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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70 • Cynthia McDougall, Hemant Ojha, Raj Kumar Pandey, Mani Ram Banjade and Bishnu Hari Pandit<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>ual improvements <strong>in</strong> <strong>forests</strong>, resource <strong>management</strong> and governance,<br />
and people’s well-be<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Understand<strong>in</strong>g who ‘w<strong>in</strong>s’ and who ‘loses’: track<strong>in</strong>g and assess<strong>in</strong>g<br />
participation and benefit shar<strong>in</strong>g. Dur<strong>in</strong>g the PAR, the Bamdibhir and<br />
Deurali-Bagedanda CFUGs developed a process to track and assess who<br />
<strong>in</strong> the CFUG was participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>, contribut<strong>in</strong>g to and benefit<strong>in</strong>g from<br />
<strong>community</strong> forestry activities. This ‘equity assessment process’ was a<br />
simple one that cross-checked participation and benefits aga<strong>in</strong>st a wealth<br />
and diversity rank<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> all CFUG members. Very importantly, the rank<strong>in</strong>g<br />
as well as the ongo<strong>in</strong>g assessment were transparent and accessible to all.<br />
Although this track<strong>in</strong>g is a form <strong>of</strong> self-monitor<strong>in</strong>g, we highlight it separately<br />
to underscore its significance as a mechanism to make equity more explicit<br />
<strong>in</strong> CFUGs. It helped forest users and committees observe the degree to<br />
which CFUG decisions and actions (e.g., benefit distribution) matched<br />
their stated objectives regard<strong>in</strong>g equity. Furthermore, <strong>in</strong> some cases it was<br />
used as leverage by marg<strong>in</strong>alised users to hold the committee accountable to<br />
its commitments to equity (as illustrated <strong>in</strong> ‘Outcomes: human capital’).<br />
Plann<strong>in</strong>g to learn: <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g some aspect <strong>of</strong> ‘conscious learn<strong>in</strong>g’ <strong>in</strong> every<br />
activity. Some action groups built the ACM element <strong>of</strong> ‘conscious and<br />
shared learn<strong>in</strong>g’ <strong>in</strong>to their activity plann<strong>in</strong>g by, for example, implement<strong>in</strong>g<br />
activities as small trials or experiments with learn<strong>in</strong>g questions, monitor<strong>in</strong>g<br />
their progress and adjust<strong>in</strong>g their plans. Other groups, such as those<br />
consider<strong>in</strong>g a bamboo handicraft enterprise and a sawmill <strong>in</strong> the Kaski sites<br />
tried out a simple form <strong>of</strong> ‘systems analysis’ to help them assess potential<br />
risks and identify uncerta<strong>in</strong>ties. The motivation for tak<strong>in</strong>g this learn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
approach was to m<strong>in</strong>imise risks and optimise outcomes by enhanc<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
effectiveness <strong>of</strong> plann<strong>in</strong>g and actions. For example, one action group wanted<br />
to establish a bamboo nursery to produce seedl<strong>in</strong>gs for the CFUG and for<br />
sale but knew it was risky because past efforts had had m<strong>in</strong>imal success.<br />
They therefore developed ‘learn<strong>in</strong>g questions’ to research, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g<br />
reasons for past failures and specific technical questions about bamboo<br />
seedl<strong>in</strong>g care and propagation. They conducted <strong>in</strong>-depth <strong>in</strong>terviews with<br />
the ma<strong>in</strong> caretaker <strong>of</strong> the previous nursery <strong>in</strong>itiative and sought technical<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation and literature from outside actors. As a result, their nursery<br />
plants had a much higher survival rate.<br />
The overall changes <strong>in</strong> structures and processes are illustrated <strong>in</strong> Figures<br />
3-2 and 3-3. Figure 3-2 shows a common model <strong>of</strong> CFUG structures and<br />
processes, drawn from patterns observed <strong>in</strong> the four ma<strong>in</strong> case study sites