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stakeholders, together with their individual expertise and through consensus agreed
the priority, scale and type of intervention possible. Each of these three groupings
has had a different need and function in taking forward and improving the catchments
management. For all the three groupings there has been a need to improve the level
of understanding of how a catchment operates and highlight some of the pressures
on it. In return this increased capacity to understand has given rise to a greater
awareness and involvement. Examples of the additional outcomes arising from the
close involvement of each of these groups are given in Table 3. The aspects of the
high level of involvement of the stakeholders that were not fully appreciated are
identified as common issues between the different groupings. In summary these are:
(a) the high level of resource requirements, largely staff time, in organising, setting
up and undertaking adequate consultation, (b) the strong role of an individuals
personality and traits in influencing meetings, (c) the additional resources required to
overcome conflict resolution which largely arise over mis-understandings between
different stakeholder groups and (d) in overcoming issues a–c there is an inevitable
slowed pace of implementation.
Grouping
Community
Land managers
Steering group
Examples of additional outcomes
1. Identification of issues of habitat diversity for wader birds highlighted
2. Desire for active involvement
3. Sharing of anecdotal evidence on fish numbers
4. Increased reporting of environmental issues and requests for
assistance
5. Implementation results in multi-purpose intervention to increase water
quality, habitat and riparian access
6. Provide in kind and cash help to implement measures
7. Sharing of expertise
Table 3:
Examples of additional outputs from stakeholder consultation and
participation
DISCUSSION
The monitoring results have shown that there are a range of diffuse pollution issues
within the Tarland catchment that are impacting on its ecological status. Through
some simple interventions following best practice guidelines on one tributary in
the catchment it has been possible to improve water quality and the biology (as
measured by invertebrate BMWP). Added benefit to the intervention and the potential
for including more wide ranging, multi-issue benefits have been brought about by the
involvement and participation of a range of stakeholders. The visual establishment
and demonstratable success of the first intervention has resulted in an increased
willingness to expand the measures to other tributaries in the catchment. The
provision of objective data through which the changes can be quantified and shown
is an important element in discussions of future developments with the stakeholders.
These positive outcomes need to be balanced by consideration of some of the more
difficult aspects presented by the relatively slow pace of implementation and high
resource requirements necessary to ensure adequate consultation and participation.
Based on the experience to date in Tarland, possibly the most effective stakeholder
involvement have been developed through largely unstructured informal approaches. A
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