To ‘Participate’ with Whom, for What (and against Whom): Forest Fringe Management along the Western Ghats in Southern Kerala

Abstract

What is the meaning of ‘participation’ within the popular notion of ‘participatory natural resource management’? An interesting entry point into this debate is Oakley and Marsden’s (1984) review of discourses and practices, in which they suggest four broad understandings: (1) informing and mobilising target groups; (2) community development; (3) organising target groups; and (4) empowering beneficiaries. They clearly favoured the last two, and criticised the first two for the underlying assumption of ‘so-called “communities” which operate in the “national” interest and which assume that everyone is, or should be, pulling in the same direction’. Instead, they suggest that it is necessary ‘to identify particular groups with conflicting interests…[showing that] different interest groups struggle for control of available assets and resources’ (1984: 9). Underprivileged groups were thus to be organised and empowered — through development projects — by outside organisations such as NGOs or specialised government agencies.