of poverty. Using various techniques, the study evaluates the poverty-measurement tool and provides evidence for its reliability and validity by administering it in various areas of rural Bangladesh. The reliability coefficients, such as test-retest coefficient (0.85) and Cronbach's alpha (0.80) of the tool, were satisfactorily high. Based on the socioeconomic status defined by the participatory rural appraisal (PRA) exercise, the level of poverty identified by the scale was 33% in Chakaria, 26% in Matlab, and 32% in other rural areas of the country. The validity of these results was tested against some traditional methods of identifying the poor, and the association of the scores with that of the traditional indicators, such as ownership of land and occupation, asset index (r=0.72), and the wealth ranking obtained from the PRA exercise, was consistent. A statistically significant inverse relationship of the poverty scores with the socioeconomic status was observed in all cases. The scale also allowed the absolute level of poverty to be measured, and in the present study, the highest percentage of absolute poor was found in terms of health (44.2% in Chakaria, 36.4% in Matlab, and 39.1% in other rural areas), followed by social exclusion (35.7% in Chakaria, 28.5% in Matlab, and 22.3% in other rural areas), clothing (6.2% in Chakaria, 8.3% in Matlab, and 20% in other rural areas), education (14.7% in Chakaria, 8% in Matlab, and 16.8% in other rural areas), food (7.8% in Chakaria, 2.9% in Matlab and 3% in other rural areas), and shelter (0.8% in Chakaria, 1.4% in Matlab, and 3.7% in other rural areas). This instrument will also prove itself invaluable in assessing the individual effects of poverty-alleviation programmes or policies on all these different dimensions.

Protected area managers' perceptions of community conservation training in West and Central Africa

Training needs assessments have revealed the need for people-oriented training to increase the job performance of African protected area (PA) managers. The Garoua regional wildlife college for francophone Africa (Cameroon) developed the first long (diploma and certificate) and refresher courses in community conservation for mid-career PA managers and guards from West and Central Africa. Through lectures, case studies and participatory rural appraisal exercises, the courses emphasized the development of skills for tuning principles of people participation to the conservation objectives of PAs. The present study reviews the trainees' evaluations of these courses, to appreciate their relevance and support their further development. Diploma students judged the course as highly relevant because of the acquired analytical skills, whereas certificate students considered them only of medium relevance. The response to short refresher courses varied as a function of the use of cases from either the trainees' professional experience or from the fieldwork location. The reactions of trainees to this learning opportunity show that PA personnel are not ‘attitude-limited’ as often suggested. Their constraints to develop a more people-oriented work style lie largely in the areas of knowledge and skills. These findings point to the need for increased efforts to implement training of PA personnel in community conservation, preferably early in their careers.

Participatory methods of incorporating scientific with traditional knowledge for volcanic hazard management on Ambae Island, Vanuatu

Ambae Island is the largest of Vanuatu's active volcanoes. It is also one of the nation's potentially most dangerous, with 60 million m 3 of lake-water perched at over 1340 m in the summit caldera and over the ac- tive vent. In 1995, small phreatic explosions, earthquake swarms and heightened gas release led to calls for evacuation preparation and community volcanic hazard awareness programs for the ~9500 inhabitants. Differences in perspective or world-view between the island dwellers adhering to traditional beliefs (Kastom) and external sci- entists and emergency managers led to a climate of distrust following this crisis. In an attempt to address these issues, rebuild dialogue and respect between communities, out- side scientists and administrators, and move forward in volcanic hazard education and planning for Ambae, we adapted and applied Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) approaches. Initial gender-segregated PRA exercises from two representative communities provided a mechanism for cataloguing local traditional viewpoints and hazard per- ceptions. Ultimately, by combining elements of these viewpoints and perceptions with science-based manage- ment structures, we derived volcanic hazard management guidelines, supported by an alert system and map that were more readily accepted by the test communities than the earlier "top-down" plans imposed by outside govern- mental and scientific agencies. The strength of PRA ap- proaches is that they permit scientists to understand important local perspective issues, including visualisations of volcanic hazards, weaknesses in internal and external communication systems, and gender and hierarchy con- flicts, all of which can hinder community emergency management. The approach we describe has much to offer both developing and industrialised communities that wish to improve their awareness programs and mitigative planning. This approach should also enhance communi- cation and understanding between volcanologists and the communities they serve.

INTEGRATING RURAL COMMUNITY AND EXPERT KNOWLEDGE THROUGH APPLIED PARTICIPATORY RURAL APPRAISAL IN THE KAT RIVER VALLEY, SOUTH AFRICA

ABSTRACT Applied rural development research requires new and innovative research methodologies which can yield results of benefit to both the researcher and the community in question. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) is advocated as a method which has the potential to help address socio-economic conditions in rural Africa. This paper details an applied PRA exercise which led to the improvement in the quality of water supply in a South African rural community. The case-study integrated expert and community knowledge in order to assist the community to identify potential opportunities and threats in relation to their domestic water supply. This has enabled the community to better manage their resource. The paper provides an insight into the potential of PRA to facilitate locally appropriate, pro-active development and, in so-doing, to help contribute to community well-being.