Governance and Conflict Management
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"We need justice to save the mangroves" -Sign made by Tagabinet community member
"We need justice to save the mangroves."-Sign made by Tagabinet community member The small coastal village of Tagabinet in the Philippines was facing a new threat to the ecological survival of the area and the economic survival of the people who lived there. For years, the community had all shared the resources provided by the mangrove forest bordering the community. Mud crabs, prawns, small fish, and other animals and plants that rely on the mangroves were a part of daily life for these residents. But contradictory land tenure laws and the spectre of high land taxes had stopped the villagers from securing legal title to the area. Now a group of outsiders who lived in Manila, the capital city, had been granted a Fishing License Agreement from the national government for 7 hectares of mangrove forest. The outsiders had come in, torn down the mangroves, not only in these 7 hectares, but also in an additional 13 hectares, and constructed the dikes and ponds of a fish farm. Armed guards patrolled the fish farm in order to prevent the entrance of local people.
This real-life scenario illustrates how biodiversity conservation and governance go hand-in-hand. The concentration of decision-making power at the national governmental level allowed a decision about land use to be made that was not in favor of the local people and the local environment. More transparent and democratic processes between local and national levels may have prevented this outcome. Civil society-the network of non-governmental organizations, other groups (media, research, activists, etc.) and individuals that influence political processes in a society-may have been engaged to advocate for the rights of community members. Lobbying efforts could have focused both on the issue of access to local resources and the community's rights and responsibilities to protect the environment for future generations. Supporting good governance practices will not guarantee the success of conservation programs, but failing to do so will guarantee failure.
What is Good Governance in Conservation?
"Governance" is much more than just government. It includes, but also goes well beyond electoral politics and legislation, legal systems and governmental administration. Governance is concerned in general with who holds power, both legitimately and illegitimately and who has both informal and formal power. Governance encompasses the processes in which public, private and civil society actors organize themselves and coordinate with each other to make decisions and distribute rights, obligations and authority. Good governance in conservation can be defined as a decision-making structure and a policy environment that support equitable access to the benefits of conservation and natural resource management.
Governance includes efforts to strengthen civil society; cross-sectoral synergies between environment and democracy/governance programming; policy formulation on trade, resource extraction, education, decentralization, justice, human rights, and territorial claims; and the clarification of rights and responsibilities related to resource use. In particular, the enforcement of rights and responsibilities, security and the legitimacy of authority are often crucial in defining and resolving disputes over natural resource use. Many conservation projects must deal with questions of access to and control over resources that are managed as various forms of common property versus private or public property, for example the indigenous or extractive reserves in Brazil or community forestry panchayats in India. Also, as we see in the "Gender Issues" section of this CD-ROM, the different rights, responsibilities, and access of men and women to natural resources can be crucial determinants of conservation success.
What can I do as a conservation practitioner to strengthen governance?
If you are a conservation practitioner working at local or regional levels, you can probably name the weaknesses of your country's system of governing land use, protected areas, and access to natural resources. But what can you do to turn these weaknesses into strengths? You may work with especially marginalized groups within your society, such as the poorest of the poor or indigenous peoples. How can you ensure their representation in policy-making processes? You may have witnessed how disappearing natural resources can fuel conflict between groups or between nations, and how armed conflict in turn destroys the watersheds, forests, and coastal areas that we rely on. How can you encourage your government to stop this cycle?
Grassroots democracy, the rule of law, transparency, accountability, and an active civil society are pre-conditions to sustainable management of natural resources and conservation in any place. Yet, specific good governance practices will vary between societies, because each has its own culture and its own political and social history.
When Filipino non-profit organizations learned about what was happening in Tagabinet, they responded in a way that worked for them but that may not work in all other situations. Because 13 hectares of mangroves in Tagabinet were cleared illegally, the Environmental Legal Assistance Center (ELAC) in the Philippines was able to mobilize other non-profit organizations, individuals, and institutions to advocate for restoring community members' access to the land. They persuaded the highest government official in the area to enforce demolition of illegal ponds and offered their labor to aid in the process. With coverage by the national media, a consortium of non-profit organizations, local individuals, and government officials entered the fish farm with shovels and took down the illegal dikes and ponds. Although it will take years to restore the integrity of the mangrove ecosystem that offered subsistence resources, storm protection and other environmental services, the community has prevented further clearing of mangroves and is now seeking legal tenure of the area, with ELAC's support.
Who can use these tools?
The tools we present here are meant to help you find the best, creative solutions to governance problems in your own situation. You don't have to be a policymaker or a government official to put these tools to use. If you work for a non-profit organization or other private organization, you are a part of civil society, and by joining with other organizations, you will find the leverage you need to support positive policy changes and democratic processes. If you do work for your government, these tools will help you determine how your programs and policies can further conservation goals and how different levels of government can best be linked.
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