Allen, W. 2001. Working together for environmental management: the role of information sharing and collaborative learning. PhD Dissertation, Development Studies, Massey University, New Zealand.

Vernooy, R. 200. Seeds that Give: Participatory plant breeding. IDRC. ISBN 1-55250-014-4. 100 pp.Today’s agriculture is like a huge inverted pyramid; globally, it rests on a precariously narrow base. Less than three percent of the 250 000 plant varieties available to agriculture are in use today. The top-down system of agricultural research, where farmers are seen merely as recipients of research rather than as participants in it, has contributed to this dependence on a relatively few plant varieties. This trend, and the increasing industrialization of agriculture, are key factors in what can only be called genetic erosion.A new approach to agricultural research and development is needed in order to conserve agricultural diversity, improve crops, and produce food of quality for all. This publication examines this new approach to agricultural research in light of 10 years of support by IDRC for projects promote agricultural biodiversity and participatory plant breeding. It examines key issues in detail, from the research questions, design of on-farm research to farmers’ and plant breeders’ rights. It argues for the development of new, supportive policies and legislation. A series of project stories illustrates how farmers and plant breeders are working together in remote regions from the Andes to the Himalayas and beyond. Analysing the results — both the successes and the shortcomings — of a decade of research, the author comes up with a series of specific recommendations for governments and organizations involved in agricultural research and development. Finally the author takes a speculative look 10 years into the future of participatory plant breeding.This book also serves as the focal point for an IDRC thematic web site on participatory plant breeding: www.idrc.ca/seeds. The full text is available online and leads the reader into a virtual web of resources that explores a decade of research on agrobiodiversity and participatory plant breeding.

Almekinders, C., and J. Jongerden. 2002. On visions and new approaches. Case studies of organisational forms in organic plant breeding and seed production. Working Paper Technology and Agrarian Development, Wageningen University, Netherlands. pp. 30This report is based on an exploratory study of the social, financial and legal organisation, and technology applied in five initiatives in the sector of biological seed production and plant breeding in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. The study is carried out by researchers of the Chairgroup Technologie en Agrarische Ontwikkeling (TAO) of the Wageningen University and Researchcentre (WUR), and was comissioned by Louis Bolk Institute and Platform Biologica. The report is an exploratory study of the social, financial and legal organisation, and technology applied in five initiatives in the sector of biological seed production and plant breeding in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. The experiences of the studied initiatives are relevant in a period in which interest for organic seed and plant breeding is increasing. A number of the actors in the organic sector consider organic breeding a guarantee the availability of suitable seeds and varieties for the organic sector in terms of agronomic and quality traits. An important requirement is that seeds are produced and developed with technologies that are accepted in the organic sector. In addition, the organic sector is interested in breeding strategies that aim not only at economic, but also at social sustainability. The analysis of the five initiatives concentrates on the limitations and the choices by the involved actors made in the course of their development. The main conclusion of the study is that the social and financial organisation, and technologies used in the initiatives show functional coherence. Two circuits are distinguished in the study, i.e. the bio-dynamic circuit and the bio-classic circuit. Each of the circuits shows its own characteristics and coherence. The perspective of the actors on the mission and function of plant breeding is an important factor in their choices. Choices of sources of capital for financing the initiatives play a crucial role. Those that opt for capital from donations and legates (biodynamic circuit) seem to have a different development path of breeding and seed production than those that use conventional capital arrangements (bio-classic circuit). The use from the two distinctive sources of funding corresponds, respectively, to organisations that develop a network structure and a more classical organised one. Both types of organisations can be seen as initiatives that have to conform to the principles of capital providers in the use of technology and marketing strategies. At the same time, however, they are both innovative. Summarising, it is concluded that the diversity of the perspectives of the actors in the organic sector provides opportunities to explore new pathways in breeding and seed supply for the organic sector. Over time, as their improved materials become available, the viability of the different approaches will become clear.

Pound, B., S. Snapp, C. McDougall and A. Braun (Eds). 2003. Managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Livelihoods: Uniting Science and Participation. Earthscan/IDRC.Management of local resources has a greater chance of a sustainable outcome when there is partnership between local people and external agencies, and agendas relevant to their aspirations and circumstances. Managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Livelihoods analyses and extends this premise to show unequivocally that the process of research for improving natural resource management must incorporate participatory and user-focused approaches, leading to development based on the needs and knowledge of local resource users.Drawing on extensive and highly relevant case studies, this book presents innovative approaches for establishing and sustaining participation and collective decision-making, good practice for research, and challenges for future developments. It covers a wide range of natural resources – including forests and soils, and water and management units such as watersheds and common property areas and provides practical lessons from analysis and meta-analysis of cases from Asia, Africa and Latin America. It offers insights on how to make research participatory while maintaining rigour and high-quality biological science, different forms of participation, and ways to scale up and extend participatory approaches and successful initiatives.This book will be invaluable for those professionally involved in natural resource management for sustainable development, and an essential resource for teachers and students of both the biophysical and social science aspects of natural resource management.

Meinzen-Dick, R., L R. Brown, H. Feldstein, and A. Quisumbing. 1997. Gender, Property Rights, And Natural Resources. Food Consumption and Nutrition Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute. Discussion Paper No. 29.This paper analyzes the ways in which gender issues affect property rights and the use of natural resources in developing countries. It examines the informal practices of resource use, usually involving multiple uses by multiple users. Traditional systems of access to land, water, and trees reflect complex dynamics among community members that must be understood in order to design successful policy interventions concerning natural resources. Drawing on examples from developing countries worldwide, the paper identifies broad patterns in how property rights are determined. It discusses the effects of privatization and commoditization of resources, and it identifies key issues to consider in the context of proposed resource management programs.

