Adaptive collaborative management of community forests in Asia ...

Chapter 7: Discussion and Conclusions • 211
Although different, the Malinau case can still inform this discussion because
of its focus on sparking ‘spontaneous orders of cooperation’ amongst
forest stakeholders through active facilitation, and it contributes insights
especially about the challenges of working in such a complex and highly
charged environment. We should remember, though, that its focus is more
on sharing information amongst actors to support cooperation, rather than
catalysing social or institutional transformation through social learning.
Scale
Another important difference was the scale at which the ACM approach
was being catalysed and studied. The Nepal chapter describes the smallest
scale: researchers worked with a single community forest user group in each
site. In using the ACM approach, the groups were engaging with other
stakeholders, but the scale of application was local. Similarly, in Palawan
(Philippines) the people’s organisation was seeking to make a transition to
an ACM approach. In Bukidnon (Philippines) and in the two Indonesian
sites, on the other hand, ACM involved interactions with both local
and outside stakeholders—reflecting both the communities’ perceived
needs to define their ‘space’ in a chaotic time and the lack of formal and
functioning local management institutions. Although the researchers in
Jambi and Pasir, like those in Nepal and the Philippines, were working to
make management and governance adaptive and collaborative, they used
ACM as an ‘intervention’. One way to understand this difference is from
the perspective of ‘end user’ of the research lessons: whereas in Nepal and
the Philippines the local community forest groups might be expected to
institutionalise the ACM approach (either on their own or with supporting
facilitation from an outside actor), in Jambi and Pasir the ACM approach
was more intended for use by NGOs in their work to create the basis
for effective local management in a chaotic context. And the Malinau
researchers learnt lessons about how facilitation teams can be adaptive in
their own processes.
Consistent with the very different scales and contexts within which they
operated, then, each team focused on different issues and entry points:
• In Nepal, where the community forestry program is well developed,
the emphasis was on enhancing adaptive and collaborative
approaches at the user group level, including on linking with mesolevel
actors, 2 with the goal of enhancing equity in governance and
outcomes and increasing benefits from the forests.