Adaptive collaborative management of community forests in Asia ...

74 • Cynthia McDougall, Hemant Ojha, Raj Kumar Pandey, Mani Ram Banjade and Bishnu Hari Pandit
knowledge that appeared important to success include an understanding of
the concept and practice of self-monitoring as a learning and planning tool;
an understanding of the concept of conscious learning and experimentation
in management; application of bookkeeping and recordkeeping in the
field; and some technical forestry knowledge and skills. As with the above
attitudes, the development of these skills was a process or an ‘ideal’—they
were not fully achieved in all sites.
Outcomes: changes in livelihood assets
In this section we explore some of the changes that occurred in the four
main case study sites during the PAR phase of the research. Although we
observed only a one- to two-year period, the outcomes offer insights into
the effects of shifts in approach, processes and structures of institutional,
social, human, natural and financial capital. Following this section,
we look at preliminary findings of the followup project in terms of the
institutionalisation of the ACM approach and longer-term outcomes.
Clearly, changes in all the dimensions of capital were influenced by multiple
forces. We discuss here the changes we perceive as likely attributable to
the shift towards ACM-based processes and institutional arrangements.
Although there is no way to definitively prove causality here, many of the
changes emerged directly from the CFUGs’ prioritisation and planning of
innovations and actions in the ACM-based self-monitoring and planning
processes. Furthermore, in the tracking and assessing of the sites throughout
the research period, the research teams observed no other direct forces—
such as nongovernmental interventions or governmental or network
projects—acting on the CFUG processes and institutions that seemed
causally related to the outcomes 18 .
At the same time, while we believe the shift to an ACM process drove
these changes, we also acknowledge the significance of several other
influences. One was the conflict between the government and Maoists,
which slowed community forestry activity because of security restrictions
and reduced space for open meetings in the conflict-prone areas. Yet it
may also have opened up some opportunities for CFUGs and other actors
to take leadership roles as government services receded. Furthermore, the
broader democratic movement and awareness of equity issues, as well as
direct pressure by Maoists on those they considered elite, likely contributed
to the momentum for shifting power away from the dominant community