Document(s) 23 of 39

When societies undergo in-depth changes, traditional structures, resource management systems and means of communication sometimes do not suffice in coping with the pace of transformation. Moreover, conflict may arise as a result of the increasing stress that people and their environment are faced with. Enhancing existing communication and conflict resolution practices with novel tools and methodologies can help to build the social fabric anew and provide communities with a common sense of direction.

Traditional agro-pastoral Lebanese villages located on the marginal slopes of the semi-arid Lebanon mountains have been undergoing drastic changes in response to socio-economic pressures that have been developing over the last 25 years. During 1991 to 1993, a case study on changes in resource management systems conducted in Arsaal, a vast highland village, revealed a massive conversion from a traditional cereal/livestock-based economy to a rain-fed fruit production system.

Subsequently, a follow-up study was conducted with a view to analysing components of changes, trends and sustainability in the emerging production system and improving the prospects for sustainable community development. The land-use system in Arsaal, including socio-economic components, was then characterized and its resource base was assessed, with an emphasis on soil and water conservation strategies. Local beneficiaries were involved at different stages of the project and strengthening of local capacities was sought through the establishment of a local users' network. Avenues for non-agricultural income-generating activities for women were explored. A second phase was designed to test and evaluate technologies and management options developed by the users' network in phase 1 to assess progress towards sustainability in the major land-use systems, as well as to monitor, evaluate and strengthen the capacity of the local users' network towards sustainable natural resource management, with an emphasis on gender analysis.

The overall picture reflected a society in transition from an agro-pastoral system to a more diversified livelihood integrating rain-fed fruit production and off-farm jobs, as well as quarrying and related activities, in addition to the traditional sheep and goat and cereal/pulses production. Traditional management strategies based on community consensus had given way to conflict over land use among animal herders, fruit growers and quarry owners, with an increasing socio-political influence from the latter group. The conflict was highly entangled in the traditional family web of the village. In spite of the ramifications that these conflicts introduced within families and clans, traditional structures showed a good degree of resilience. In summary, the Arsaali society was in a prolonged state of disequilibrium, crisis and crisis management.

Furthermore, starting in the mid 1960s, the breakdown of traditional resource management practices had led to the dismantling and complete paralysis of the local municipality. This situation was perpetuated during the decades of civil unrest because the new emergent forces (political parties and militia) were more involved in national politics than in local resource management. This chaotic state of affairs continued following the return of hundreds of youth from Beirut, driven back by the demise of the leftist militia after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and their hopes of prospective involvement in smuggling activities across the Syrian borders.

The year of 1998 saw the election of the first municipal council in 35 years, and the community acquired an administrative body that faced the challenge of managing several forms of land use and their conflicting requirements. The election, however, was largely thought of and conducted in terms of familial alignments, thus leading to the formation of a municipal council that knew little about local administration and lacked the perception required to develop local resources.

Creating a local users' network

Following discussions with our local facilitator, the Association for Rural Development in Arsaal (ARDA), it became crystal clear that some kind of medium was needed to facilitate interaction among the various local beneficiaries and other groups, such as researchers, development workers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The presence of such a medium would provide a platform for different stakeholders to assess and develop a common understanding of research and development needs and possible solutions to the lack of extension structures.

A local users' network was therefore conceived to bring together the different stakeholders and to fulfil the critical functions of participation, communication and capacity-building.

In the Arab world, the traditional way of communicating and resolving dilemmas is, largely, face-to-face interaction. This forms the basis of the tribal majlis during which issues are brought up in the community, usually at the house of the community leader.

The strategic role intended for the network was to form a participatory interactive platform based primarily on face-to-face interaction in informal group meetings as a variant of the traditional tribal majlis, this time extending beyond the community and involving all the development stakeholders: the community, researchers, development projects and government.

After consulting with the local NGOs and meeting with the local authorities, the mukhtars (heads of villages) and the acting municipality officials (the municipality had been dissolved since 1965), the mechanics for establishing the network were defined in order to ensure the representation of traditional decision-makers, as well as new emerging forces. ARDA played a facilitating role in contacting various groups of users (such as the cherry growers, flock owners and women).

The objectives of the project were discussed and evaluated, and network members agreed to actively participate in the activities.

It was hoped that the flexible structure of the network, the common interest of its members and the rewards to all involved in it would ensure a level of sustainability through its adaptive development. The rewards included benefits arising from farmer-to-farmer training, productivity improvement as a result of scientific research, improved training capacity of the NGOs involved, and reinforced links between farmers and local authorities.

As the network grew, our understanding of communication principles evolved with it and the need to define a workable, meaningful typology or a system of user categorization that considered their subjective nature became obvious. Specialized working groups were born and later developed into three sub-networks; two of these dealt with the main production sectors in the village: livestock and fruit growing. The third addressed women's needs. Local coordinators were designated to coordinate each sub-network. Specific on-farm trials were developed, discussed with the farmers and implemented. From its onset, the project made sure that network members were representative of the different resource user groups in the community. This helped to ensure that the needs of the community at large were voiced in the network, which meant that the solutions developed were relevant to the rest of the community. This, by itself, greatly enhanced a widespread knowledge-sharing.