Loevinsohn, M. (Ed.) 2002. Deepening the Basis of Rural Resource Management. Agricultural Systems 73(1) Special Issue.This Special Issue of Elsevier Science's Agricultural Systems includes eight of the papers presented at a workshop entitled “Deepening the Basis of Rural Resource Management,” held at ISNAR in The Hague in February 2000. The workshop brought together researchers working in diverse situations and with resources of different types -- natural, human, and economic -- who are developing innovative methods aimed at enabling farming communities to adjust their decision making in the face of rapid and significant change. The workshop sought to throw light on four main questions: 1. What are the features of methods that are effective in supporting farmers’ decision making where resource systems are undergoing such change? 2. How do the features of effective methods vary in different types of resource management situations? 3. What approaches are available to assess the impact of these methods? 4. What institutional factors have favored or hindered the development of effective decision support methods and their use over wider areas? The articles in this Special Issue include a critical review of the key issues emerging from the workshop, five diverse case studies and one of two theme presentations, on the state of the art in decision support in rural resource management. The other theme paper, on learning theory and its relevance for rural resource management, can be found in the workshop’s proceedings, as can the other nine case studies.

Vaughan, C., Katjiua, J.B. and Branston, N., and Bundra K.2003. CBNRM in the Kunene Region Proceedings of a Workshop Held to Discuss WILD Project Key Findings and Build Stakeholder Consensus. Ombinda Lodge. WILD Working Paper 18.The Kunene WILD Project and MET regional staff conducted a workshop with regional CBNRM stakeholders. This workshop created a unique opportunity for individuals to come together at a regional level to evaluate and discuss WILD project research findings. The workshop purpose was to share WILD research findings for discussion, validation and dissemination to support the CBNRM programme in the north-west and nationally. The workshop was prepared as part of the WILD engagement strategy, which involved individual consultations with Windhoek-based stakeholders to discuss findings, and further workshops based on this one for Caprivi and Windhoek. The outcomes of the other consultations are available as separate WILD working papers.WILD Project staff presented the main research findings, their livelihood implications and recommended action points on the four following topics:1) Livelihoods and conservancies2) Tourism and enterprises3) Livelihoods and wildlife findings4) Policy, institutions and practice findingsThe CBNRM stakeholders then held discussions and contextualised a number of research findings and issues on each topic, and made a number of recommendations based upon their knowledge and experience.

Vaughan, K. and Katjiua, J. 2002. An Overview of Community-based Natural Resource Management and Rural Livelihoods in ≠Khoadi //Hoas Conservancy. Kunene. WILD Working Paper 5.Peoples’ livelihoods within the ≠Khoadi //Hoas conservancy area comprise a dynamic mix of using and accessing a variety of resources and dealing with complex and diverse transforming processes (for example, different kinds of localised power relationships, rules, and institutions and the effects of national policy and legislation) People are critically dependant on the natural resource base, with drought being seen as the major influence on vulnerability. Water and grazing are the most critical assets and are directly related to livestock keeping activities. The importance of these assets varies depending on people’s primary livelihood strategies and their location within the conservancy. Some people live in population centres and can therefore be considered more urban based, and reliant on formal employment. Others live in the more rural areas and rely primarily on livestock farming. The numbers and types of stock owned differentiate people. Wildlife utilisation ranging from insects to small mammals plays a critical role in sustaining livelihoods, with some types of wildlife being seen as beneficial whilst others cause conflict with existing livelihood activities (for example predators killing livestock).The impacts of the conservancy programme on household livelihoods are both positive and negative with costs and benefits associated with impacts. Whilst the broader community appears to support the conservancy initiative the majority see little if any direct benefits and are in some instances still incurring costs associated with living with wildlife such as predator and elephant threats and damage. The community has so far seen limited and few tangible and direct benefits. At present those benefiting most are either directly employed through the conservancy, or are closely linked to conservancy employees and committee members. Greater levels of localised control on illegal hunting activities may have reduced hunting or made hunters change their behaviour away from commercial to more subsistence forms of hunting. Poorer and marginal households who have traditionally relied on wildlife utilisation to secure their household livelihoods especially in times of vulnerability and stress may have been unduly or adversely affected.

Matsaert, H., Z. Ahmed, N.Islam and F.Hussain. 2004. Actor oriented tools for analysis of innovation systems: Some guidelines from experience of analysing natural resource based innovation systems in Bangladesh. DRAFT.These guidelines are based on our experiences of using actor oriented tools to analyse chilli and livestock innovations systems and identify pro poor interventions in the char lands of Bangladesh, and in sharing and discussing these tools with other development partners. These tools are drawn from a wide range of sources. These include social anthropological and social network research techniques (see Long and Long 1992, Lewis 1998), stakeholder analysis (see Grimble and Wellard 1997), agricultural information knowledge systems (see Roling and Jiggins 1997) and process monitoring and documentation (see Mosse et al 1998). However, the tools are not commonly found in the analysis and planning of interventions in natural resource based innovation systems. Actor oriented tools complement other planning, monitoring and evaluation tools by focusing on the structure of social relationships between the key actors involved in a development scenario. We have found them useful for:- Analysis of a given institution (e.g organisation or enterprise, project or sector) in terms of strong and weak linkages between its actors; planning: visual presentation of critical links which should be supported or developed to meet the overall development goals e.g poverty reduction, inclusion of marginal groups and in monitoring and evaluation for visualising how interventions have impacted on critical linkages over time.

