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A framework for evaluating effectiveness and inclusiveness of collective action in watershed management
Author(s) -
German Laura,
Taye Hailemichael
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of international development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.533
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1328
pISSN - 0954-1748
DOI - 10.1002/jid.1430
Subject(s) - collective action , strengths and weaknesses , action (physics) , watershed , natural resource management , structuring , set (abstract data type) , environmental resource management , common pool resource , natural resource , business , public relations , process management , political science , environmental planning , knowledge management , economics , computer science , social psychology , geography , psychology , microeconomics , politics , law , physics , quantum mechanics , machine learning , programming language
Collective action in agriculture and natural resource management (NRM) is all too often conceptualised in terms of the mere number of participants, with little consideration given to who participates, why and the outcomes of inequitable participation. This paper focuses on approaches under development under the African Highlands Initiative to bring collective action principles to bear on gender‐equitable change processes in NRM. A framework for assisting research and development organisations to evaluate the effectiveness of collective action processes in watershed management is proposed. The authors then use a set of case studies to illustrate the relative strengths and weaknesses of different approaches for enhancing gender‐inclusive and equitable collective action processes for activities common to multiple stages of watershed management: structuring the community interface, eliciting views and governing benefits capture. Use of the framework to analyse these cases demonstrates the utility of breaking collective action down into its component dimensions when assessing the relative strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.