6.12 Institution for conflict management
See option 1.4.12, Volume 1
12a. Retired judge achieves a breakthrough
India
Rajaji National Park in northern India represents the entire range of conflicts which can occur in a protected area in a developing country. Creation of the park has denied or restricted access to the area's resources to thousands of rural families, and has created legal and administrative problems for the migratory grazers who use the area. Commercial, industrial and military activities surrounding the park continue to compromise its ecological integrity; elephants have been restricted to small forest areas and become ecologically and socially destructive. Various agencies involved, including the forest department, local NGOs, community representatives, urban conservationists, and others, have hardened their positions in the face of the ongoing conflict, with none of them showing any spirit of compromise.
To achieve a breakthrough, the Indian People's Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights (IPT), a network of NGOs and individuals, asked a retired senior judge to investigate the issue. He toured the area, met with all the concerned parties, held joint meetings, and wrote a report that recommended a judicious mix of conservation and resource-use activities. He advocated the creation of an inter-agency management committee which would consist of representatives of all the parties, and which would set the direction for the management of the park. The IPT's initiative has been welcomed by all the parties to the conflict, and it is hoped that the report will form the basis of a resolution in the near future.
12b. Leaders of stretcher societies as mediators
Uganda
In the community adjacent to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, it was found that the stretcher (local ambulance) organization was the most respected and acceptable body for dealing with conflicts. Therefore most of the petty infringements in the park (stealing poles, etc.) are dealt with by the leaders (elders) of the stretcher societies. This has proved very effective.
12c. Conflict management needs power to deal with all parties
In a country which shall not be named for obvious reasons, conflicts emerged between government employees and local people who are trying to protect endangered species. These conflicts demonstrate the need for a conflict management system powerful enough to deal with people of high rank who currently enjoy a degree of immunity from prosecution. In this case government employees were hiring poachers to hunt protected animals in the reserve. Their superiors and some local politicians were also syphoning off project funding for their own use. Local people feel powerless to deal with the situation because the cooperation of the government employees and politicians is needed for their conservation project to continue and succeed.
12d. Replacing chiefs with councils may create rather than manage conflict
Burkina Faso
Under the Gestion des Terroirs (land management) programme begun in 1986, village councils were established to manage local natural resources. One intention of the councils was that decisions should no longer be made by one person (the chief), but by a collective, thus airing conflicting points of view. Traditionally, the chief made decisions after having heard the opinions of his group of elders and, in the case of a conflict, of the parties involved. Now, conflicting parties were supposed to reach an agreement without referring to a higher authority.
The legitimacy of the chief was based on his standing and knowledge of village lands and people. From the standpoint of the Gestion des Terroirs programme, the legitimacy of the councils is based primarily on their effectiveness and second, on their democratic structure. These, however, are not reasons by which legitimate authority has been traditionally established in Burkinabè villages. For hundreds of years the chiefs avoided village conflicts and resolved controversies over land, marriage obligations, etc. Replacing chiefs with democratic institutions ended up releasing, rather than restraining, conflicts. The lack of a higher authority put an additional strain on the parties in conflict. The experience demonstrates the need to take existing institutions seriously, and to adapt conflict management systems accordingly.
Abridged from: Engberg-Pedersen, 1995.
6.13 Training and incentives for staff and recruitment to fill gaps in skills
See option 1.4.13, Volume 1
13a. Community consultation part of training for field staff
Madagascar
In the Mananara Biosphere Reserve Project, technical training for field workers is carried out at project headquarters on a monthly basis. Training is provided in rapid rural appraisal (RRA) and social communication methods as well as in forestry administration, rice cultivation, market gardening, pesticide use, family planning, and bee-keeping. Other training programmes have been run by other organizations out-side Mananara in such aspects as valley management, fishery cooperatives, nursery forestry and Intensive Rice Cultivation System (SRI). The national director of the project has received training overseas in Integrated Rural Development and participatory rural appraisal (PRA).
13b. National parks staff learn from each other
Uganda
In 1994 park wardens from the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP), Mgahina Gorilla National Park (MGNP), the US Peace Corps, the Development Through Conservation Project (DTC) and project staff visited Lake Mburo National Park to look at the community conservation programme being implemented around the park. The aim of the visit was to facilitate the exchange of ideas concerning community conservation efforts among the staff of the three national parks, to examine successes and failures of project initiatives in the areas adjacent to protected areas, and to learn from the experiences of counterparts about community participation in the management of protected area conservation.
