Accounting for the Ecological Dimension in Participatory Research and Development: Lessons Learned from Indonesia and Madagascar

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The lack of understanding on how to integrate ecological issues into so-called socialecological natural resource management hampers sustainability in tropical forest landscape management. We build upon a comparison of three cases that show inverse gradients of knowledge and perceptions of the environment and human pressure on natural resources. We discuss why the ecological dimension currently lags behind in the management of tropical forest landscapes and to what extent participatory development can enhance the fit among ecological, socio-cultural, and economic systems. For each case study, socio-cultural and anthropological aspects of society and indigenous knowledge of the environment, the distribution of natural resources, classification, and management are documented in parallel with biophysical studies. Our results confirm that the ecological dimension remains weakly addressed and difficult to integrate into development actions when dealing with tropical forested landscape management in developing countries. We discuss three issues to understand why this is so: the disdain for traditional ecological knowledge and practices, the antagonism between economy and ecology, and the mismatch between traditional and modern governance systems. Participatory development shows potential to enhance the fit among ecological, socio-cultural, and economic systems through two dimensions: the generation and sharing of information to understand trends and the generation of new coordination practices that allow stakeholders to voice environmental concerns. In the absence of a "champion," institutions, and financial resources, the expected outcomes remain on paper, even when changes are negotiated. Future research in natural resource management must emphasize better integration at the interface of ecology and governance. Finally, we identify three challenges: the design of operational tools to reconcile ecology with social and economic concerns, the creation of governance systems to institutionalize collaborative and integrated resource management, and the design of enabler organizations close to local communities.

Sustainable Forest Management in the Tropics: Is Everything in Order but the Patient Still Dying?

“…For livelihoods, it means looking beyond agricultural land (often cultivated for only a short time before moving on) to the forests as a mosaic of: intact forest patches from which people obtain various goods and services, including sustenance in times of hardship; sacred groves, which remain untouched; ancient agroforests; land that may yet be cleared for settlement and cultivation; and patches regenerating after abandonment. Managing such complexity for both livelihoods and biodiversity conservation is still in its infancy (Pfund et al 2008).…”

“…Is the prospect of significantly expanding the network feasible? http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol14/iss2/art40/ Strict preservation, in which local people are excluded or prevented from harvesting forest products, not only fosters resentment against conservation, but also diminishes indigenous knowledge that could contribute to ecosystem management (Laumonier et al 2008). It seems more realistic to work with current land users who have managed this land for a long time (Robichaud et al 2009), at least in some areas, than to expect many new reserves to be set up.…”

Coupled Information Diffusion–Pest Dynamics Models Predict Delayed Benefits of Farmer Cooperation in Pest Management Programs

“…The participation of local communities and other stakeholders in such management processes has long been advocated as an essential step to achieve sustainable development [3]. Over the past decades, extension science has developed many types of participatory approaches towards farmers [4] to promote knowledge of agro-ecological concepts, apply IPM practices, reduce the use of pesticides and improve crop yields [5].…”

Forest tenure reform implementation in Lampung province: From scenarios to action

“…PPA enables stakeholders to identify the driving forces influencing forest tenure security, to build scenarios of future tenure security and to generate action plans that would increase the likelihood of desired or acceptable scenarios, while minimizing the likelihood of unwanted tenure security scenarios. It has been used to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders to develop a common understanding of the origin and evolution of problems, to more actively participate in decision making and to begin crafting collective agreements on resource management and planning (Bourgeois and Jésus 2004;Laumonier et al 2008). …”