IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i20p5788-d277973.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rethinking Institutional Knowledge for Community Participation in Co-Management

Author

Listed:
  • Ayonghe Akonwi Nebasifu

    (Anthropology Research Group, Arctic Centre—Rovaniemi, Communities and Changing Work Thematic Program—Graduate School, University of Lapland, P.O. Box 122, FI-96101 Rovaniemi, Finland)

  • Ngoindong Majory Atong

    (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Buea, P.O. Box 63, Buea 00000, South West, Cameroon)

Abstract

Critics of participation often examine the undesirable consequences of state-led systems without much analysis of institutional knowledge at the local level. In this paper, we investigate whether smaller institutions could offer useful knowledge for meeting the development needs of local people. Using participation theory and related literature on development and power, we investigate a co-management system in communities around Mount Cameroon National Park (MCNP), in sub-Saharan West Africa. Our study adopts a multimethod approach to survey officials in 16 agencies and locals in 17 village groups. The findings indicate factors that hinder the effectiveness of local participation and avenues by which institutional knowledge can be customized to meet local development priorities. This system of participation, we conclude, could work better through open dialogue that is explicitly accountable and transparent.

Suggested Citation

  • Ayonghe Akonwi Nebasifu & Ngoindong Majory Atong, 2019. "Rethinking Institutional Knowledge for Community Participation in Co-Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-19, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:20:p:5788-:d:277973
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/20/5788/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/20/5788/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jerome Ballet & Kouamekan J-M. Koffi & K. Boniface Komena, 2009. "Co-Management of Natural Resources in Developing Countries: the Importance of Context," Economie Internationale, CEPII research center, issue 120, pages 53-76.
    2. Victoria Wibeck & Björn-Ola Linnér & Melisa Alves & Therese Asplund & Anna Bohman & Maxwell T. Boykoff & Pamela M. Feetham & Yi Huang & Januario Nascimento & Jessica Rich & Charles Yvon Rocha & Franco, 2019. "Stories of Transformation: A Cross-Country Focus Group Study on Sustainable Development and Societal Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-19, April.
    3. Nantongo, Mary & Vatn, Arild & Vedeld, Paul, 2019. "All that glitters is not gold; Power and participation in processes and structures of implementing REDD+ in Kondoa, Tanzania," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 44-54.
    4. E. A. Brett, 2003. "Participation and accountability in development management," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(2), pages 1-29.
    5. Dan Brockington, 2008. "Corruption, Taxation and Natural Resource Management in Tanzania," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(1), pages 103-126.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sophie King, 2014. "Cultivating political capabilities among Ugandan smallholders: good governance or popular organisation building?," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 19314, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    2. Catherine Ragasa & Cristina Alvarez-Mingote & Paul McNamara, 2024. "Bottom-Up Approaches and Decentralized Extension Structures for Improving Access to and Quality of Extension Services and Technology Adoption: Multi-level Analysis from Malawi," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 36(5), pages 1093-1146, October.
    3. Salla Eilola & Lalisa Duguma & Niina Käyhkö & Peter A. Minang, 2021. "Coalitions for Landscape Resilience: Institutional Dynamics behind Community-Based Rangeland Management System in North-Western Tanzania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-23, October.
    4. Deribe Assefa Aga & N. Noorderhaven & B. Vallejo, 2018. "Project beneficiary participation and behavioural intentions promoting project sustainability: The mediating role of psychological ownership," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 36(5), pages 527-546, September.
    5. Angelingis Makatta & Lupala ZJ & Faustin Maganga & Amos Majule, 2018. "Forest Governance at Village Level with Potential for REDD+ in Participatory Forest Management, Tanzania," International Journal of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resources, Juniper Publishers Inc., vol. 8(2), pages 40-51, - January.
    6. World Bank Group, 2014. "Strategic Framework for Mainstreaming Citizen Engagement in World Bank Group Operations," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 21113.
    7. Fischer, Harry W. & Ali, Syed Shoaib, 2019. "Reshaping the public domain: Decentralization, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), and trajectories of local democracy in rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 147-158.
    8. Catherine E. Herrold & Khaldoun AbouAssi, 2023. "Can service providing NGOs build democracy? Five contingent features," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 43(1), pages 80-91, February.
    9. Laichena, Joshua, 2021. "Does adoption of on-farm tree planting depend on Forest co-management? Evidence from selected Forest sites in Kenya," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    10. Gakou-Kakeu, Josiane & Di Gregorio, Monica & Paavola, Jouni & Sonwa, Denis Jean, 2022. "REDD+ policy implementation and institutional interplay: Evidence from three pilot projects in Cameroon," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    11. Andreas Scheba, 2018. "Market-Based Conservation for Better Livelihoods? The Promises and Fallacies of REDD+ in Tanzania," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-18, October.
    12. Wang, Jianxin & Zhu, Guohua & Chang, Tin-Chang, 2024. "Unveiling the relationship between institutional quality, fintech, financial inclusion, human capital development and mineral resource abundance. An Asian perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    13. Zambrano-Cortés, Darío Gerardo & Behagel, Jelle Hendrik, 2023. "The political rationalities of governing deforestation in Colombia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    14. Diether Beuermann & Maria Amelina, 2014. "Does Participatory Budgeting Improve Decentralized Public Service Delivery?," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 87095, Inter-American Development Bank.
    15. Richard Agbanyo & Godwin Musah & James Ntiamoah Doku & Joseph Quarshie & Nyuregbee Yahbewobr Dery, 2024. "Perceived political corruption and tax compliance intentions among private enterprises in emerging economies: The roles of tax morale and tax tolerance in Ghana," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(4), pages 2063-2095, May.
    16. Gulrajani, Nilima, 2010. "Challenging global accountability: the intersection of contracts and culture in the World Bank," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 30045, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Aga, Deribe Assefa, 2016. "Factors affecting the success of development projects : A behavioral perspective," Other publications TiSEM 867ae95e-d53d-4a68-ad46-6, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    18. Hyman Zyl & Frederik Claeyé, 2019. "Up and Down, and Inside Out: Where do We Stand on NGO Accountability?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(3), pages 604-619, July.
    19. Diether W. Beuermann & Maria Amelina, 2018. "Does participatory budgeting improve decentralized public service delivery? Experimental evidence from rural Russia," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 339-379, November.
    20. Laura Donkers, 2022. "Revitalising embodied community knowledges as leverage for climate change engagement," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 171(1), pages 1-22, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:20:p:5788-:d:277973. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.