QUESTION

Stakeholder participation is a solution to minimize natural

resources degradation. Critique
What is stakeholder participation

• Is the process by which an organization involves people who may be affected by the decisions it makes or those who can
influence the implementation of its decisions.
• Stakeholders include property owners and resource users.
What is natural resources degradation

• is the temporary or permanent decline in the productive capacity of resources due to natural or anthropogenic factors.
How stakeholder participation contributes to
minimize natural resources degradation
• Stakeholder participation promotes sharing of indigenous knowledge and information that will promote sustainable management
in land resources.
• Inclusion of individuals in the community for example the old aged people in the communities can benefit the resource
management through indigenous knowledge from these people about an area for example in the management of a forest there
might be sacred places or other information that can help to hinder degrading activities such as over harvesting and or
overexploitation.
• Increases public understanding of natural resource issues or management decisions. In developing countries especially, some
areas are prone to hunger and droughts and as such the people living in these areas are dependent on the natural resources.
• Central government as a stakeholder can also help local communities to reduce the pressure on resources by supporting their
land rights when they are confronted by migrant communities from outside who are looking for new opportunities. (Baland and
Platteau, 1996)
• This type of pressure is a major factor in the failure of resource management by local communities (Baland and Platteau, 1996).
• As a stakeholder, central government also has access to much greater financial resources, which can be used to compensate
local communities for losses that result from restricting their access to resources (Singleton, 2000).
• In environmental resource management the public sector is responsible for administering natural resource management and
implementing environmental protection legislation, (Bruns 2008) The traditional role of the public sector in environmental
resource management is to provide professional judgement through skilled technicians on behalf of the public, (Dukes et al
2001)
Cont…
• With the increase of intractable environmental problems, the public sector has been led to examine alternative paradigms for
managing environmental resources, (Yandle 2003)
• This has resulted in the public sector working collaboratively with other sectors (including other governments, private and civil)
to encourage sustainable natural resource management behaviours thus reducing natural resource degradation.
• Reduce or resolve conflicts between stakeholders .
• Ensure implementation of new programs and polices
challenges:
• costly
• labour-intensive and can ultimately delay decision-making.
• If improperly managed, stakeholder participation can create new conflicts or escalate existing ones.
• Natural resource management stakeholder analysis tends to include too many stakeholders which can create problems in of its
self as suggested by Clarkson (2004) ‘‘Stakeholder theory should not be used to weave a basket big enough to hold the world's
misery.”
• Stakeholder participation is time consuming because more time is spend gathering information. For example, when a decision
is to be made consultation of all the stakeholders involved in the programme can be a long process and complex.
• Identifying the relevant stakeholders for participatory processes is complex as certain stakeholder groups may have been
excluded from previous decisions.
• On-going conflicts and lack of trust between stakeholders can prevent compromise and resolutions
Compiled by….
Tashinga Mavundutse B1337017
Syliviah Chigonera B1336354
Sibusisiwe Moyo B1335919
Lorraine Munemo B1337015