Growing the Wealth of the Poor - World Resources Institute

B U I L D I N G O W N E R S H I P, C A P A C I T Y , A N D C O N N E C T I O NLocal NGOs can play a particularly important role innatural resource management and enterprise development.They often provide key services to help strengthen and connectother local organizations, bringing new information andmanagement techniques and offering training in business andmanagement skills to allow resource user groups to do their jobsmore effectively. In the Indian states of Maharashtra, Gujarat,Andhra Pradesh, and others, local NGOs have played an essentialpart in mobilizing communities to take part in watershedrestoration schemes and in building the capacity of village watershedcommittees to manage the restoration work. NGOs alsofrequently act as advocates for communities, helping to channellocal voices to higher levels of government and the private sectorand insisting on accountability from these authorities (Marsh2003:27–28; Scherr et al. 2001:15–16).CAPACITYinvestment purposes or to meet expenses (Chhetri 1994:449–453).In this instance, trust substitutes for financial or property-basedcollateral in obtaining the loan (Marsh 2003:26). Local organizationsare adept at lowering transaction costs in this way, based onsocial ties.Local organizations can be effective at organizing and sustainingcollective natural resource management because they naturallytap into the community’s understanding of the resource and itsconnection to local livelihoods. They are likely to be familiar withthe different techniques used locally to manage the resource, as wellas the problems involved in management. Importantly, they reflectthe social norms and work ethic of the community, and for thisreason they can often command compliance with managementrules through social pressure (Uphoff 1992:2–3; Scherr et al.2001:17–18). In the village of Mendha-Lekha in the Indian state ofMaharashtra, villagers established a gram sabha (village assembly)and a forest protection committee in the early 1980s to regulate useof their 1,800-ha village forest. Working in tandem to set rules onforest use, these two local organizations have been highly effectiveat preventing once-common forest fires, encroachment, and illegalextraction of forest products—so effective, in fact, that the state hasceded all enforcement authority over the local forest to the village(Pathak et al. 2005:59).Community organizations can offer particular advantages tothe poor. Savings groups, self-help groups, resource user groups,and other informal organizations afford members the option tojoin as the need arises. This opt-in, opt-out structure grants thepoor considerable flexibility to participate and provides a safetynet in times of need. Local organizations such as political parties,church groups, or farmer cooperatives can also provide an avenuefor the poor to achieve some social mobility, at least when thesegroups are inclusive in their membership. For example, evidencefrom villages in Mozambique shows that belonging to a church orpolitical group brings opportunities to get ahead in the community(Marsh 2003:25-26).Challenges and LimitationsDespite their potential to manage local natural resources,empower community members, and bring political, social, andeconomic benefits to the community, local organizations sufferfrom a number of weaknesses.HOW LOCAL ORGANIZATIONSSUPPORT RURAL DEVELOPMENTLocal organizations provide a range of functions that are essential torural development, natural resource management, and the developmentof nature-based enterprises. These include:■ Financing: mobilizing and securing funds■ Staffing: providing staff to form or support groups■ Provisioning: facilitating access to services, natural resources, andlocal assets■ Community-Based Action: physical construction and mobilization ofvillage resources.■ Capacity-Building: facilitation or direct provision of trainingprograms■ Coordination: coordination with other organizations■ Monitoring and Evaluation: tracking organizational inputs, outputs,and performance■ Conflict Resolution and Accountability: prevention, mediation,and adjudication of conflict■ Information-Sharing and Dissemination: sharing technical, commercial,and political information within and between organizations■ Advocacy: pushing for reform of laws or institutions or representingthe interests of members to public officials and donorsSource: Adapted from Alsop and Kurey 2005:6–7.73