Growing the Wealth of the Poor - World Resources Institute

CAPACITYW O R L D R E S O U R C E S 2 0 0 8Lack of AccountabilityMany local groups are not formed along democratic or participatorylines and lack strong accountability to their members. Theyare frequently dominated by strong individuals—often thosewho founded them or prominent members of the community—and don’t have good mechanisms to communicate with or elicitfeedback from members. They may not have elections, leavingmembers little ability to sanction leaders or express dissatisfaction.In such situations, members often show little engagement in thegovernance of the group. Even when local organizations are partof local government, as in the case of official village councils, lackof accountability is still an issue. In Tanzania, some village forestmanagement committees—which are official subcommittees ofthe elected local government—have withheld crucial informationabout their forest activities from villagers in order to have a freerhand with their decisions (Alsop et al. 2000:3; Brown andKalegaonkar 1999:5; Blomley 2006:15).Lack of InclusivenessAchieving greater social inclusion and representation is a majorchallenge for local organizations around the world. Many localgroups—both traditional and modern—still reflect the hierarchicalsocial structure of rural societies and are thus not very inclusive ofwomen, the poor, and other socially marginalized people.Researchers in Guatemala estimated that in 2001 less than10 percent of the members of community assemblies werewomen, and women held just 1 percent of leadership positions.In the Indian state of Gujarat, a study of the participation ofpoor families in rural dairy cooperatives showed that largelandowners dominated the cooperatives and captured most ofthe benefits, while the landless and lower-caste households hadnot benefited as much. Illiteracy made it difficult for many of thepoor to understand the proceedings of the cooperative’s generalmeetings, discouraging their attendance. Moreover, cooperativerules forbade considering illiterate members for spots on theRESILIENCE AND CAPACITY: MAKING THE CONNECTION76The technical, social, and business capacities that are painstakinglybuilt during the creation and management of nature-based enterprisesalso foster ecological, social, and economic resilience. The skills andabilities represented by these capacities can be deployed in many othersocial, resource management, and business settings, increasing theflexibility and adaptability of the members of the enterprise.CAPACITIES THAT INCREASE ECOLOGICAL RESILIENCE■ Technical: mapping and assessing ecosystem resources.Enables enterprise to demark accurately the resources to be managedand estimate their potential productivity, contributing to bettermanagement plans and more enforceable management boundaries.■ Technical: monitoring and analyzing resource trends. Allowsenterprise to assess pressures on a resource and determine the effectof the enterprise’s management techniques.■ Technical: applying resource restoration techniques. Allowsenterprise to increase the ecosystem’s baseline productivity.■ Technical: applying resource restoration techniques. Allowsenterprise to increase the ecosystem’s baseline productivity.■ Technical: applying sustainable harvest techniques. Leavesecosystem resources to regenerate, providing a continuing stream ofenvironmental benefits.■ Technical: processing ecosystem products efficiently. Allowsenterprise to maximize production while minimizing impact.■ Social: enforcing management rules. Enables enterprise tominimize poaching or clearing and to attain its management goals.CAPACITIES THAT INCREASE SOCIAL RESILIENCE■ Social: group visioning and enterprise planning. Builds thewillingness for collective action and guides the formulation of managementand business plans.■ Social: undertaking collective management activities. Buildsgroup trust and confidence that enterprise members can work cooperativelytoward shared goals.■ Social: crafting an equitable benefits distribution plan. Demonstratesthat collective action can result in widespread benefits.■ Social: resolving internal management disputes. Enablesenterprise members to overcome obstacles to collective action and jointenterprise.■ Social: negotiating with outside funders or government agencies.Enables enterprise to represent its interests and increases the chanceof receiving technical, political, and funding support for the enterprise.CAPACITIES THAT INCREASE ECONOMIC RESILIENCE■ Business: crafting a business plan. Increases theenterprise’s probable returns and improves competitiveness forcommercial entities.■ Business: applying accounting and fiscal management. Allowsenterprise to handle business transactions and distribute benefits inan efficient and transparent manner that maintains the confidence ofenterprise members, funders, and government overseers.■ Business: undertaking marketing and communication. Enablesenterprise to expand its customer base and tap support networks.■ Business: maintaining quality control. Allows the enterprise todeliver quality products and services that command a higher marketprice and inspire customer confidence.