Participatory Action Research in Natural Resource Management (original) (raw)
Rethinking participatory action research in renewable resource management
Due to the work of Funtowicz and Ravetz, agricultural scientists increasingly recognise the high complexity, diversity, uncertainty, and the high stakes involved in Renewable Resource Management (RNM). Ecological systems as well as social systems are dynamic and interact at various system levels leading to highly complex, non-linear, divergent processes and the emergence of new phenomena. These system dynamics cannot be controlled so adaptive management is needed: reflexive social systems are able to learn and co-evolve in a self-organising manner. Agricultural scientists are called to engage in participatory action research because system dynamics are uncertain so the knowledge difference between scientists and lay people is less relevant, local people have more contextual knowledge about the specific system dynamics, and local people's livelihoods depend (partly) on renewable resources so they have high stakes in the research and the identified solutions. More and more agricultural scientists respond to the challenge and develop methodologies for information sharing and learning such as participatory mapping, participatory scenario analyses, etc. The key question is: do these efforts actually lead to the intended effect of adaptive management: reflection, self-organisation and institutional change for more sustainable and equitable use of renewable resources? To answer this question, a participatory role-playinggame and simulation experiment, implemented by Companion Modelling (ComMod) practitioners in northern Thailand was studied. The applied methodology, the espoused-and tacit theory-of-change are described based on ComMod documents and articles. Analysing the results with the participants and the designers, it is concluded that the methodology and underlying theories were insufficient to achieve the intended effect. The ComMod approach primarily focused on learning: the exchange of perspectives to attain a rich picture and mutual understanding. This learning, coupled with the participatory, iterative and multi-level character of the process, was supposed to trigger inclusive negotiation and decision-making. Interviews with the participants revealed that, at the individual level farmers learned about farm and ecological dynamics. Instead of copying other people's farm strategies they now reflect on, and try, new farm practices and strategies. The games and simulation models stimulated mutual understanding and cooperative thinking about collective problems. However, the 12 participants noted they were not able to transfer these insights to fellow villagers. People needed first hand experience with the ComMod activities to attain similar insights. As a consequence, village level decision-making did not attain the critical mass and momentum needed for collective action. Meanwhile, higher-level administrators/politicians avoided involvement and commitment to the local level learning process. To create change, people have to effectively deal with competing interests, discourses and power dynamics. The theories applied by ComMod did not provide adequate guidance. When launching a participatory action research, process designers need to pay attention to aspects such as empowerment, mobilisation of constituencies and coalitions, and multi-level negotiation.
Participatory natural resource management research methods used by …
Over the years, the focus of agricultural science has evolved. Some experts say this is because agricultural science is a "quasidiscipline": research topics are not defined by the internal state of the field (as in physics or mathematics), but rather by problems defined outside of the field. Problems in real life are best solved through a multidisciplinary approach. If new problems arise, different disciplines might be integrated to solve the problems. The emergence of new domains depends on two critical factors: 1) an understanding of the interrelations between problems and the ability to deal with these interactions in the research methodology; and 2) public concern about major issues. Indeed the emergence of natural resource/ecosystem management (NRM) as a domain in international agriculture research is paralleled by the appearance of new tools and instruments for data storage and processing such as geographic information systems and modelling. At the same time, worries about food production and global hunger have been amended by an increased public concern about the rapid deterioration of the Earth's ecosystems (particularly since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio) and increasing levels of poverty.
2003
In the field of natural resource management (NRM), which emerged as a new integration domain in the agricultural sciences, participatory research is conceptually and operationally still in its infancy and a range of activities are labeled 'participatory research'. The paper aims at shedding some light on this confusion. Based on a review of literature and internet sites, it provides an overview of the CGIAR's current NRM research practice, analysing the impact orientation, research foci, the pathway/strategy to impact and the role of participatory research. The paper also offers a framework which helps to differentiate approaches to innovation development and to 'unpack' the blurred concept of 'participatory research'. Three prototypical approaches to innovation development and their respective attributes are described and used to interpret current practice:
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 .
