Hierarchy of institutional pre-conditions for participatory natural resource management (original) (raw)

Institutional assessment in natural resource governance: A conceptual overview

Natural resource governance is enhanced and structured by rules, norms and strategies which make institution-alism quintessential in the natural resource governance discourse. Adopting a retrospective analysis of classical theoretical literature and recent empirical experiences of natural resource institutions, this paper discusses institutional analysis as pertains to the natural resource governance context. Synthesizing from relevant literature, this review designs and discusses an analytical framework to illustrate how formal and informal institutions structure natural resource governance. The key elements in the framework are: biophysical element, process and institutional element, behavioral choice element, enforcement mechanisms and an outcome element. The paper argues that for formal rule to be more effective, it greatly depends on its relationship with the informal institutions and more importantly their enforcement complementarities. The study, consequently, discusses key elements that influence the effectiveness of natural resource rule enforcement. This review concludes that both formal and informal institutions serve as catalysts to reinforce natural resource governance; however, the two could also combine to form a clandestine network to facilitate unethical resource exploitation. The paper puts forward that, it is not institutions per se but the " nature of interaction " between formal and informal institutions together with the " enforcement mechanisms " which will to a large extent determine the kind of resource outcomes.

Formal and informal institutions in natural resource management

Natural resource governance is enhanced and structured by rules, norms and strategies which make institutionalism quintessential in the natural resource governance discourse. Adopting a retrospective analysis of classical theoretical literature and recent empirical experiences of natural resource institutions, this paper discusses institutional analysis as pertains to the natural resource governance context. Synthesizing from relevant literature, this review designs and discusses an analytical framework to illustrate how formal and informal institutions structure natural resource governance. The key elements in the framework are: biophysical element, process and institutional element, behavioral choice element, enforcement mechanisms and an outcome element. The paper argues that for formal rule to be more effective, it greatly depends on its relationship with the informal institutions and more importantly their enforcement complementarities. The study, consequently, discusses key elements that influence the effectiveness of natural resource rule enforcement. This review concludes that both formal and informal institutions serve as catalysts to reinforce natural resource governance; however, the two could also combine to form a clandestine network to facilitate unethical resource exploitation. The paper puts forward that, it is not institutions per se but the " nature of interaction " between formal and informal institutions together with the " enforcement mechanisms " which will to a large extent determine the kind of resource outcomes.

Institutional aspects of local participation in natural resource management

Field Actions Science Reports the Journal of Field Actions, 2009

The Philippine Local Government Code provides the legal basis for local natural resources management. However, the Code, which was enacted into Law in 1991, is not always the driving force for many Local Government Units (LGU's) that have made breakthroughs in local natural resources management (NRM). This paper provides case studies that reveal the policy and institutional hurdles in implementing local and participatory natural resources management programmes; the lessons and experiences among LGU's in linking good governance with NRM; the research and development activities on local and participatory NRM; and the key institutional and policy issues to be communicated at the national level. Through the development of the Natural Resources Management and Development Plan (NRMDP), employing public-private partnerships and capitalizing on the presence of research and non-governmental organizations (NGO), agri-business and other community sectors, the Municipality of Lantapan, an LGU, succeeded in overcoming constraints such as: lack of budget, manpower, technical skills, and poor community involvement. A key feature of the NRMDP is the Landcare Program which centers on formation of community landcare groups that mobilize resources for wider adoption of conservation practices. The Landcare Program is a grassroots approach for rapid and inexpensive dissemination of available, simple, and lower-cost technologies of agroforestry and conservation practices. It was determined that communities have important roles to play but LGU have greater responsibility to provide the policy and institutional basis for supporting community-based initiatives.

Traditional and modern institutions of governance in community based natural resource management

2001

The advent of independence in most Southern African countries ushered in a new political dispensation emphasising democratic governance as the hallmark of a modern polity. Institutions evolving from this thrust are perceived as modern in contrast to those that are or were based on ascribed status-traditional institutions. In community-based natural resource management (CB N R M), post-independence governments have either condoned or legislated for the complete replacement of traditional institutions by modern institutions of governance. This 'discard approach', based on governments' perception of traditional institutions of governance as undemocratic and archaic, has deprived CB N R M of change with continuity. This resulted in either total or semi-marginalisation of traditional institutions in CBNRM thereby fomenting conflict, confusion and semi-anarchy. In this paper we review literature from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Zambia to obtain insights on how the relationship between traditional and modem institutions of governance in the post-independence era affect CBNRM. On the basis of the insights, we argue that successful and sustainable CBNRM neither hinge on the discard approach nor exclusive reliance on modern institutions of governance. Th e forging of partnerships in CBNRM between the two institutions of governance seems to hold a more promising approach to sustainable CBNRM .

Fostering co-operation through participation in natural resource management. An integrative review

Social Science Research Network, 2022

Solving humanity's social-environmental challenges calls for cooperation by the relevant actors. Hence, involving them in the policy process has been deemed both necessary and promising. But how and to what extent can participatory policy interventions effectively foster cooperation for sustainable natural resource management? Research on collective action and research on participatory governance offer insights on this question but have hitherto remained largely unconnected. In particular, results of field and lab experiments on collective action can complement those of case studies on participatory governance to shed further light on the potential (institutional and behavioural) impacts and mechanisms of participatory interventions. This article reviews and integrates key insights of these strands of research using the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework. Our review shows that participatory interventions can foster cooperation (a) by helping the relevant actors craft adequate institutional arrangements, and (b) by addressing and/or influencing relevant actors' attributes (i.e. their individual and shared understandings, beliefs, trust and preferences). However, to fulfil their potential, organisers of participatory interventions need to soundly design and implement them, adequately embedding them in the broader context. They must be complemented with proper follow-up, enforcement and conflict-resolution mechanisms to nurture, reassure and sustain trust and cooperation .

An inquiry into power and participatory natural resource management

Cambridge Journal of Economics, 2012

Decentralised environmental governance based on community participation is increasingly replacing top-down natural resource management. There is increasing awareness, however, that such mechanisms might fail to ensure effective participation by all stakeholders and be prone to producing and/or perpetuating power inequalities. Against this backdrop, we claim that 'power' should be positioned at the centre of analyses of natural resource management. In this paper we provide a taxonomy of positions to analyse participatory decision making in natural resource management. We operationalise this framework to analyse two 'failures' of participatory natural resource management in Turkey, focusing on reasons for failure and the role of power asymmetries. Our results are based on case studies comprising in-depth interviews, focus groups and a survey administered to 944 individuals. We conclude that participatory mechanisms are highly unlikely to bring democratic and equitable outcomes unless power relations are addressed at both institutional and local levels.

Participatory planning, evaluation and institutional dynamics in African Natural Resource Management

2015

One among other possible approaches towards integrated and adaptive Natural Resource Management (NRM) is participatory planning. Participatory planning entails engaging relevant stakeholders in the identification of environmental issues and the planning of actions to be implemented in order to address these issues. It is now widely acknowledged that plans resulting from participatory planning processes for NRM are more likely to be implemented and sustainable when supported by adequate institutions. However, the extent to which participatory planning processes are able to deliver expected outcomes, and to trigger institutional dynamics, is still largely unknown. The main research question of this PhD is “How can participatory planning processes for NRM trigger suitable institutional dynamics to more sustainably address social and environmental issues of concern in a given context?“ This research question is addressed through two lenses: a methodological lens, looking at the monitori...