Stroud, A. 2003. Transforming Institutions to Achieve Innovation in Research and Development. IN: B. Pound, S. Snapp, C. McDougall and A. Braun (Eds.O Managing natural resources for sustainable livelihoods: Uniting Science and Participation. Earthscan/IDRC.Researchers around the globe are taking on complex, multi-faceted environmental and livelihood challenges. In doing so, they are searching for, testing and proposing a number of methods and approaches that depart from those normally used in traditional agricultural research. There are several driving forces behind this evolution: a growing dissatisfaction of governments and donors in the limited impact from the substantial investment that has been made in agricultural research; a heightened pressure to deliver and to show that farmers are using the technologies that have been ‘on the shelf’; and an awareness that technologies and other research products need supportive conditions, coupled with local innovation and incentives, to enhance adoption. There is also a growing realization by researchers and natural resource management (NRM) practitioners that technologies in themselves are not a panacea to address NRM issues, but need to go hand-in-hand with supportive social, institutional, economic and policy arrangements. It is the major hypothesis of this book that the participatory research and gender analysis (PRGA) approaches promoted by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) will help to address these sorts of concern.As researchers are being pressured to be more client, impact and results-oriented, research managers are also being pressured to change their organization’s orientation. The changes sought in research practice to more directly address local capacity needs and support sustainable, self-led change require supportive changes in institutional operations, arrangements and values. This path of change should lead to a more ‘learning type’ research system – one that internalizes the necessary changes in attitudes, structures and research practices so as to increase responsiveness to local community development needs, consideration of economic, institutional and social aspects, and the ability to positively influence policy. Public research organizations are, in fact, currently being challenged to embrace a twofold change: to move towards the use of PRGA approaches in research practice (see Box 5.1); and, to become ‘learning organizations’ so that they can continue to effectively innovate in the future (see Table 5.1). To date, the promotion of PRGA methods has been primarily addressed through projects and one-off training programmes. Very few of these projects or programmes are conceived to, or have strategies that, influence the core attitudes or working practices of the institutions, so that many of the experiences remain isolated, and as a result there is still a dearth of public institutional support for these new approaches. However, some researchers are promoting an integrated natural resource management research and development (INRM R&D) approach, which also embraces participatory approaches) (CGIAR INRM Task Force, 2001; CGIAR INRM, 2000; Stroud, 2000, 2001; AHI, 2000). There are now some examples of changes in attitudes,

Vaughan, K., Kuvare, U., Long, S.A. and Murphy, C. 2002. The Khaibasen Participatory Research Group Livelihoods Workshop Report, 3rd to 8th December 2001. Grootberg multi-purpose training centre ≠Khoadi //Hoas Conservancy. Kunene. WILD Working Paper Series 2.As part of the WILD project’s first phase of field research, a participatory research workshop was held with community and conservancy members from the ≠Khoadi /Hoas conservancy. This report provides details on the findings of the PRA workshop. The workshop was held at the Grootberg MET Multipurpose Training Center between the 3 and 8 December 2001. The findings of this workshop aim to inform the further development of household-level research focused on the impacts of changing Natural Resources (NR) use and management for The purpose of the workshop was to conduct a livelihoods PRA with community and conservancy members to provide an understanding of local livelihood priorities in the context of changing natural resource use and management practice (including an understanding of existing institutional arrangements to support various aspects of peoples’ livelihoods). Additionally, the workshop aimed to establish and develop the PLA research-working group for ≠Khoadi /Hoas community and implement the first phase of the community-level livelihood research activities.

Vaughan, C., Katjiua, J.B. and Branston, N. 2003. Talking with Torra. Proceedings of a Participatory Livelihoods Workshop with Torra Residents. WILD Working Paper 17.People employ a highly diverse mix of livelihood assets and livelihood strategies depending on access. The majority of Torra resident’s have a primary dependence on the natural resource base and livestock farming to achieve their livelihood outcomes. Thus, people do not follow one singular activity but apply a mix of assets, resources and strategies to achieve livelihood outcomes.2. Participants reported 17 factors that made their livelihoods vulnerable and affected security. Other than sudden death or severe illness the next top factors were associated with drought, stock theft and predator damage to stock and livestock illness. They questioned whether the conservancy could not play an increasing role in supporting their livestock systems, including support for marketing and disease outbreaks and reducing predator damage.3. For livelihood problems participants identified 22 factors. The top five issues relate to a lack of employment and training opportunities, and access to cash income and financial support. A number of the key problems, e.g. lack of employment and financial income, are key priorities for Torra Conservancy Committee (TCC), while others fall outside the scope of their remit and capacity.4. Participants identified a variety of policies, institutions and processes affecting livelihood outcomes – both formal rules and regulations, and social norms or informal rules of the community. Participants stated it was unclear at times who was responsible for what, e.g. conservancy and elephants. A businessman who had applied for a Permission to Occupy (PTO) from the Traditional Authority, but had been refused by the conservancy gave another example. Participants stated the conservancy should provide information to clarify conservancies’ roles, responsibilities and actual jurisdiction and develop local conservancy policies with the community.5. Participants identified positive (good) and negative (bad) changes or impacts resulting from conservancy development interventions. The Conservancy Committee need to review further the costs and benefits of the conservancy and incorporate the findings into management plans.6. Participants identified over 25 potential community development options. The variety of options identified shows the community has a wealth of potential ideas about how Torra could spend its money. These options could be consolidated to a top ten (building on visioning work) and tabled at a series of special meetings, fed into the development of TCC action plans for benefit distribution and community development planning.7. Participants identified over 22 critical factors affecting a conservancy’s success. Topics included conflict within the community, lack of information, lack of clarity on decisionmaking and no financial support to members. TCC should review these factors together with the options for a successful conservancy process (below) to ensure strong community support.8. Participants developed options for a successful conservancy process. Top options centred on community involvement in decision-making and awareness of conservancy activities including transport for meetings, farm visits and transparency in management decisions. The conservancy and community need to identify ways to support conservancy successes by reviewing identified options.

