Participatory management of natural resources: partnership models in community-based natural resource management- a "discussion paper"

Like ‘community participation’, the term ‘partnership’ has become a fashionable way of thinking among researchers, development actors, donors and policy-makers as a more effective way to achieving sustainable natural resources management and rural development in general — "we need to involve the community!", "are other stakeholders participating in this process", "who are your partners in this project" First, this paper provides a conceptual framework for thinking through partnerships by providing a typology of partnerships, the benefits, barriers and challenges in partnerships. Partnerships are varied and are initiated for various reasons. Therefore, it is difficult to provide a generic definition of partnership that would suit all situations, but the key characteristic is that the partners aim to achieve something they could not do alone, by pooling skills and other resources to capitalize on each other’s comparative advantage —"joined up thinking and acting". To do this they need a shared vision of their goals, and a way of working together which realizes this ambition. This may involve a long-term formal structure such as a Letter of Agreement (LOA), or a shorter-term agreement such as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or simply a handshake agreement based on mutual understanding and trust. Hence, partnerships are best viewed as processes to build relationships and get things done – not just formal structures. Secondly, the paper reviews three case studies from southern Africa on partnerships in natural resources management and highlights their key successes/failures. The paper concludes by looking at some of the key attributes for successful models of partnerships.

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