Adaptive collaborative management of community forests in Asia ...
Adaptive collaborative management of community forests in Asia ...
Adaptive collaborative management of community forests in Asia ...
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Chapter 5: Muddl<strong>in</strong>g Towards Cooperation <strong>in</strong> Mal<strong>in</strong>au • 153<br />
method <strong>of</strong> facilitation, but rather to have a last<strong>in</strong>g impact on the power and<br />
<strong>in</strong>fluence <strong>of</strong> local communities and their access to government.<br />
Outcomes<br />
Despite the lack <strong>of</strong> strong, shared <strong>in</strong>stitutions to guide cooperation, our<br />
efforts <strong>of</strong> the past five years have had clear impacts. Dur<strong>in</strong>g our annual<br />
<strong>in</strong>ter<strong>community</strong> workshop <strong>in</strong> 2003, a CIFOR staff member unconnected<br />
with our project asked the 52 <strong>community</strong> participants to evaluate the<br />
benefits or utility <strong>of</strong> CIFOR. The participants reported the follow<strong>in</strong>g:<br />
• CIFOR has expanded our th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g, helped us understand conditions<br />
elsewhere, <strong>in</strong>creased our <strong>in</strong>formation and experience, improved<br />
our human resources and provided feedback about our situation.<br />
• It has helped our <strong>community</strong> advance and develop and has provided<br />
<strong>in</strong>put to the <strong>community</strong> through advice and explanations.<br />
• It has improved relationships among villages, reduced conflicts and<br />
helped with boundaries.<br />
• It has helped bridge communities and government and created<br />
space to meet with government.<br />
• It has improved our awareness about forest conservation.<br />
Such responses reflect the types <strong>of</strong> impacts that facilitat<strong>in</strong>g cooperation and<br />
shared learn<strong>in</strong>g can have. They also suggest that these types <strong>of</strong> impacts,<br />
though <strong>in</strong>tangible, are valued.<br />
Dur<strong>in</strong>g an evaluation <strong>in</strong> June 2003, an <strong>in</strong>dependent consultant <strong>in</strong>terviewed<br />
villagers and government <strong>of</strong>ficials. Most villagers considered the mapp<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to be the most concrete outcome <strong>of</strong> our work, followed by shar<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong>formation. ‘We now know a lot’, said one Punan man. A Punan village<br />
leader added, ‘There was a change after CIFOR came. Before, we were too<br />
closed. After CIFOR, we became more open about government ... CIFOR<br />
helps villagers to deliver <strong>in</strong>formation, to make requests to government.’<br />
A number <strong>of</strong> respondents commented, however, that the mapp<strong>in</strong>g process<br />
had not been acknowledged by government and had led to conflict.<br />
Others observed that CIFOR had been ‘mostly talk’ and had generated<br />
little tangible economic benefits for communities. A Merap village leader<br />
observed, ‘After I came back from the cross-visit, I had a meet<strong>in</strong>g with<br />
the village. They wanted to make a rubber plantation and we proposed<br />
this to CIFOR. CIFOR only replied that we should contact government.’