13c. Training for officials and NGOs to facilitate fieldwork
India
The Indian Institute of Public Administration (IPA) coordinates fieldwork by training state forestry officials and community-based NGOs in participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques and assisting in data gathering and analysis. Such fieldwork was undertaken for the preparation of action plans for eight national parks. Workshops at each site identified community needs, existing tenure and use rights and activities that would be compatible with biodiversity conservation goals.
13d. Role models as catalysts of change
Nepal
The Forestry Department in Nepal, which has long been active in implementing community forestry programmes, has found that field staff cannot be expected to adopt a new style of operating without a great deal of help and encouragement. In many cases their previous work patterns were dominated by duty statements that emphasized licensing and policing activities — roles that brought them into conflict with villagers and resulted in suspicion and antagonism on both sides. Even with the best of intentions, it takes time and hard work to break down the barriers so that mutual trust and respect can emerge.
Just telling people that they should be different and adopt a people-centred approach is not sufficient and, in itself, is likely to have little effect. Field staff must reorient themselves if they are to adopt a totally different world view of how their job should be approached and carried out. This can be achieved by some people, particularly the younger staff. But it may be more difficult for older staff, for whom a radical change from a policing role to a truly consultative role may be difficult. Contributing to this difficulty is the fact that, in some areas, the field staff are exposed to graft and corruption. Some staff may, in fact, have a strong vested interest in doing nothing to upset the status quo.
Reorientation training can best be done by providing field staff with hands-on experience in a village setting. Problem-solving methods are useful to teach the skills needed to collect information and analyze village situations. As with all training programmes, follow-up is essential. Trainees who have been through a radical reorientation cannot be expected to work effectively if they have no support from their colleagues and particularly, from their superiors.
A degree of conflict is inevitable, but an effective role model can help the re-orientated staff to institutionalize the new behavioural norms into the culture of their organization. The role model can provide the support and guidance necessary to build confidence in the staff. This catalyst may be an outside person, who could be project sponsored. He or she needs to be someone who inspires confidence and who has a thorough understanding of the process necessary to implement a community based project.
Abridged from: Gilmour and Fisher, 1991.
6.14 Promoting an effective legal basis for participation
See option 1.4.14, Volume 1
14a. Responsibility and authority stimulate community interest
Bolivia
Until 1993, Bolivian municipalities received very small budgets; smaller communities received even less. As a consequence, municipal governments couldn't invest in public services and rural people were not interested in elections for their local authorities. In 1993 a law named "Popular Participation" was passed which put municipalities in charge not only of urban areas but also the rural hinterland. Funds were provided to enable the municipalities to undertake their new responsibilities. It was also decided that a Vigilance Council, elected directly by the people, would examine all investments decided by the municipal governments. Managerial training and other facilities were provided to council members. As a consequence, more investments are being made in rural areas and the local inhabitants are more interested in municipal politics.
14b. Legislation encourages participation in conservation management
India
In 1994, the Indian Institute of Public Administration organized a national workshop to explore issues and opportunities relating to joint management of protected areas in the country. The institute now services a network of organizations and individuals who are interested in the subject. Proposed legislation on biodiversity, currently being drafted by the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests, will explicitly encourage peoples' participation in the management of conservation areas. Considerable public debate is being generated, both at the local level (in the case of protected areas where conflicts are intense) and at the national level in the media and decision-making forums.
14c. Draft guidelines recognize rights to participate
Uganda
In 1995, the Ugandan Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities promoted the drafting of new policy guidelines for the conservation of natural resources in all protected areas of the country. The draft policy guidelines recognize the customary rights of local communities to participate in the management of protected areas and share in their benefits. A workshop sponsored by Uganda National Parks and assisted by IUCN further specified the requirements to implement the new policy in practice, i.e., to develop collaborative management agreements among various stakeholders in specific park areas in Uganda.