Moreover, a specialized unit in the network called the environmental forum was specifically created to catalyse knowledge-sharing with the community at large. The forum was made up of Arsaali youth, mostly school teachers, who were trained by the project team in the good practices developed by the network and had as a mission their widespread distribution. In order to do this, they primarily used face-to-face interaction, especially during critical periods. In addition, they used complementary material, such as the 'best practices booklet' developed by the project to summarize and simplify project findings in a language accessible to farmers. The forum also served as a communication channel between the community and the local users' network, in which refinements and remedial measures were identified.

Special emphasis was placed on evaluating and analysing the observations and feedback of the network members. This was done with the purpose of assessing the response of the community to the new techniques, as well as adapting these techniques to community needs. Farmers' findings were fed into the research process by way of regular meetings and contacts with research team members. These farmers constituted a platform whose purpose was to spread research findings and exchange observations. The input and feedback of network members constituted the main elements for use in establishing intervention strategies to gain sustainable improvement.

Using a wide range of tools

The tools and practices used by the local users' network were mainly interpersonal. They included regular issue-centred, round-table meetings for members of the sub-networks; community outreach by students during their training programmes; 'live-in-the-village' and 'work-with-the-farmer' approaches; joint field implementations of good practices in natural resource management; short video documentaries on different issues, which were also used as powerful participatory tools; newsletters; a website; and, most importantly, a series of workshops on different themes related to natural resource management and community development.

The network functioned as a self-reinforcing interactive participatory communication platform that proved to be an effective and innovative experience by promoting economic development and socio-political empowerment, while exposing the community to other development interventions.

Art and visual communication tools were also part of the network's arsenal. In its second phase, the project developed a partnership with Zico House, an alternative cultural community house specialized in the use of art for community development. Video-making was experimented with as part of an effort to involve the community in dialogue and conflict resolution, the premise being that imagery has the power to shed light on aspects of conflict and dissent. More importantly, it constitutes a platform for freedom of expression for marginal groups and provides a visual reference of a specific development context over time.

Making videos to resolve conflicts

The network provided an environment in which conflict resolution could take place among different land users since the needs of conflicting parties could be voiced and compromises explored. Early meetings held to discuss the conflict issues among the parties revealed a reluctance to engage in dialogue. After a few stalling sessions, our communication unit suggested using visual images to facilitate the dialogue initiation process. Initially, the representatives of the conflicting parties who refused to discuss the issues at stake were interviewed and filmed separately. Then the video was projected in the presence of all parties, followed by a discussion that was also documented on film. The local actors who were videotaped were consulted during the video editing process. The final step was to project the new video to a larger audience, including more people from the whole village until a positive dialogue started to emerge from the audience. The moment of consensus was also filmed and formulated by a local facilitator into a set of specific recommendations for follow-up. For instance, the conflicting parties agreed to refer to the local authorities (the municipality and the mukhtars) and entrust them to develop and recommend different scenarios for land-use management in the village.

Videos to empower women

Another video was produced with the aim of highlighting the economic productivity of women in NGOs, in the co-operative for food provisions and in a pastoral society. This video particularly addressed the improved self-perception of women and the feeling of empowerment that accompanies production. The film was shown to a group of women and men, some of whom were in the film, over an iftar (breakfast) organized by ARDA. Those who were in the film felt quite empowered to see themselves on the screen, especially when they received compliments from others about their stated opinions in the film. Both men and women emphasized the importance of working extra-domestically. Women stressed that although money is essential and it elevates the status of women in their households, the mere act of exposure, learning and socialization that comes about from working is satisfying and, indeed, raises one's self-esteem.

There was also a discussion about women who are not involved in production and the importance of acknowledging their role in society. Some commented that the film should have also addressed other 'typologies' of women, such as school teachers and housewives.

The group agreed that it enjoyed watching the film and that film is a very appropriate means of documentation, especially in a context such as Arsaal where people enjoy 'watching' more than reading.

Conclusions

The use of a wide range of communication tools and methods – that is, from the traditional majlis setting, to workshops, to novel tools such as videos and video-making – in the local context was very revealing. Marginal groups usually shut out of the local power structure, suspicious of it and often shy in formalized majlis setting became very candid before the camera and expressed unvarnished opinions as if, for them, lenses were neutral objects and there was no need for the formal politeness of the majlis confrontation. The videos turned out to be valuable for generating discussions and awareness among and between different people and factions. The world of image was able to re-establish a communication platform to implicate local people, reflect their real needs, allow marginal groups free expression, shed light on the nature of conflicts amidst the village, and facilitate resolution of conflicts over natural resource management.

One of the most pressing issues we still face is how far the local communities will be able to use the product of participatory development communication to improve their livelihoods. Participatory development communication activities must be intimately linked to development activities – namely, the transfer of resources. Only when elements of development were injected into our community-based research process did changes in the behaviour and aspirations of the people start to emerge.

Document(s) 23 of 39