International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 2013
Monitoring progress toward sustainability goals requires a quantitative assessment method including indicators. Indicator sets and goals have typically been developed by experts, which may be scientifically robust but are often difficult to convey to society and may not include all societal values. A participatory assessment approach is emerging as a more holistic method for measuring sustainability. In this approach, local stakeholders play an integral part in the assessment process, assisted by experts. Here we reviewed 13 case studies from around the world that use a participatory approach to achieve sustainable natural resource management. Although similar in approach, most of them diverge in terms of methodology and extent of community engagement. The final set of indicators in each case is reflective of methodology, extent of community engagement, and amount of time and resources involved in the process. While the participatory approach is growing in popularity and increases the potential long-term success of the process (through increasing stakeholder literacy and ownership), the diversity of participatory methodology can complicate policy recommendations.
The Qualitative Report, 2011
Our research team is in the middle of a three-year, multi-phase, multi-state participatory action research study to discover more about how farmers learn. We hope to use our findings to help Extension agents and other agricultural educators develop more meaningful ways to communicate information to farmers about sustainable agriculture. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on our efforts to balance consistency in our research methods with the need to adapt our research protocol based on what we are learning along the way. Our method is participatory on a number of levels. In Phase One of our study, in Virginia, we surveyed 48 Extension agents and specialists who helped us shape the questions we used in focus groups with farmers from distinct groups (e.g., alternative agriculture producers, traditional dairy farmers, young farmers, female farmers). Then a steering committee of four farmers and four Extension agents and specialists helped us shape and conduct our research, analyze ...
Integrating agroecology and participatory action research (PAR): principles and characteristics
Cadernos de Agroecologia, 2018
Resumen En la última década se ha visto un incremento en los avances e interés en la integración de la agroecología y la investigación acción participativa (IAP). Los Objetivos principales de este artículo son: 1) revisar estudios de caso que han buscado integrar agroecología e IAP; 2) identificar características y principios clave en los procesos de agroecología e IAP; y 3) extraer y discutir leecciones de los estudios de caso revisados, para mejorar futuros trabajos. Los principios clave que identificamos en los procesos de IAP agroecológicos incluyen el interés compartido por la investigación de los actores involucrados, la certeza de los beneficios del poder y acción colectivo, el compromiso a la participación, la práctica de la humildad, y el establecimiento de la confianza y la rendición de cuentas. Lecciones importantes para considerar en futuros trabajos incluyen: 1) Procesos de investigación que no empezaron como IAP, pueden evolucionar hacia ello; 2) La participación de los actores en definir la agenda de investigación, desde el principio, resulta en mayor involucramiento y mejores Resultados; 3) Es importante contar con los socios adecuados para lograr los Objetivos deseados; 4) La reflexión explícita e intencional es un componente esencial de la IAP; y 5) Las colaboraciones inter-generacionales son esenciales para beneficios a largo plazo.
Participatory research in agroforestry: learning from experience and expanding our repertoire
Agroforestry Systems, 1991
Participation has been widely touted as "the answer" to a number of problems facing agroforestry research programs. It is not enough, however, to involve rural people as workers and informants in research endeavors defined by outsiders. A truly collaborative approach will depend upon our ability to broaden our definitions of research and participation, to accommodate a wide spectrum of land users and local knowledge, and to expand our repertoire of research methods. This paper presents a critique of facile approaches to participation, outlines a more inclusive framework for who participates on what terms, and reviews a variety of methods that address the complex realities of rural life and landscapes. The final section of the paper suggests a multi-institutional model that combines the complementary strengths of several types of organizations in participatory field research.