Hagmann, J. R., E. Chuma, K. Murwira, M. Connolly, and P. Ficarelli. 2002. Success factors in integrated natural resource management R&D: lessons from practice. Conservation Ecology 5(2): 29.This paper analyzes integrated natural resource management (INRM) lessons and success factors based on a practical case study over more than 10 years in Zimbabwe. The work was geared toward enhancing the adaptive management capacity of the stakeholders in their resource-use systems. One main result was the development and institutionalization of an approach for participatory and integrated NRM research and extension. The INRM approach described is grounded in a learning paradigm and a combination of theories: the constructivist perspective to development, systemic intervention, and learning process approaches. Participatory action research and experiential learning, in which researchers engage themselves as actors rather than neutral analysts in an R&D process to explore the livelihood system and develop appropriate solutions together with the resource users, has shown high potential. However, this should be guided by a clear strategy, impact orientation, and high-quality process facilitation at different levels. The case study revealed the importance of a “reflective practitioner” approach by all actors. More effective response to the challenges of increasing complexity in NRM requires a shift in thinking from the linearity of research–extension–farmer to alternative, multiple-actor institutional arrangements and innovation systems. To overcome the weak attribution of research outcomes to actual impact, it also suggests an alternative to conventional impact assessment in INRM R&D interventions.

Gündel, S., J. Hancock,. and S. Anderson. 2000. Scaling-up Strategies for Research in Natural Resources Management:A Comparative Review. Chatham, UK: Natural Resources Institute.This review, commissioned by the Department for International Development (DFID) Natural Resources Systems Programme (NRSP) Hillsides Research, had as its objective the identification of appropriate strategies to accelerate uptake of innovations by target farmers, and to provide a framework to guide the formulation of scaling-up mechanisms for these innovations towards the aim of poverty reduction and improvement of livelihoods. The review methodology consisted of key literature consultation, an electronic discussion, a mid-term workshop with various stakeholders (e.g. researchers, NGOs) from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe and a detailed case study analysis. It was decided to adopt the terms ‘horizontal’ and ‘vertical’ scaling-up as discussed and defined during the ‘Going to Scale Workshop’ (IIRR, 2000). Horizontal scaling-up is the geographical spread to more people and communities within the same sector or stakeholder group, commonly referred to as dissemination. Others refer to it as a scaling-out process across geographical boundaries. Vertical scaling-up is institutional in nature and involves expansion to other sectors/stakeholder groups, from grassroots organizations to policymakers, donors, development institutions and international investors. Furthermore the review is based on the following overarching definition of the objective of scaling-up: "more quality benefits to more people over a wider geographical area more quickly, more equitably and more lastingly" (IIRR, 2000). This definition stresses the importance of a people-centred vision to scaling-up. Furthermore it introduces the quality dimension to the definition without neglecting the quantitative dimension and it highlights the importance of time, equity and sustainability, dimensions which are of particular importance in the natural resources management (NRM) context.Few cases of successful scaling-up were encountered in relation to research, where creating impact has largely resided with the development of traditional uptake material at the end of projects, without taking into account the dimensions mentioned above. The majority of research cases took a narrow perspective to scaling-up and emphasized the existence of knowledge and technologies. They saw the challenge in improving the ways to "get these technologies out" to the target groups over a wider geographical area (horizontal scaling-up). Many of the development-oriented cases acknowledged the multidimensional nature and complexity of scaling-up, and stressed the importance of institutional processes and learning and the need to include a range of stakeholders from different sectors. However, these perceptions should not be seen in isolation and it is important to acknowledge that the transfer and adaptation of existing knowledge, as well as the creation of new knowledge, is important in NRM research. Agreement exists that scaling-up is about creating sustained poverty alleviation and increasing local capacity for innovation on larger scales. The review and case studies showed that there are no simple rules to achieving scaling-up. Attempts focus either on geographical and quantitative dimensions of scaling-up, or on institutional processes. These two are not mutually independent pathways, but synergistic and overlapping. A key finding is that research has to be integrated within wider pro-poor development processes.

Hagmann, J. E. Chuma, M. Connolly, and K. Murwira. 1997. Propelling change from the bottom-up: Institutional reform in Zimbabwe. IIED Gatekeeper Series. Issue 71.Participatory approaches to extension and innovation development are increasingly being seen as the way forward for agricultural development. Yet the challenges arising when trying to reform conventional government bureaucracies to make all the changes this approach requires are many. This paper describes how just such a reform process was undertaken in Zimbabwe. Scaling-up of this approach through institutionalisation into the agricultural extension department required a complex and multi-pronged strategy. The development of 'learning cases', and the exposure of officers to these case studies helped raise awareness and commitment for change. An informal network of initiatives pursuing participatory development as a lobby group strengthened the influence and brought participatory approaches into mainstream thinking. Once commitment for change had developed in the extension department, operationalisation of participatory extension approaches (PEA) became a major challenge. This reform required substantial changes in the organisational culture, roles, relationships and attitudes of individuals and groups. Changes of that nature are presently being addressed in an organisational development programme which includes a learning process to facilitate behavioural and attitude changes. The paper concludes that institutionalisation and operationalisation of participatory approaches is far more than training of staff in participatory methods. It is a highly complex intervention which requires high commitment of all actors, sound strategies, flexible methodologies, a conducive atmosphere for learning and a focus on human relationships, rather than on technical and formal issues. The lessons learned and steps taken will have resonance and value for any other organisations embarking on a similar journey.

