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Policies and community participation for integrated natural resource management: a review of transdisciplinary perspective

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Abstract

Given the detrimental impact of natural resource degradation on livelihoods and sustainability, this research critically reviews the related studies and the role of policies and community participation toward addressing the issues. It carries out bibliometric analysis of highly cited scientific research publications on natural resource management compiled from the database of Scopus and Web of Science. Here, emphasis is given on reviewing the intersections between natural resource management and the underlying challenges in policies and community participation. In addition, it also analyzes the synergies of policies and institutions with decentralization of power for resource conservation and management. The article proposes a bottom-up approach to policy making and decentralized framework based on community participation and ownership rights for resource management. Engagement with local community and bringing in their behavioral changes would be crucial for efficient integrated natural resource management.

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Source: Based on the frequency of six keywords continued during 1900–2008 (prepared with the use of Google Books Ngram Viewer and retrieved from https://books.google.com/ngrams)

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Notes

  1. The term wicked problem was introduced by Allen and Gould (1986) based on Rittel and Webber (Year). According to Ackoff (1974), there are interrelated or interdependent problems of organized complexity, which cannot be solved in relative isolation from one another.

  2. Minimalism aims to avoid unneeded, simplicity, usefulness and elegance based on the proposition of smaller is better in the absence of the least.

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Acknowledgements

The work is a part of the corresponding author’s doctoral research being pursued at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur with fellowship awarded by the University Grant Commission (UGC), Government of India. The authors acknowledge the generous support by this fellowship awarding authority for funding his doctoral research. The authors are also thankful to the organizing committee (CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership Council) and Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition of the Science Forum 2018 held at Stellenbosch, South Africa during 10–12 October, 2018 for providing the funding to present the work by the corresponding author in the conference. The comments and suggestions received during this conference helped revision of the paper immensely. The authors also acknowledge the valuable comments and suggestions by the anonymous referees on the earlier draft of the paper. Usual disclaimers apply.

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This study was funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC), Government of India, through an individual Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) Program.

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  1. Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, West Bengal, India

    Amartya Pani & Pulak Mishra

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Pani, A., Mishra, P. Policies and community participation for integrated natural resource management: a review of transdisciplinary perspective. J. Soc. Econ. Dev. 24, 211–233 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40847-021-00169-7

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