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Exploring participation in ecological monitoring in Nepal's community forests

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 February 2015

SAM C. STADDON ,
ANDREA NIGHTINGALE  and
SHYAM K. SHRESTHA
SAM C. STADDON*
Affiliation:
Geography and the Lived Environment, University of Edinburgh, Drummond Street, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, UK
ANDREA NIGHTINGALE
Affiliation:
Geography and the Lived Environment, University of Edinburgh, Drummond Street, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, UK School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
SHYAM K. SHRESTHA
Affiliation:
Geography and the Lived Environment, University of Edinburgh, Drummond Street, Edinburgh EH8 9XP, UK
*
*Correspondence: Dr Sam Staddon e-mail: sam.staddon@ed.ac.uk
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Summary

Members of the public and resource-dependent communities are increasingly participating alongside professional scientists to monitor the natural world. This study applies the contention from development studies that participatory approaches may be tyrannical to participatory monitoring of Nepal's community forests. There is a tyranny of the group because elites within the community stand to benefit at the cost of those already marginalized. In theory, tyranny is produced through the methods employed in the projects, as they promote scientific systems of monitoring at the expense of local understandings of environmental change; in practice, however, the latter aspects override official monitoring to enable effective learning from the projects. In some instances, tyranny is produced through decision-making and control, whilst, in other cases, the reverse is true and communities are empowered through their participatory monitoring efforts. Policy makers and those involved in participatory monitoring should endeavour to transform tyranny created at local and wider scales. Participatory monitoring holds huge potential in the assessment of biodiversity, natural resources and ecosystem services, but programmes and projects need to effectively deliver associated benefits of conservation and community empowerment.

Keywords

citizen sciencecommunity-based conservationdevelopment studiesecological monitoringinterdisciplinaryNepalparticipationparticipatory monitoring
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , September 2015 , pp. 268 - 277
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2015 

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