Sustainability Science
Overcoming complex environmental challenges demands different forms of stakeholder participation and collective action. While informative and relevant for participatory interventions, the literatures on collective action and participatory governance have largely remained disconnected. We illustrate how the institutional analysis and development (IAD), network of (adjacent) action situation (NAS) and social–ecological system (SES) frameworks can be combined to provide a coherent approach that integrates these literatures, applies their insights and bridges this disconnect. We compare two similar participatory interventions, one in Colombia and one in Peru, whose design and implementation we supported. Transdisciplinary in nature, both sought to foster collective action for watershed management. The frameworks allow us to demarcate, characterise and reflect upon the action situations (ASs) for the collective choice, coordination and knowledge generation that constituted each participa...
Participatory Action Research for Conservation and Development: Experiences from the Amazon
Sustainability
Research that features participation and action orientation, such as participatory action research (PAR), is especially valuable in contexts where there is rapid change, high social inequality, and great uncertainty about the future, which drives stakeholder demands for information to support their goals. The Amazon offers such a context, for it is a region where diverse stakeholders engage in contestation over environmental governance to address issues such as climate change to achieve conservation and sustainable development. Stakeholder mobilization has changed the terms by which research is conducted, from the definition of priority topics to the application of findings. Due to stakeholder mobilization, more and more research in the Amazon is now necessarily participatory, for stakeholders routinely issue demands about how the research will be conducted and for what purpose. In this paper, we provide an overview of several experiences of implementing methods such as PAR by diffe...
World Development, 2008
Many debates exist among social scientists that relate to the ''best'' way of collecting data about important theoretical questions. As scholars, who conduct individual case studies as well as participate in large-N studies combining qualitative and quantitative data, we recognize the value of each research strategy and trade-offs in choosing between them. We support the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to build on the strengths of each. A meta-analysis of the scholarly literature indexed during 1990-2004 on collective action related to natural resource governance yielded strong evidence that small-N studies are still the dominant empirical method. The continued reliance on research designs with limited comparative scope reflects practical challenges that limit the quantity and geographic breadth of data that any one researcher can collect using field-based research. We discuss the relative merits and shortcomings of two strategies for overcoming those challenges: Meta-databases constructed from existing qualitative studies and large-N field-based studies. Resource constraints, career incentives, and, ironically, collective action problems among researchers currently limit adoption of these strategies.
Methods of Studying Collective Action in Natural Resource Management
Citeseer
This paper examines some conceptual, methodological and practical issues associated with studying collective action in natural resource management, specifically community forestry in Nepal. Based on institutional memory and long experience of working in community forestry research and intervention together with recently carried out Participatory Action Research (PAR) and Adaptive and Collaborative Management (ACM) research in Nepal offer the basis for the analysis of the case of community forestry in Nepal. In the paper, collective action is conceptualized in terms of not only resource-community relations but also the relationships between partners in collaborative work to perform collective action at micro, meso and macro levels. Some of the conceptual methodological approaches have been reviewed to show that there are weaknesses and the strengths of various approaches of studying collective action that are prevalent in development circle. Attempt is being made to demonstrate that community forestry constitutes both physical and social processes, the study of which therefore requires the application of various research methods that are derived from scientific as well as participatory approaches. More importantly, the experience and lesson learnt from Adaptive and Collaborative Management (ACM) research being carried out in Nepal is highlighted to demonstrate the application of multi-methods in ACM, which are derived from natural science, social science, organizational and business management.
Emerging lessons about conducting action-research in partnership with farmers and other stakeholders
1. The case studies This paper is based on an investigation developed within the context of a research project conducted by CIRAD in 2005-2007 called CIROP (Construction of Innovation and ROle of Partnership). Two inter-related key questions are the focus of CIROP: what types of partnerships are required to strengthen the capacity of rural societies to innovate? Which meth-ods derived from Action Research (AR) are required to do so? CIROP focuses on two research objects: in-novation processes and partnerships. CIROP inter-vened directly in two on-going AR projects in West and Central Africa. It also developed a comparative synthesis of 10 research projects in which local ac-tors were involved to different degrees and in differ-ent ways in the conception of innovations. Issues ad-dressed were highly diverse. They ranged from focused technical interventions (plant breeding for Sorghum and Durum wheat, dissemination of vegetative banana material, conservation agriculture) to strengthen...