Poverty Dimensions of Public Governance and Forest Management ...

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These three are not mutually exclusive, however, and all may be implemented simultaneously to a
greater or lesser degree.
Given the close integration of the local elites with the national elites, the preferred option is often
the first option, the implementation of punitive bye-laws, drawing on the narratives of
anthropogenic destruction which dominate national environmental discourse. Since these
rhetorical narratives usually allocate some form of blame, they can be picked up by powerful
groups to further their interests. They then become projected into the local political arena as an
‘environmental crisis’, thereby justifying the introduction of bye-laws. These are likely to be
accepted by local people only where they do not contradict their own economic interests. 5 Where
they do, then the consequence is likely to be social conflict. Thus, the dominance of crisis
narratives within government agencies concerned with natural resource management, encourages
confrontational environmental committees to come into being that do not reflect the state of
natural resources at the local level nor the interests in natural resources. Had the environmental
committees worked through other more negotiated frameworks which embraced various
perspectives on natural resources or assets, they might well have been able to establish platforms
through which various group interests in the community could work and negotiate and engage in
constructive dialogue.
Thus, the net outcomes are likely to be that environmental policies:
! Are poorly implemented;
! Are given low priority;
! Lack empirical justification;
! Create a culture of blame;
! Are open to manipulation and politicization (this is particularly evident in conflicts over
charcoal management)
4.1.22 An interim assessment of environmental decision-making
In summary, the existing approaches to environmental management in the district tend to be
singularly ill-adapted to the interests of the small producers, particularly the poor. Environmental
policy is, to an excessive degree, external in its derivation, top-down in its orientation, and
5 This point is developed further by Wiggins et al (2001).
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