14d. Legislation accommodates traditional structures... up to a point
Niger
Since 1989 the Government of Niger has been working with IUCN and other environmental organizations to draft new laws for the management of natural resources. The new legislation merges all previous laws relating to land, forests, fisheries and wildlife. Previously, each of these sectors was controlled by separate and sometimes contradictory legislation, which was largely based on French law and often inappropriate and in conflict with customary laws. IUCN served as a member of the Review Committee, which comprised representatives of international organizations and government. The organization also provided funding towards a multi-disciplinary executive group — comprising lawyers, ecologists and sociologists — to service the Review Committee. The group was chaired by a sociologist with a wide knowledge of environmental issues.
The new law provides for a decentralized system to manage natural resources: a system which recognizes the rights of local communities and traditional chiefs. In keeping with the traditional system, chiefs are effectively incorporated into the administrative and decision-making process as officers of the state.
A framework for the Rural Code was adopted by the government in 1992. Since then, the executive group has been developing regulations to cover each of the different natural resource sectors. The code provides for only one type of local association for both conservation and income-generation purposes: the cooperative. Such a provision is not popular with local communities, who have bad experiences with 'imposed' cooperatives. This leaves them without an effective, legally-recognized institution under which to unite to manage their local resources. The IUCN office in Niger is contributing to solve this problem by developing and recommending appropriate changes in the code.
6.15 Assisting local communities to develop their own conservation initiatives
See option 1.4.15, Volume 1
15a. Joining forces to save the koala
Australia
In New South Wales (NSW) a group called Bearcare was instituted by a local community to protect and enhance koala habitat. At the same time, through the protection of remnant vegetation and the replanting of koala food trees, the group is helping to restore the hydrological balance needed to prevent further increases in soil salinity. The group has now undertaken a joint project with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Department of Conservation and Land Management. The government departments provide funding and expertise as well as rangers to give talks in schools about the dangers facing the koala. Primary schools have joined the project and are raising funds to buy seedlings of koala food trees, which they plant to link pockets of vegetation used by koalas. The Bearcare group has produced a resource plan of the area which can be used by community groups and land users, including government agencies. This will integrate nature conservation with other aspects of resource management; for example, by including koala habitat species in shelter belts, wood lots and mine site rehabilitation plantings.
Abridged from Campbell and Sieper, 1994.
15b. Support comes in many forms ANAI and ASACODE
Costa Rica
One group that has benefited from the services provided by the Asociación ANAI is the San Miguel Association for Conservation and Development (ASACODE). ASACODE was founded in 1988 by a group of mainly immigrant peasant (campesino) families to promote sustainable forestry. The organization planned and developed a number of initiatives, including a Native Species Project. This involved a 70-hectare mix of virgin rainforest and secondary growth, and was acquired with financial help from ANAI and IUCN. The project includes a nursery, with trees grown for research, local use and educational purposes. It also includes an ambitious ecotourism initiative. Most interestingly, ASACODE families are now succeeding in extracting timber from their land in a sustainable and highly profitable way. They cut selectively and complete the first processing of the trees in the forest before transporting them. They also use water buffaloes instead of tractors (which require opening highly damaging roads).
The most empowering element of the process is that the people process the timber themselves, using a small sawmill, and therefore keep all the proceeds from the sale of the timber. This helps to make limited extraction of timber both profitable and sustainable. ANAI has not only helped ASACODE with grants and loans, it has also provided technical, scientific and administrative expertise and brought the villagers of San Miguel into contact with others in Talamanca who are trying to use the forests sustainably. In addition, ANAI has paid for several forest biologists to give training courses to ASACODE members. Importantly, it was ASACODE that chose what to do, and how to do it.
Abridged from Pye-Smith et al., 1994.
15c. Technology transfer between indigenous communities
Panama
The Kuna people have occupied their traditional lands in Kuna Yala, northeastern Panama since prehispanic times. In 1925 they successfully fought for an autonomous system for their area. This was formally recognized in 1953 through a law which defined the limits and administrative system for the Comarca territory. The establishment of the Comarca did not stop the pressure of colonization on those lands, however. In 1983 the Association of Kuna Employees (AEK) submitted to the General Kuna Congress a programme for the establishment of a totally protected area in the Comarca. This was approved, and the Ecological Programme for the Management of Wild Areas in Kuna Yala (PEMASKY) was asked for assistance.