Vincent, L. 2003. Participatory Research, Natural Resource Management and Rural Transformation: More Lessons from the Field. IN: B. Pound, S. Snapp, C. McDougall and A. Braun (Eds.O Managing natural resources for sustainable livelihoods: Uniting Science and Participation. Earthscan/IDRC.The word ‘lesson’ can refer to a teaching exercise that is structured to provide facts, skills and information, or to the meaning and awareness that is extracted from an experience. By reflecting on what we are doing and why, we can hope to limit our mistakes and create new ways of seeing, negotiating and resolving problems and opportunities. Lessons are important to the future of participatory research, as the recent critique of participatory development as a ‘tyranny’ shows (Cooke and Kothari, 2001). They call for a critical review of participatory development approaches and research methods – to study the controls on the processes behind ‘participation’ paradigms, and to demonstrate why it should be preserved as an approach. However, even ten years ago, Fals-Borda and Rahman (1991) were also warning of the take-up of participatory methods by agencies as a requirement and new form of control and social engineering, that would bring criticism of the role of participatory research methods. They emphasized the need for reflection to counter such outcomes, going on to stress instead how the importance of participatory research might increase in the future. This is through its demonstration of the complexities and stresses of local joint action in changing social and political conditions, at the same time as showing the changes achievable by people in such joint action – to continue to understand the commitment, understanding and support their ever-changing context might require. Although participatory research may also provide better ‘knowledge’ for more enlightened action by planners and policy-makers, or create more local civic action, the changes it achieves are part of a more profound self-awareness about the taking of action for change. This chapter aims to show that this critical review and personal reflection is taking place for participatory research, in both methodological and personal practice, to make it better placed to meet the challenges and critiques of research for transformation in natural resources management (NRM) (see also Hobart, 1994). It illustrates why and how people at the Chatham workshop have continued learning with participatory processes in research supporting development, despite the many stresses in their conduct. Chapter 6 has already reviewed certain key ‘good practices’ from the case studies, emphasizing ‘the field’ as a critical alternative to controlled, narrowly focused pilot trials and models of conventional scientific agricultural research. It showed how to build bridges between different research methodologies, both for better work with stakeholders and new learning possibilities for users of natural resources and for those researching NRM. This chapter brings together lessons from the wider range of practitioners at the Chatham workshop, and the wider field of development-related and action-oriented research they represented. These lessons reflect on why participatory research was being done, why collegiate research was important and difficult, how new frameworks help those involved to rethink the relations between action and knowledge, and what ‘ownership’ means in research terms, going well beyond a ‘restatement of methodologies’ (Biggs and Smith, 1998). It thus looks beyond the ‘learning’ discussion of Chapter 6, to look at the complex questions of action if research is to have real transforming power. Much of the recent effort and critique of participatory research has been about recognition and sharing of different knowledge to enable action to be planned, and giving local people a clearer voice However, there is a wider effort and critique within participatory research – to bring understanding and confrontation of social relations and dynamics into the design of action, beyond just those experienced in knowledge and its synthesis. This chapter tries to look at the impact of these new lessons on action, learning and knowledge as presented at the Chatham workshop.

Escalada, M.M. and K.L. Heong. Participatory Frameworks for Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research in Rice Pest Management. Synopsis of forthcoming book.

Cárdenas, J.C., J.K. Stranlund and C.E. Willis. 2000. Local Environmental Control and Institutional Crowding-out. World Development. 28 (10): 1719-1733. Access from the author's websiteRegulations that are designed to improve social welfare typically begin with the premise that individuals are purely self-interested. Therefore, in a situation in which private and social interests diverge, it should be possible to bring about a welfare improvement by imposing rules that provide the necessary incentives for more socially efficient choices. However, experimental evidence shows that individuals do not typically behave as if they are purely self-interested; they tend to make choices that strike a balance between self and group interests. From experiments performed in several villages in Colombia, we found that a regulatory solution for an environmental dilemma that standard theory predicts would improve social welfare clearly did not. This surprising result occurred because individuals confronted with an external regulation began to exhibit less other-regarding behavior and, instead, made choices that were more consistent with pure self interests; that is, the regulation itself appeared to crowd out other-regarding behavior. The implication is that a policy design aimed simply at establishing incentives that move purely self-interested individuals toward more efficient choices will not necessarily improve social efficiency if the institution itself lessens civic-mindedness and encourages more selfish behavior.

Vaughan, C., Katjiua, J.B., Mulonga, S., and Branston N. 2003. Living with Wildlife. Proceedings of Workshop to Evaluate Wildlife Utilization and Human Wildlife Conflict with Community Game Guards in Kunene. WILD Working Paper 16.This paper presents a preliminary analysis of research conducted in the Kunene Region on the role of wildlife use and management for livelihoods. There are two main components to the paper. The first presents a discussion of issues and options arising from research, drawing on a participatory workshop dealing with issues associated with ‘living with wildlife’, Other data that this paper draws on includes material from the main WILD/EEU CBNRM livelihood survey, two further participatory research workshops (Vaughan et al 2002, and Vaughan and Katjiua 2003), informal interviews and household visits and work in progress on wildlife use (Katjiua forthcoming). The second part presents the proceedings of the workshop to discuss project findings verbatim. The workshop gathered together 18 Community Game Guards (CGGs) from different conservancies in Kunene, three MET representatives, three NGO facilitators and four WILD Project researchers, to explore in more detail some of the issues raised through previous research. The workshop focused on gaining a balanced picture and broader understating of the relationship between the management of wildlife through conservancies and local people’s own use, the role wildlife plays in people’s lives and the pressures or conflicts they face.

