Participatory Research and Development for Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management: A Sourcebook - Vol. 3

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Community-based management of natural resources or common pool resources has become a common strategy for improving resource management and empowering local communities in the past two decades. This is based on such concepts as co-management, use of local knowledge, recognition of local institutions and establishment of common property regimes. Although there has been a focus on design principles for community management institutions and on identifying factors linked with sustainable common property regimes and institutions, there is also a question of how best to initiate such regimes and what participatory planning methods to use.

This paper presents a methodology for building consensus among diverse stakeholders for sustainable management of common resources. Consensus building is expected to identify win-win options, that take into account the interests of different stakeholders, and if implemented, would improve the condition of the resource base and lives of users.

Adapted from:
Sultana, P. and P. Thomson. 2003. Methods of
Consensus Building for Community Based Fisheries
Management in Bangladesh and the Mekong
Delta. CAPRi Working Paper No. 30. CGIAR
Systemwide Program on Collective Action and
Property Rights, International Food Policy
Research Institute, Washington. http://
www.capri.cgiar.org

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