PEMASKY is an initiative of Panama's Kuna people. Its objectives include achieving sound ecological management of the Kuna territories. PEMASKY produced a set of rules entitled "Research Program: Scientific Monitoring and Cooperation" to control the number of expatriates coming into the area and to ensure that the Kuna people acquired the skills needed to manage their natural resources. One rule stated: "All researchers should seek to employ Kuna co-researchers, assistants, guides, and informants, with the objective of achieving a transfer of knowledge and technologies". As a result of this approach, several Kuna professionals are now skilled in survey and mapping techniques.
PEMASKY developed a management plan for the Kuna Yala, which was revised in 1991 to incorporate the area in the Panama Tropical Forest Action Plan. When the Yanomani people of Brazil and Venezuela obtained rights to their lands in 1990, they asked PEMASKY to assist them in defining the boundaries of their territories and preparing their management plans.
15d. City joins country to save the land
Australia
The Warrenbayne Boho Land Protection Group involves 150 landholders in the foothills of the Strathbogie Ranges northeast of Melbourne. The group was formed after the local government convened a meeting in 1982, when a few landholders began talking about the spread of salinity on their properties. More than 100 people turned up. The landholders realized that the time had come to stop blaming others or waiting for someone else to fix the problem. They would have to take responsibility themselves. Since then the Landcare Group has planted over 150,000 trees, fenced 20 km of remnant vegetation and planted 600 hectares of perennial pasture. The group has prepared a wildlife corridor plan for the whole area and initiated a status report on its rivers and streams.
Several thousand of the trees the group plants every year are grown in Melbourne back yards. Farmers gather the seed from local trees. Their city friends for the "Tree Project" grow the seeds, and return the one-year-old seedlings to the farmers to plant. Often, they also come to help plant them. The Landcare Group hosts 2,000-3,000 visitors every year, who often help with planting trees. These visitors range from unemployed Melbourne youths, to school children, to international experts. Because the group adopted a positive, self-help approach, it has received a high level of support from government, tertiary institutions, corporate and philanthropic bodies and many others.
Abridged from Campbell and Siepen, 1994.
15e. Restoring nature in the midst of warfare
Guatemala
Families exiled by the Guatemalan army in the early 1980s are returning to their homes and confronting the devastation caused by the civil war and the colonization schemes imposed on their lands. Many are forming organizations with the people who remained on the land to restore the previous ethnic systems of land management. The Huista's Cultural Coordination (Coordinadora Cultural de los Huista) is one such organization. It has a conservation branch called Alternatives for Environmental Development (APDA). The initiative to establish APDA came from the local Huista-Jakaltekos group of Maya people who live in the Huehuetenango area in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. The branch is undertaking multiple communal activities, including restoration of the hill country, research into wild and domesticated varieties of corn, and running a herbarium, tree nursery and several traditional gardens.
15f. Hunstein Range conservation area establishment
Papua New Guinea (PNG)
The people of the Hunstein Range in the upper Sepik River region are taking advantage of PNG's innovative conservation laws to establish a conservation area that reflects their customary management practices and development aspirations. They are being assisted in this by WWF and the East Sepik Council of Women.
Using PRA and other methods, Hunstein clans are analyzing their resource use and values and developing a set of rules for land management that includes customary restrictions on species use, bans on entry to certain areas and requirements to respect spirit areas and ancestral grounds. The communities are integrating these customary rules with aspirations for sustainable development. Tools have included land mapping, discussion of history and trends, brainstorming on values, recording of custom stories and species inventories.
This information is being integrated into a proposal for a conservation area based on community management rules. To date the project has involved 19 clans, who collectively own 300,000 ha of tropical rainforest and wetlands.
15g. Conservation is better than mining
Venezuela
A Venezuelan NGO called BIOMA helped four biological reserve communities to resolve socio-economic problems while addressing conservation goals. BIOMA initiated contact via talks, slide shows, guided hikes and other activities, and then worked with the local communities near the reserves to improve agricultural production, nutrition and sanitation conditions. The partnership has worked so well that the communities near one reserve stopped the development of an open graphite mine and those at three other reserves turned over their lands to BIOMA to protect them in perpetuity, an action virtually unheard of in Latin America.
From: Barzetti, 1993.
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