Participatory Research for Community-Based Natural Resource Management in Asia

JIRCAS international symposium series
ISSN 13406108
NII recode ID (NCID) AA1100908X
Full text
A key question for rural poverty alleviation in Asia is how to improve livelihoods for the most marginal elements of the rural population. These groups, in the poorest countries of the region or in remote areas of low- and middle-income countries, are most often dependent on a degrading natural resource base for their increasingly vulnerable livelihoods. Typically, the agro-ecological conditions in these areas mitigate against intensive production systems due to such factors as low-quality soils, high slopes, limited access to inputs or markets, and extremely diverse and site-specific conditions (e.g. uplands or remote coastal communities). In addition, the most productive interventions in such areas are dependent on complex linkages between ecological systems (e.g. multiple uses of forests and watersheds in the uplands; estuaries on the coast) where various resources are subject to conflicting claims by local communities and outsiders. Local livelihoods in such conditions are highly diverse, and many resource exploitation practices (agriculture, agroforestry, forestry, aquaculture) are either ecologically unsustainable, or becoming so, under conditions of increased population pressure and tenure conflicts. The situation contrasts with that of conventional intensive ·agricultural mono-cropping, where tenure is clear and there is extensive knowledge of crop productivity interventions and a wide range of inputs and technical advice available.
In these particular contexts, the issues are not only how to integrate crops, trees, and livestock / fish in improved production systems, but also how to address insecurity of tenure, how to manage conflicts over resources, and how to devise systems for collective action to manage resources which are essential to productivity, but not amenable to household ownership (e.g. forests, water). In these heterogeneous agroecosystems, there are also questions of scientific understanding. In most sites, data are lacking, and the effort needed to collect data across a wide range of relevant biophysical parameters is intimidating. Finally, as in other rural environments, if improved production systems are to be implemented by local farmers they have to fit with local priorities, culture and capacities for change. Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has 30 years of experience with research in Asia. This background led us to develop a participatory and interdisciplinary research approach which addresses institutional and technical innovations while building local capacity for adaptation.
IDRC's approach links participatory research to Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) interventions. The key elements of participatory research as applied by IDRC' s research partners are: engagement with the local community; recognition and critical assessment of indigenous knowledge; joint diagnosis and definition of research problems; researcher-led analysis and development of interventions; and farmer-led testing of interventions. The objective of CBNRM interventions is to improve local resource-based livelihoods and their sustainability. A major task of the program has been the development and promulgation among Asian researchers of tools and methods for participatory research. Most of these require strength in social science skills, yet technical interventions to improve production require applied science skills. As a result, research teams must learn to work across disciplines, developing methodologies and innovations that surpass disciplinary boundaries.
The outcomes of this research program can only be partly measured in terms of increased production. Crucial benefits from the standpoint of local farmers and resource users include community organization and social capital, which can be applied to other social objectives besides resource management. Local leadership development and governance are important outcomes at a time of increased decentralization. New co-management approaches based on better-organized, better-informed, and more articulate community resource users in partnership with government agencies provide effective options for increasing local benefits from resource use. Lessons from new forms of local organization, resource access and utilization find their way into policy changes and replication.
Creator Stephen Tyler
Publisher Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
Available Online
Issue 12
spage 165
epage 170
Language eng

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