Lastarria-Cornhiel, S. and Jolyne Melmed-Sanjak.1999. Land Tenancy in Asia, Africa and Latin America: A Look to the Past and a View to the Future. Working Paper 27. Land Tenure Center, University of Wisconsin. 76 p.This literature review focuses on recent and contemporary tenancy structures in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Tenancy for purposes of this review is broadly defined to include different leasing arrangements such sharecropping, labor tenancy, fixed cash rentals, and reverse leasing. We have limited our discussion to private leasing of agricultural land, thereby ignoring issues pertaining to leasing of public, forest, and other noncrop lands. The purpose of this literature review is to provide a basis for evaluation of the desirability, feasibility, and potential content of regulatory guidelines for lease agreements that might permit the land-lease market to operate effectively. The works discussed herein are both theoretical and empirical. We have attempted to locate the most recent literature on tenancy for Asia, Africa, and Latin America. If contemporary literature is scarce or if historical developments are useful to understanding current tenancy trends, references and inclusion of recent past experiences and dynamics are included. As can be expected, the availability of studies on tenancy in the three regions is quite different.

Gupta, A.K., S. Chokkakula, R. Sinha, K. Patel, S. Muralikrishna and D. Koradia. 2001. Harnessing Wisdom for Managing Watersheds:Honey Bee Perspective on Innovations, Institutions and Policies for Marginal Environments. SRISTI.Household survival in marginal environments such as mountains, dry lands, and flood prone regions requires tremendous creativity. As was noted in Alice in Wonderland, you have to move very fast and work very hard even to remain where you are. The choice for large number of households is to sustain the livelihood support systems such as the catchments, biodiversity, other natural resources, etc., in a manner that they do not get trapped in downward spiral of erosion of resources, self-esteem, and of course, economic opportunities. The fact that despite various odds, including lack of policy support, so many communities and individuals manage not only to conserve resources but also augment them is something that this monograph is all about. The Honey Bee perspective builds upon what poor people are rich in i.e. their knowledge, creative potential, and institutional heritage. The discourse on participation often is restricted to the concept of either physical participation in terms of labour or social participation in implementation of externally designed policies and programmes. In this study, we draw attention to the scope of intellectual, moral, and institutional participation of local communities in reconceptualizing the watershed approach and implementation process. The greatest irony of watershed projects is that they founder after they are ‘handed over’ to the people by the project implementation authorities. If the watershed projects are designed, owned and implemented by the people, why should the question of handing over arise at all. Unless we, the external facilitators, learn to participate in peoples’ own plans, the possibility of building upon peoples’ knowledge is very remote. It is extremely opportune that international and national institutions are recognizing the need for incorporating indigenous knowledge and institutional heritage in the design and implementation of modern watershed projects. This blending of traditional knowledge and contemporary innovations developed by people without outsiders help will not take place unless we understand the policy and institutional context of technology generation and diffusion for rainfed, mountain, and dry regions. The macro policy and the framework for organizing incentives to ensure peoples’ participation in design and implementation of watershed are discussed in part one. In part two of the paper we critique the formal models of technology development and transfer. We argue that technology development process in highly ecologically heterogeneous environments cannot take place in the classical lab to land framework. The last part three deals with the framework for institution building in watersheds. In part four, we provide illustrations of more than fifty technological and institutional innovations from Himalayan region as well as western Indian dry regions.

deGrassi, A. 2003. Genetically Modified Crops and Sustainable Poverty Alleviation in Sub-Saharan Africa; an assessment of current evidence. Third World Network-AfricaThis paper recasts the debate over biotechnology by moving past overly general hyperbole and instead empirically evaluating current experiences with genetically modified crops in Africa. The debate is moved from hypothetical risks to actual results. The 'appropriateness' of GM cotton, sweet potatoes and maize is evaluated using six criteria widely accepted in crop breeding: [whether the crop is] demand-led, site-specific, poverty-focused, cost-effective and institutionally and environmentally sustainable. I conclude by examining potential reasons for considerable attention to these three crops despite their generally inappropriate nature for poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa.

Lastarria-Cornhiel, S. and R. Wheeler.1998. Gender, Ethnicity, and Landed Property in Albania. Working Paper 18.. Land Tenure Center, University of Wisconsin. 48 p.Methods used to privatize state property attest to Albania's commitment to a democratic and egalitarian society: farmland was distributed to the households working on the ex-collectives and state farms, and housing was sold at a nominal price to the families occupying it. There are social issues, however, that influence not only the potential role of property ownership in the development of a democratic society, but also the true workability of some persons' political and economic opportunities. This paper examines two of these social issues: gender and ethnicity. Assuming that property ownership is a necessary condition for establishing a democratic market economy, the potential denial to exercise those rights for a significant proportion of the population on the basis of gender or ethnicity could undermine Albania's attempts to establish a democratic society and dynamic market economy based on equal opportunity.

