Carrying out action research with forest dependent communities calls for special attention to their tenure arrangement, power relations, heterogeneity and the governance arrangements of the forests they use or manage. This is what over four years of CIFOR s research on adaptive collaborative management (ACM) of forests in eleven countries reveals. Using examples from three of those countries we show how important it is to address passiveness, power relations and social and institutional capitals during a process of action research, and participatory action research, aimed at improving livelihoods, equity and forest systems. The ACM research also shows that processes of change tend to be slow, and four years is barely enough to bring about observable changes. The most sensitive livelihood capitals to the action research, possibly because they were primary foci of the research, were human and social capitals. The ACM research shows the importance of shared or social learning as a driver of change in the action research. We conclude that using action research with forest dependent people, groups and organizations is a viable approach to generating both change and understanding about the people and the forest systems.
Tag: community involvement
Action research as a strategy for collaborative management in Ottotomo
Improving equity and livelihoods in community forestry: a global action research initiative in support of a strategic partnership on rights and resources
In 2006, the Center for International Forestry Research, in coordination with the Rights and Resources Initiative, launched a global research project in over 30 sites in 10 countries aimed at understanding the origins, nature and initial outcomes of forest tenure reform. The countries are in Asia (India, Nepal and the Philippines), Africa (Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Ghana) and Latin America (Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala and Nicaragua). Preliminary research was also conducted in Laos. The project took a rights-based approach and had the simultaneous goals of studying the forest tenure reform and catalysing efforts to advance local control and sustainable forest management The result is a wealth of multi-scalar information and analysis obtained through diverse entities and methods and covering a large variety of reforms in multiple contexts. This CD Rom presents a number of project outputs. It includes 12 country and region reports, 8 policy briefs, 2 Latin America synthesis reports, and several conference papers, journal articles and book chapters. These publications can be accessed by country, and cross-country comparisons are organised by world region. The CD Rom also includes the introductory chapter to Forests for People: Community Rights and Forest Tenure Reform – a book analysing key cross-cutting issues from the research
Rights-based approaches: Exploring issues and opportunities for conservation
The links between human rights and biodiversity and natural resource conservation are many and complex. The conservation community is being challenged to take stronger measures to respect human rights and is taking opportunities to further their realisation. ‘Rights-based approaches’ (RBAs) to conservation are a promising way forward, but also raise a myriad of new challenges and questions, including what such approaches are, when and how they can be put into practice, and what their implications are for conservation.This volume gives an overview of key issues and questions in RBA. Rights and social justice related policies of major international organisations are reviewed. Case studies and position papers describe RBAs in a variety of contexts – protected areas, natural resource management, access and benefit-sharing regimes, and proposed reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) mechanisms. No one blueprint for RBA emerges. However, there are common themes: supporting both procedural and substantive rights, linking rights and responsibilities, equalising power relations, providing capacity building for rights holders and duty bearers, and recognising and engaging with local leaders and local people. RBAs can support improved governance but are, in turn, shaped by the governance systems in which they operate, as well as by history, politics, socio-economics and culture. Experience and dialogue will add to a fuller understanding of the promises and challenges of RBAs to conservation. The aim of this volume is to contribute to that discussion.
Challenges and opportunities in blue carbon mangrove value chain financing in Indonesia
Key messages
- Public finance remains the backbone of mangrove investment in Indonesia, channelling resources through national budgets, subnational implementation systems and international partnerships.
- Market-based mechanisms, especially voluntary carbon approaches, have gained the most attention in blue carbon mangrove value chain (BCMVC) financing based on integrating monitoring systems with national carbon registries, with civil society organizations taking a leading role in grounding, developing and testing diverse business models.
- Indonesia has established a strong regulatory and institutional framework for blue carbon finance and investment, but scaling will depend on transaction readiness. Priority actions include clarifying carbon rights and authorization, strengthening benefit sharing arrangements, improving the affordability and credibility of measurement, reporting and verification (MRV), and operationalizing trust funds, PPPs and revenue-linked systems so projects can move from design to deals.
- A well-designed blue carbon mangrove value chain can generate triple dividends through climate mitigation and adaptation, coastal resilience and biodiversity gains, and improved livelihoods and social equity, especially when local communities are engaged as co-designers, co-managers and beneficiaries.
- Governance and capacity are the main enablers of equitable scaling. Capacity development should focus on what makes projects investable and inclusive, particularly MRV, project structuring, benefit sharing and community negotiation skills, so government, communities and market actors can reduce transaction costs and deliver credible, bankable mangrove projects.
Assessing CREMAs’ Capacity to Govern Landscape Resources in the Western Wildlife Corridor of Northern Ghana
Ghana initiated community resource management areas (CREMAs) as a community-based natural management approach to give local communities the right and power to manage natural resources within their territorial boundaries. The expectation is that communities and their environment would prosper through more equitable landscape governance and sustainable use of natural resources. However, the challenges to achieving full functionality of CREMA and expected results, particularly in the Western Wildlife Corridor in northern Ghana, raise questions about the governance actors’ capacity. Therefore, this study aims to assess the capacity of actors to take ownership of and lead the governance processes implied by the CREMA approach. Based on focus group discussions and individual interviews, we found that the capacities of the CREMA governance bodies are weak to implement the CREMA approach effectively. The lack of knowledge and technical skills to support multi-actor processes, the weak collaboration between actors, and the lack of sustainable financial inflows and livelihood support are key challenges to be addressed for better CREMA performance. Despite these constraints, local actors’ enthusiasm and willingness to engage more actively in the governance of their landscape constitute an opportunity for an improved implementation of the CREMA approach. We suggest that initiatives to strengthen the technical and financial capacities of governance bodies and raise awareness among the local population are necessary to improve the functioning and performance of CREMAs. In addition, actions to improve the livelihoods of local communities will enhance the mobilization and engagement of social groups in the implementation of the CREMA concept.
Forest and communities – Social forestry in Sabah
This chapter examines the role of social forestry in Sabah, Malaysia, as a key approach to linking forest conservation with community development. It highlights how social forestry initiatives—such as agroforestry, forest restoration, and joint forest management—help address challenges including land encroachment, shifting cultivation, and rural poverty. The chapter emphasizes the importance of community participation, Indigenous knowledge, and mechanisms such as free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) in achieving sustainable forest management. While social forestry has improved livelihoods and forest protection, persistent challenges remain related to funding, land rights, and equitable benefit sharing, underscoring the need for integrated, inclusive, and long-term governance approaches.
Forest Governance and Social Forestry in Sabah, Malaysia: Context, actors and institutions
This book presents an overview on the context affecting forest and climate change policies in Sabah with special emphasis on sustainable forest management and social forestry. Written by a team of academics, university and CSO researchers and local government practitioners, it adds to understanding the complexity of forest and land use governance in Sabah, Malaysia specifically. The different chapters discuss how forest governance and climate change policies are structured, deforestation and forest degradation in Sabah and the involvement of local and indigenous peoples in managing land and forest. The final chapter provides a reflection and concludes on how effective, efficient and equitable the governance of forest and land use in Sabah has been.
Regional action plan for the conservation of the cross river gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli)
Simple rules for catalyzing collective action in natural resource management contexts
This booklet is designed to help people interested in working with small groups (usually communities or groups within communities) to reach their goals. It has been written, building first on the global literature on community based management of forests and other natural resources; secondly, on a base of experience catalyzing collective action within communities in more than 30 communities in 11 countries, using the approach called “Adaptive Collaborative Management” (ACM); and thirdly, through experience trying to catalyze collective action in two communities in Sumatra. It assumes an interest in equity, justice, and respect, as well as effective action.