Growing the Wealth of the Poor - World Resources Institute

2. DEVELOPING CAPACITYCapacity: Social, Technical, and BusinessSkills to Manage Resourcesand Establish EnterprisesOWNERSHIPCAPACITYCONNECTIONSocial capacity to embrace a sharedgoal for resource management and tonegotiate an action plan to attain itTechnical capacity to jointly managenatural resources sustainably, includingthe ability to monitor resources andenforce rulesBusiness capacity to organize anecosystem-based enterprise and marketthe resulting products and servicesLocal resource management institutionswith the capacity to distribute costs andbenefits of ecosystem management fairlyDynamic community leadership tocatalyze demand and mediate disputesIntermediary support organizationsto help build capacity and influenceSee page 6 for full diagram.THIS SECTION: CAPACITYIn this section, we argue that strong nature-based enterprises are builtaround functional local organizations with a breadth of social, technical,and business capacities. Developing these latent capacities oftenrequires systematic support from intermediary organizations that canact as honest brokers, facilitators, trainers, organizers, and connectionpoints with government and the private sector. This section:■ Defines local organizations and discusses their function as the keysto implementing and sustaining CBNRM and nature-based enterprise.■ Weighs the strengths and weaknesses of local organizations anddescribes the need for capacity development to improve inclusivenessand accountability, build critical skills and connections, and findmore reliable funding.■ Describes intermediary support organizations, defines their role incatalyzing local nature-based enterprises and delivering criticalsupport services, and profiles several successful ISOs.■ Asserts the ability of ISOs to make nature-based enterprises andCBNRM more pro-poor by building a group’s social capacity andsetting forth norms for participation and distribution of benefits.■ Examines the role of ISOs in “upward” capacity-building—thatis, changing the attitudes of government officials toward localenterprises and increasing government services and political support.When the “demand cycle” finishes, the “action cycle” begins.Once a community or group of resource users has acquiredresource rights and generated the vision and commitment—thedemand—for joint enterprise, it enters a new phase of execution.Translating the group’s demand into action requires skills.At a minimum, the group must learn to manage the resource,produce and market its product, and organize its own decisionmakingprocess to keep group members aligned and involved inthe enterprise. Building these skills is at the heart of the processof scaling up rural ecosystem enterprises.Successful scaling strategies often use a graduated approachthat starts with the skills inherent in local organizations andsystematically builds these through dedicated capacity-buildingprograms. These programs make a point of building socialcapital as well as technical skills, emphasizing adaptive and flexiblelearning. The point is not only to assure the persistence of theresource base but also to build inclusive local organizations withthe organizational skills and business experience to succeed in avariety of social enterprises. This is one of the definitions ofincreasing social and economic resilience.A Focus on Local OrganizationsLocal organizations are essential for implementing and sustainingcommunity-based natural resources management. In the developingworld, organizations such as forest user groups, watershedcommittees, and village councils provide the institutional structurefor group resource management and the receptacle for resourcemanagement authority devolved from the state. Other local groupssuch as NGOs, unions, savings groups, or producer cooperativesprovide technical, financial, and capacity-building services or helpmarginalized groups organize themselves. These organizationshave a distinct advantage in pro-poor development, but they havea number of inherent weaknesses as well. Strengthening such localinstitutions and their linkages is one of the most effective ways toempower local communities, make their resource management andbusiness efforts technically competent, and ensure that poorfamilies share in the benefits (Alsop and Kurey 2005:5–7).Defining Local OrganizationsThe defining feature of “local” organizations is that their dealingsare characterized by face-to-face interactions. Their members relyheavily on personal relationships and networks to gain access to71