Rare fruits conservation: the case for public participation

Poster presented at 2nd International Symposium on Underutilised Plant Species: Crops for the Future - Beyond Food Security. Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) 27 Jun - 1 Jul 201

Learning to select and apply qualitative and participatory methods in natural resource management research: self-critical assessment of research in Cameroon

Biophysical scientists are increasingly interested in undertaking research on natural resources management from a social science perspective. This, however, requires at least a basic understanding of the different social science approaches and the philosophical perspectives underlying them. We present a meta-analysis of a researcher’s experience when applying qualitative and participatory research methods for the first time, and reflect on the challenges and lessons learned that could help other aspiring researchers in conducting research with such methods. We compare researcher’s experiences with a quantitative research tool (household surveys) and qualitative non-participatory (focus group discussions) and participatory tools (seasonal activity calendars and access and control matrices) used in a gender-responsive forestry study in Cameroon. The field research included almost 50 gender- and age-disaggregated group sessions. Based on the meta-analysis of the research process, we identified key factors affecting the perceived ease of eliciting and interpreting information with different types of social research tools: specificity and acceptance of a tool, ease of managing social dynamics and maintaining focus during data collection, and subjectivity and comparability during data analysis and interpretation. Developing skills in participatory research from research design to group facilitation and balanced interpretation of findings require considerable time and is often best learned through apprenticeship. We explore how experience gained through the use of participatory research tools and reflection will help in applying such tools better, improving interaction with research participants and increasing relevance of research results

Is there a need for a forest restoration certification scheme?

We propose the development of a certification scheme for forest ecosystem restoration that aims for the adoption of protocols and guidelines to ensure the sustained ecological and social value of restored ecosystems. Despite an accumulation of experience on ecosystem restoration over the past decades, it is still common to measure the success of restoration mainly in terms of number of seedlings planted or their survival in the short term. A strong focus on planting targets may divert attention from the actual objectives: establish self-sustaining forested ecosystems that provide livelihood or other ecosystem service benefits to local people. Two important determinants of short and long term success, which often do not receive sufficient attention, are matching the right seed source to the planting site conditions and ensuring that restored populations of trees have sufficient genetic variability to be self-sustaining. Because of the enormous scale of land degradation and the funds being pledged to tackle it, standardized measures of success are of increasing importance. Restoration success needs to be evaluated in a holistic way by restoration practitioners, government institutions, civil society organizations, private sector and, importantly, funding agencies. Much is known about how to restore ecosystems in different regions and under different conditions, however currently there is no consensus on what success looks like or what the minimum criteria should be for monitoring and documenting success. Success can be achieved by following well defined practices and protocols (eg by ensuring high diversity both at species and genes levels, number of mother trees for the collection of reproductive material, provenance, etc) during the various phases of the restoration process. We make a case for the development of a certification system to support long term value of restored populations for global application

Gender-responsive participatory research for social learning and sustainable forest management

Peer Revie

Forest biodiversity monitoring: Guide to community-based approaches

Monitoring of natural resources and their management is a key element for effective decision-making in constantly changing and uncertain situations. Monitoring can reduce risks, increase transparency and accountability, enhance learning, and improve the successful implementation of activities. It helps ensure that changes to management approaches come from learning and reflection instead of hasty reactions or unilateral decisions. Involving local communities in monitoring initiatives makes the process more participatory and contextually relevant, less dependent on external inputs, simpler and usually less expensive. Participatory monitoring initiatives, particularly the ones that are community driven, can increase the sense of ownership towards the management of natural resources and favour the development of adaptive management strategies by facilitating discussion, participation and learning within local communities. This guide is designed to help facilitators develop community-based monitoring initiatives for forest biodiversity by providing a series of steps, recommendations and examples to guide the process. While the guide applies to forest biodiversity, similar approaches can be used to monitor other aspects of natural-resource management. The guide includes tips on using participatory tools for the collection of biodiversity data and insights on how to encourage the participation of local actors across social groups in decision-making processes that affect forest biodiversity resources in their communities and surrounding landscapes