Local Communities and Stakeholders

A stakeholder is any individual, group or community living within the influence of the site or likely to be affected by a management decision or action, and any individual, group or community likely to influence the management of the site. Conservation managers must recognise the need to adopt an inclusive approach which takes account of the interests of stakeholders and, as far as possible, encourages their involvement in all aspects of management and planning. One of the key issues when building and maintaining successful relationships is to have a shared appreciation of what can and cannot be negotiated. Relationships with stakeholders are so important that they should be dealt with explicitly within the planning process. It is possible to prepare an objective which establishes the desired relationship with stakeholders and to identify within an action plan all the essential activities necessary to meet the objective.

Keywords facilitation, local community, negotiation, relationships, stakeholder, stakeholder analysis