Session presentation by Serge Ngendakumana, Mike Balinga, Fernand Delacour, Amara Keita, Abdon Awono

1. Bridging communities and
technocrats: Guinea’s experience on
forest resources governance
Regional workshop on “Moving beyond Forestry laws”
04– 08 May, 2009 Hôtel Nord‐Sud, Bamako, Mali
Serge Ngendakumana
Mike Balinga
Fernand Delacour
Amara Keita
Abdon Awono
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2. Presentation plan
•Introduction
•Forest governance challenges in Guinea
•Understanding some key terms
•Disconnect between technocrats and communities
•Solutions for linking technocrats and communities
•Conclusion, critical issues and recommendations
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3. Introduction
Guinea’s Forests
• Constitute one of the world’s 25
biologically richest and most endangered
terrestrial ecosystems
• Endangered biodiversity species include
elephants, pigmy hippopotamus, and
chimpanzees
• They are of national, regional and global
importance (International Public Goods)
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4. Introduction
• Differences between communities and forestry
authorities perceptions on forest resources and their
use has resulted in pressure on Guinea’s forest
• Differences are found especially in the following areas:
- existing laws governing forest resources
- behavior
- practices
• Pressure on forest resources includes:
- increased deforestation and loss of habitat
- increased land degradation
- watershed degradation and disruption of hydrological
balance
- decrease animal biodiversity
• The recurrent question has been: How do we bridge the
gap between main actors in charge of forest resource
governance?
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5. Forest Governance Challenges in
Guinea
• Forest governance challenges in Guinea include:
(i) the non-mastery of legal texts
(ii) lack of resources to implement government
forestry strategies
(iii) no regular policy review to fit in changing
context at international level
(iv) poor involvement of communities to reconcile
the diverse interest of various forests
resources users.
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6. Some key terms
Forest governance
• Forest governance - the way or form by which forests
resources and other related units in the landscape are
managed and regulated by the existing policies and
bodies and also the manner how dependent
interest groups are governed or involved in decision
making processes
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7. Some key terms
Technocrats
• Technocrat : a technical expert in a managerial or
administrative position, member of a highly skilled
elite group enjoying superior intellectual or social or
economic status (Thesaurus online)
• In common discussions technocrats are:
‐ (i)Forestry staff with clear mandate and
legitimacy
to ensure forest resources planning and use.
‐ (ii) Any state agent working to facilitate and
catalyze effective forests conservation and
protection for sustainability
‐ (iii) Non governmental organization cadres who
are
striving to contribute to natural resource 7
management in landscapes

8. Some key terms
Community
• Community : a group of people living in a particular
local area and under the same government having
common interests, sharing origins and participating in
the development of the district or locality in which
they live (Thesaurus)
• In common discussions forest based communities: a
group with good level of decision making, with shared
values, traditional norms and governing resource use
systems with a clear special boundary
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9. Some key terms
Commonality between Technocrat and Community
• Commonality ‐ having a certain management capacity
either individually or collectively, which may be
derived from acquired skills or traditional knowledge.
• Synergizing their capacities could lead to better
strategies to govern forests resources for the benefits
of forest dwellers and related ecosystems.
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10. ACTION RESEARCH
Village group visioning/future
discussions scenarios, informal
interviews
METHODOLOGY
Stakeholders’ analysis
Rapid
participator
y diagnosis
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11. Disconnect between communities
and technocrats: real or imagined
• Keys gaps observed:
‐ Weak collaboration
‐ No coherent and concerted legal frameworks
‐ Power struggle at local levels
‐ Identity tags and colored perceptions between
communities and technocrats
‐ Top‐down intervention approach for forestry
protection
‐ Non‐valuation of local knowledge
‐ Exclusion rights and gender bias.
