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It is a rare opportunity to be involved in both the creation of a resource on participatory research in natural resource management and in the history that led up to it. My involvement, first as a researcher in Africa and, subsequently, as a Director at two international research centres in different regions of the world, has allowed me the good fortune to witness and participate in the positive evolution of research in natural resource management (NRM).

Motivated by the limited record of conventional NRM research in generating improvements in rural people’s well-being (especially that of marginalized peoples) in the 1980s, a number of key international institutions and a wide range of developing-country farmers and other partners began to seriously investigate participatory technology development. As the experience gained from this initiative showed some promise, financial and intellectual investments grew in this new field of research on the ancient human practice of participation for the common good. These developments were stimulated by, and have become part of, a much broader societal movement among non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and academia towards democratizing research and development activities. An ever-expanding community of practice has since developed among social and biophysical scientists and other practitioners working at the community level.

The participatory research and gender analysis approaches undertaken by these scientists, local peoples (ie, the natural resource managers) and partners, when done well, have provided tremendous benefits in mutual learning and problem-solving for local and research institutions alike. Experience has also confirmed, however, that these returns – as in conventional research – are dependent on the quality of the research design, implementation, analysis and dissemination. Unlike conventional research, however, quality approaches to these elements of research have been relatively uncharted territory. Furthermore, the integrative and people-oriented nature of participatory research on NRM has demanded that it address head-on critical challenges that conventional research had previously ‘dodged’, such as cultural diversity and integrated natural resource management. Finally, experience has also shown us that meeting these challenges is going to require the thoughtful and dynamic integration of both participatory and conventional approaches to science for each context and each issue – in other words, adaptive science for the adaptive management of natural resources.

And this is where this book comes in. Managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Livelihoods draws on international authors who are at the forefront of innovation and field experience in applying participatory methods to NRM

research, especially in smallholder agricultural systems in the developing world. It analyses the issues and the lessons that have been raised by the practical application of participatory principles to complex landscapes and social situations. It also looks ahead and considers how to meet the institutional, methodological and technical challenges, which are illuminated by such critical reflection, in order to improve the livelihoods of local natural resource managers, as well as to conserve natural resources for future generations. One of the strengths of this book is that it recognizes and reflects the need for research that parallels NRM in the transition towards adaptive management approaches. This includes the ‘democratization’ of NRM and research as well as integrated efforts to cope with the unpredictability, variability and diversity that characterize natural systems and help confer resilience. In this context, the book offers a critical review of the potential tensions and synergies of traditional and participatory approaches to research, and the role of gender and stakeholder diversity analysis within that. It offers signposts for researchers and research managers in undertaking effective participatory research and gender analysis (PRGA), including meeting the challenges of ‘scaling up’ from field, to farm, to landscape levels. It also offers them a practical framework for ‘good practice’ in PRGA design and implementation. Furthermore, it stretches beyond the research project level, to address two of the key organizational level challenges of our time in NRM: the institutionalization of PRGA in research organizations; and the broader transition towards becoming learning organizations. In this way, the book elucidates the need and potential paths for the conscious evolution of research in NRM towards flexible and multi-faceted approaches that effectively respond to human and ecosystem challenges. We sincerely hope that you find the results as inspiring and useful as was our intent.

Joachim Voss
Director General, International Center for Tropical Agriculture
July 2002

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