Groenfeldt, D. Electronic Learning Guidebook on Participatory Irrigation. Prepared and developed under the sponsorship and guidance of a partnership between the Management.Environment and Natural Resources Division (EDIEN) and New Products and Outreach Division (EDINP) World Bank Institute (WBI), of the World BankParticipatory Irrigation Management (PIM) refers to the involvement of irrigation users in all aspects of irrigation management, and at all levels. This electronic learning guidebook is a self-paced learning tool for acquiring knowledge about PIM and how to implement and promote PIM at the country level. The intended users of are task managers, staff of borrowing countries, irrigation managers, consultants, trainers, and NGOs

Probst, K., J. Hagmann, T. Becker and M. Fernandez. 2000. Developing a framework for participatory research approaches in risk prone diverse environments. Proceedings. Deutscher Tropentag 2000. University of Hohenheim.The paper provides a typology of approaches to innovation development: Four prototypical approaches were identified and described along key characteristics (objectives, types of participation, actors involved, roles, procedures, research methods). Most participatory research activities in the CGIAR are at the level of applied and adaptive research, and participatory research is frequently seen as a better way of technology transfer. In view of the complex challenges in natural resource management (NRM), which are a function of technical skills and knowhow as well as social negotiation, organization and rules, it is recommended that the CGIAR should broaden and reconsider its NRM research strategies in risk prone and diverse environments by enhancing the use of participatory learning and action research.

Harrington, L. J. White, P. Grace, D. Hodson, A.D. Hartkamp, C. Vaughan and C. Meisner. 2002. Delivering the Goods: Scaling out Results of Natural Resource Management Research. Special Feature on Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM). Conservation Ecology 5(2).To help integrated natural resource management (INRM) research "deliver the goods" for many of the world's poor over a large area and in a timely manner, the authors suggest a problem-solving approach that facilitates the scaling out of relevant agricultural practices. They propose seven ways to foster scaling out: (1) develop more attractive practices and technologies through participatory research (2) balance supply-driven approaches with resource user demands, (3) use feedback to redefine the research agenda, (4) encourage support groups and networks for information sharing, (5) facilitate negotiation among stakeholders, (6) inform policy change and institutional development, and (7) make sensible use of information management tools, including models and geographic information systems (GIS). They also draw on experiences in Mesoamerica, South Asia, and southern Africa to describe useful information management tools, including site similarity analyses, the linking of simulation models with GIS, and the use of farmer and land type categories.

Guijt, I., Berdegue, J.A. and Loevinsohn, M. 2000. Deepening the Basis of Rural Resource Management. Proceedings of a workshop, February 16-18 2000, The Hague. ISNAR and RIMISP (Red Internacional de Metodologia de Investigaciones de Sistemas de Produccion,. 222pp. Also published in 2002 as a  Special Issue of Agricultural Systems:The workshop brought together researchers working in diverse situations and with resources of different types -- natural, human, and economic -- who are developing innovative methods aimed at enabling farming communities to adjust their decision making in the face of rapid and significant change. The workshop sought to throw light on four main questions:1. What are the features of methods that are effective in supporting farmers’ decision making where resource systems are undergoing such change?2. How do the features of effective methods vary in different types of resource management situations?3. What approaches are available to assess the impact of these methods?4. What institutional factors have favored or hindered the development of effective decision support methods and their use over wider areas?The articles in this Special Issue include a critical review of the key issues emerging from the workshop, five diverse case studies and one of two theme presentations, on the state of the art in decision support in rural resource management. The other theme paper, on learning theory and its relevance for rural resource management, can be found in the workshop’s proceedings, as can the other nine case studies.

deGrassi, A. 2003. Constructing Subsidiarity, Consolidating Hegemony Political Economy and Agro-Ecological Processes in Ghanaian Forestry, Environmental Accountability in Africa. Working Paper No. 13, Washington, DC World Resources Institute.Despite proliferating claims that Ghanaian forestry is collaborative and community-based, most powers over forestry remain concentrated in an unrepresentative and unaccountable centralized forestry administration. In ways that presage current negotiations over the principle of subsidiarity, various regimes in Ghana throughout the twentieth century have, when challenged, misconstrued agro-ecological processes in order to justify centralized and violent control that, although conducted in the name of the public good, allowed forest resources to be appropriated by select state agents, traditional authorities, and domestic and international firms. Recommendations are given to help pry the concept of subsidiarity away from abuse by hegemonic elites: participatory empirical studies of forest agroecologies and management, and inclusive processes of formulating and interpreting policies and laws.

Long, S.A., Murphy, C. and Vaughan, K. 2001. An Overview of Project Approach, Concepts and Methods. Windhoek, Namibia. WILD Working Paper 1.This document provides an overview of the Wildlife Integration for Livelihood Diversification (WILD) project in terms of aims and objectives; key concepts, framework and questions for the research and analysis; Methods; and outputs. It is aimed at a wide audience, from regional Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) and Non Government Organisations (NGO) staff in the field to members of the Project Steering Committee and other stakeholders based in Windhoek. It is organised around a simple overview of the project in terms of both concept and practice.The WILD Project operates as an applied, participatory research project that is development oriented. It addresses the following key questions:1. What are the implications for livelihoods of changing NRM activities and options within conservancies?2. Which critical factors affect these and how?3. Who within communities is affected and in what ways?Central to the research will be an analysis of livelihoods (current practice in the context of changing approaches to natural resource use and management). A comprehensive livelihoods analysis will include consideration of a range of critical factors including local institutional and political contexts, the interventions of service providers, policy and legislation, prices and markets etc. While many factors have shaped the livelihoods of communal area residents in different ways, perhaps the single most important change with respect to the natural resource use and management practices has come about through the implementation of a national programme of support to Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM). This programme concentrates on the development of conservancies as a means to achieving strong institutions for natural resource management and developing opportunities for communities to benefit from (among other things) tourism (consumptive and non-consumptive).

