Abstract

This report presents an analytical summary of the deliberations of the Workshop on People's Participation in Natural Resources Management held at IRMA during November 25-30, 1992. The report also draws upon the papers contributed to the Workshop and other relevant literature on the subject so as to make it useful to a wider range of audience than just the Workshop participants. Various concepts, connotations, measures, rationale, theories, and factors affecting people's participation are briefly discussed. People's participation is viewed as a dynamic group process in which all members of a group contribute to the attainment of group objectives, share the benefits from group activities, exchange information and experience of common interest, and follow the rules, regulations, and other decisions made by the group. For measuring people's participation, a simple quantitative index is suggested and the method of its computation described. Need for people's participation is articulated in term of efficiency and/or cost-effectiveness, equity in distribution of benefits, sustainability, and empower-ment of the people. It is argued in the report that whereas there are no universally valid theories of people's participation in development programmes, the Olson's theory of collective action, the Buchanan and Tullock's (transaction) cost approach, and the theory of margin propounded by McClusky and Lupanga could explain to a large extent why people do and do not parti-cipate in collective management of natural resources. The factors affecting people's participation are identified and grouped into five categories, namely, resource-specific, resource user-community-specific, agency-specific, programme-specific, and decision-making environment-specific factors. Possible effects of these factors on people's participation are briefly discussed and practicable strategies for removing the obstacles to people's participation engendered by those factors are outlined. Finally, a strategy for participatory management of natural resources delineating the roles of governmental and non-governmental organisations is commended for adoption.