Collaborative Management Case Study

A New Agenda for Picorda

Background

Picorda, a country renowned for the exquisite natural beauty of its upland forests, is currently facing an environmental crisis. To tackle this problem, the following measures have been taken −

• A new community-based forest management program (CBFMP) was introduced within the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the State agency is accountable for managing and protecting the country’s natural resources.

• The CBFMP is now integrated into Picorda’s progress process, along with its multiple land-use management objectives of income generation, forest protection, and food production.

• Various financial supports from international funding agencies enabled DENR to execute the program completely, but created a pattern of faulty assessment of the existing environmental crisis.

Current Situation

A Picorda working group has been formed, with volunteers from the local community, the CBFMP, DENR, and the international funding agency. Group meetings are being conducted to determine the agenda.

The meeting participants have compiled lists of critical problems for discussion, including forming rational environmental measurements; identifying corrective requirements within agencies, increasing support for communities to help them comply with program objectives and determining territorial boundaries.

You have been selected to represent the four major communities situated within the CBFMP jurisdiction. People have high expectations from the program, but it has been difficult to accommodate all the new duties that have arisen, there are so many meetings and so many conflict issues to address.

The major problem is that the government last month cut 50% of timber in your region, without warning and without involving any local people. Workers from outside the community were brought in to do the harvesting, cultivating, and all the logs were taken away. Everyone is furious, and people have demanded that you should address the following issues −

• Who is responsible for the debacle of the recent timber harvests in the region?
• Where did the timber and profits go?
• Why were workers brought in from outside?

Discuss how you would apply the methods of collaborative management to resolve these issues.