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12. Reasons for disconnect
• Policy makers and technocrats considered forests
management to be a state business solely
• Poor knowledge of existing forestry acts and policies by
local communities – leaving room for severe
misinterpretations to the detriment of local groups and
exclusion of forests dependent populations from forest
resources benefits.
• Strong commercial forestry kind of thinking by forest staff
embedded in a kind of economic welfare ‐ maximizing
mainly timber and non timber trading for their own
interests.
• Complete absence of power devolution
• Frustration of local forest users ‐ ending up in rebellious
attitudes towards forests management
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13. Reasons for disconnect
• Communities are aware of environmental benefits from
forests but militate for short term livelihoods alternatives
that technocrats failed to provide
• Divergent visions with regards to forests resources uses
and control.
• “Conservationist or protectionist” approach to forest
management
• Deliberate non‐consideration of local knowledge.
• Suggestions were to have a more adapted participatory
model and integrate community champions in Forests
management plans where they exist
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14. Solutions for linking communities
and technocrats
• Two solutions were tested based on identified
gaps and challenges:
(i)Agroforestry based Schemes to benefit local
communities
(ii) Facilitating a stronger connection between
stakeholders through co‐management
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15. (i)Agroforestry based Schemes to benefit local communities
• The support consisted in testing agricultural and
agroforestry options that serve as non‐cash incentives for
community : improved seed varieties, capacity building and
support for collective actions.
• Improved income of small‐holder communities living within
forests and on forest margins has proven to iron out
communities grievances against technocrats.
‐ joint efforts in tree planting for land reclamation and
watershed protection and critical habitats
enrichments alongside reducing pressure on forest
resources in classified forests and protected areas in
Guinea.
‐ through collective actions, about 300 000 assorted
agroforestry and forestry species have been planted in
4 target landscapes by communities in collaboration
with technocrats
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16. Bridging through Group Dynamics and collective actions
Negotiated capacity building of communities and technocrats joint effort to claim
both technocrats and communties degraded forest areas through collective actions
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17. Facilitating a stronger connection between
stakeholders through co‐management
Establishment of co‐management committees
Instilling community openness and involvement in forest management
Establishment of capacity building schemes which allows them to:
‐ assess the importance of forests for their environment and
livelihoods
‐ use available knowledge in planning and implementing management
strategies
‐ collaborate with other players including the state agents and cadres
(technocrats); exchange of views, ideas and strategies.
‐ enhance dialogue and interest conciliation
‐ organize and manage themselves
‐ elaborate and implement action plans
‐ monitor biodiversity indicators, design and implement projects
‐ manage finances
‐ negotiate with other stakeholders, and integrate national
legislation and global biodiversity concerns into their
management processes.
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18. Conclusions
After three years facilitation using livelihoods strengthening
platform, we could note a real shift in communities and
technocrats’ behavior towards
‐ collaborative forest management
‐ a new arena for dialogue and land use planning
‐ gender sensitive joint efforts in policy development
and forests conservation.
These have been sustained by:
‐ introduced agroforestry base non‐cash reward
options to improve community livelihoods
‐ negotiated capacity building schemes for both
technocrats and community based
organizations(CBOs)
‐ community’ enthusiasm and active participation in
forests protection initiatives as per management plans.
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19. Critical issues
Finally, though the road to success in the struggle
for forest governance remains rough and long,
the following critical issues must be factored in
for such process to be successfully:
adaptation capacity and willingness of
stakeholders,
clear future scenario and appropriate options for
socio‐economic resilience,
concerted bylaws and clear contracts,
knowledge and information sharing.
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20. Recommendations
Outstanding challenges to maintain efficient collaboration and
promote sustainable use of forests products in accordance with
participatory management plans are :
Enhance research activities to generate information for policy
makers and shapers,
Facilitate training schemes for technocrats and communities,
Scale out co‐management experience nationwide,
Engage public and private sectors in forests management through
Agroforestry especially high level technocrats,
Strategize entry points for policy review to suit current changes.
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21. MERCI POUR
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