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 1: Introduction: People, Forests and the Need for Adaptation • 7<br />
The project attempted to answer three basic research questions:<br />
1. Can an adaptive <strong>collaborative</strong> <strong>management</strong> approach be<br />
effectively catalysed and susta<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> <strong>community</strong> forestry systems?<br />
If so, under what conditions is it needed and what factors and<br />
conditions affect its uptake, impacts and <strong>in</strong>stitutionalisation?<br />
2. What strategies, processes, arrangements and tools can catalyse<br />
and susta<strong>in</strong> <strong>management</strong> and governance based <strong>in</strong> social learn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and collaboration among diverse stakeholders?<br />
3. What are the <strong>in</strong>fluences <strong>of</strong> an ACM approach on people and<br />
<strong>forests</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>community</strong> forestry systems, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g effects on<br />
<strong>in</strong>stitutions, social capital, livelihoods and forest condition or<br />
value?<br />
In each country and each site, the three questions were nested among<br />
several other, more site- and stakeholder-specific questions. The project<br />
used action research because it makes little sense to study questions<br />
about collaboration, learn<strong>in</strong>g and improvement passively. ACM is a<br />
relatively new approach. Although closely related to other learn<strong>in</strong>gbased<br />
approaches to <strong>management</strong> (and explicitly based on a comb<strong>in</strong>ation<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>collaborative</strong> <strong>management</strong> and adaptive <strong>management</strong>), ACM seeks to<br />
test a unique concept and identify, develop and test practical processes<br />
and tools for its application. Without tak<strong>in</strong>g specific action to <strong>in</strong>troduce<br />
and facilitate local implementation <strong>of</strong> the approach and its support<strong>in</strong>g<br />
processes, we could not have critically assessed its utility.<br />
An <strong>in</strong>itial problem was to identify a research methodology that would<br />
enable the project to comb<strong>in</strong>e action and rigorous observation and<br />
analysis <strong>of</strong> processes and outcomes. In fact, the ACM project used a<br />
mixture <strong>of</strong> methods, from conventional surveys through action research<br />
and participatory action research (PAR). Of the three, PAR was probably<br />
the most important and characterised much <strong>of</strong> the outcome <strong>of</strong> the three<br />
years <strong>of</strong> research.<br />
Action research consciously attempts to comb<strong>in</strong>e research with action.<br />
It can be thought <strong>of</strong> as a form <strong>of</strong> applied research. However, applied<br />
research typically separates research and application <strong>in</strong>to dist<strong>in</strong>ct phases:<br />
the research is carried out and then applied (Fisher and Jackson 1999). In<br />
action research, the learn<strong>in</strong>g part (research) is carried out as part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
action: the action leads to learn<strong>in</strong>g, and the new learn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>forms future<br />
action steps. This process is generally thought <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong> terms <strong>of</strong> repeated<br />
cycles <strong>of</strong> plann<strong>in</strong>g, action, observation and reflection, lead<strong>in</strong>g to new