Nkedi-Kizza, P., J. Aniku, A.Awuma, and C.H. Gladwin. 2002. A Comparison Of Soil Fertility Indicators For Women And Men's Agricultural Plots. African Studies Quarterly 6, No.1.The removal of subsidy under the structural adjustment programs of the World Bank has increased the cost of fertilizers and lowered the level of fertilizer input use among the small-scale farmers in Uganda and in many African countries. It is also reported that female farmers lack cash or credit to finance agricultural inputs, as such they apply less fertilizers to their crops than male farmers. In addition there is a perception that female farmers in Africa are allocated less fertile land by their spouses. We conducted this research to determine whether the gender difference in wealth and land allocation between male and female farmers in male-headed households is manifested in soil fertility indicators. We determined chemical fertility levels (fertility indicators) in the composite topsoil samples from 5 woman-owned plots and 5 man-owned plots in Ntanzi village, Uganda, on a Rhodic Ferralsol. A similar study was conducted on 8 woman-owned and 8 man-owned plots in Buggala Island, Uganda, on a Ferralic Arenosol. In total we took topsoil samples from 13 male-headed households, and sampled by horizon 13 soil profiles. No female-headed households (FHHs) were included in this study. Therefore when we use the words “women” or “female” we are referring to married women/females in male-headed households. The FHHs were omitted from this study because they had no consistent comparable “male match” with agricultural plots from which we could take soil samples.The study showed no statistical significant difference between soil fertility indicators of plots owned by wives vs husbands. The soil data from wives’ and husbands’ plots had low soil fertility levels of most soil fertility indicators, implying that they had been under comparable poor management practices. On-farm demonstrations of soil nutrient management options are recommended to convince both women and men farmers about the benefits of improved soil fertility technologies.

Garrity, D.P., V.B. Amoroso, S. Koffa, D. Catacutan, G. Buenavista, P. Fay and W. Dar. 2002. Landcare on the Poverty-Protection Interface in an Asian Watershed. Special Feature on Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM). Conservation Ecology. Vol 6(1). Other articles in the Special Issue on INRMSerious methodological and policy hurdles constrain effective natural resource management that alleviates poverty while protecting environmental services in tropical watersheds. We review the development of an approach that integrates biodiversity conservation with agroforestry development through the active involvement of communities and their local governments near the Kitanglad Range Natural Park in the Manupali watershed, central Mindanao, the Philippines. Agroforestry innovations were developed to suit the biophysical and socioeconomic conditions of the buffer zone. These included practices for tree farming and conservation farming for annual cropping on slopes. Institutional innovations improved resource management, resulting in an effective social contract to protect the natural biodiversity of the park. The production of fruit and timber trees dramatically increased, re-establishing tree cover in the buffer zone. Natural vegetative contour strips were installed on several hundred sloping farms. Soil erosion and runoff declined, and the buffer strips increased maize yields by an average of 0.5 t/ha on hill-slope farms. The scientific knowledge base guided the development and implementation of a natural resource management plan for the municipality of Lantapan. A dynamic grass-roots movement of farmer-led Landcare groups evolved in the villages near the park boundary, which had a significant impact on conservation in both the natural and managed ecosystems. Encroachment in the natural park was reduced by 95% in 3 yr. The local Landcare groups also restored stream-corridor vegetation. This integrated approach has been recognized as a national model for the local management of natural resources and watersheds in the Philippines. Currently, the collaborating institutions are evolving a negotiation support system to resolve the interactions between the three management domains: the park, the ancestral domain claim, and the municipalities. This integrated systems approach operated effectively with highly constrained funding, suggesting that commitment and impact may best be stimulated by a "drip-feed" approach rather than by large, externally funded efforts.

Lastarria-Cornhiel, S. and G. Barnes. 1999. Formalizing Informality: The Praedial Registration System in Peru. Research Paper 131. Land Tenure Center, University of Wisconsin. 53 p.The Praedial Property Registration system has been presented as an alternative system to traditional registries for the formalization of immovable property. Much of the earlier design and pilot work for the Praedial Property Registration system was done by the Peruvian private organization, Instituto Libertad y Democracia (ILD). They claim that in Peru they "have formalized over 150,000 properties much more quickly, and at dramatically less costs, than traditional titling and registration programs" in three-and-a-half years during the early 1990s. This property formalization system has been trademarked as PROFORM. It is being offered to other countries as a quick and inexpensive way to convert informal property in the hands of a large proportion of the population into legally recognized private property, and as a source of capital for the grassroots development of these countries. This study assesses the functioning of this system in Peru and its replicability in other countries. There is no easily accessible documentation on how this property formalization program has actually functioned in Peru, and it is therefore difficult for development agencies to determine its applicability elsewhere. This assessment of the Registro Predial in Peru is an attempt to document the functioning of an important component of this formalization program. The study examines different aspects of property formalization and related institutions and processes. The scope of this assessment, therefore, includes not only the Registro Predial registration system, but also the titling process (prior to registration) and the credit worthiness and credit opportunities for titled and registered property in both urban and rural areas in Lima that fall under the jurisdiction of the Registro Predial. The study also examines the concepts and legal framework of titling, registration, ownership rights, and possession rights within the Peruvian context.