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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168 • Herl<strong>in</strong>a Hartanto<br />
Another major challenge is the mismatch between DENR’s legal, technical<br />
and adm<strong>in</strong>istrative requirements and the POs’ capabilities. Not only were<br />
the requirements excessive, they were also <strong>of</strong>ten ambiguous, contradictory<br />
and irrelevant to realities on the ground (Edmunds and Wollenberg 2001;<br />
O’Hara 2002). This situation was compounded by frequent policy changes<br />
and <strong>in</strong>sufficient <strong>in</strong>formation shar<strong>in</strong>g between central and local <strong>of</strong>fices <strong>of</strong><br />
DENR and the resultant policy mis<strong>in</strong>terpretations (Devanadera et al. 2002;<br />
Hartanto and Evangelista 2002). The POs had <strong>in</strong>sufficient knowledge<br />
and capacities and could not rely on support from the understaffed local<br />
<strong>of</strong>fices. Often, there was only one site coord<strong>in</strong>ator for every three to five<br />
<strong>community</strong> <strong>forests</strong> (Diaz and Bacalla 2002; Cayatoc 2002). In such a<br />
situation, it was hardly surpris<strong>in</strong>g that the POs <strong>of</strong>ten failed to meet the<br />
agency’s requirements to participate <strong>in</strong> the programme. This tight regulatory<br />
control contradicted the spirit <strong>of</strong> devolution <strong>in</strong> forest <strong>management</strong> and<br />
underm<strong>in</strong>ed the partnerships the agency was supposed to foster with the<br />
communities.<br />
Test<strong>in</strong>g ACM <strong>in</strong> <strong>community</strong> forestry<br />
The ACM Philipp<strong>in</strong>e team hypothesised that the ACM approach and<br />
processes (Chapter 2) could enhance the capabilities <strong>of</strong> the people’s<br />
organisations and local stakeholders <strong>in</strong> deal<strong>in</strong>g with the political, ecological<br />
and socio-economic challenges they faced and improve <strong>community</strong><br />
forestry <strong>in</strong> several ways. First, through proper identification <strong>of</strong> stakeholders<br />
and deliberate engagement <strong>of</strong> key stakeholders <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>formation shar<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and collective action, ACM would enhance participation and foster<br />
genu<strong>in</strong>e partnerships. Second, through social learn<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>collaborative</strong><br />
monitor<strong>in</strong>g, ACM would help POs and local stakeholders respond to the<br />
broader socio-economic and political shifts and adapt their <strong>management</strong><br />
strategies accord<strong>in</strong>gly. Lastly, by putt<strong>in</strong>g POs squarely at the center <strong>of</strong> all<br />
<strong>in</strong>novation, ACM would strengthen members’ skills and awareness so<br />
that they could become more self-reliant and self-confident <strong>in</strong> address<strong>in</strong>g<br />
their problems and <strong>in</strong> manag<strong>in</strong>g forest resources. Collective action, social<br />
learn<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>collaborative</strong> monitor<strong>in</strong>g would empower POs and produce<br />
long-term positive impacts. The team used participatory action research as<br />
the ma<strong>in</strong> methodology to enhance collaboration and adaptation <strong>in</strong> forest<br />
<strong>management</strong>.