Introduction / i
Acknowledgements
This guide was developed with assistance and support from many organisations,
communities, government departments and individuals from the Pacifi c. The
principal author was Christian Nielsen working in collaboration with Hazel
Clothier, Robbie Henderson, Jady Smith and Jacob Zikuli, all from Live & Learn
Environmental Education. The Global Environment Facility provided fi nancial
support through the Pacifi c IWRM Project which is being implemented by
UNDP, UNEP and SOPAC. The staff of Live & Learn offi ces in Vanuatu, Solomon
Islands, Papua New Guinea and Maldives provided extensive network support for
research and pre-testing.
Of the considerable input provided by many stakeholders a special mention
must be given to Rhonda Bower, Marc Overmars, James Dalton, Karen Young
and the many communities who participated in pre-testing the mobilisation
resources. We pass the credit for the photographs to Robbie Henderson, and for
the graphics to Viola Design and Dione Brooks.
Abbreviations
AUD
Australian Dol ar
CBEM
Community Based Environmental Management
CCNGO
Col ective Consultation of Non-government Organisations
COMBI
Communication for Behavioural Impact
CSIRO
Commonwealth Scientifi c and Research Organisation
ESD
Education for Sustainable Development
GEF
Global Environment Facility
IUCN
International Union for Conservation of Nature
IWRM
Integrated Water Resources Management
MOU
Memorandum of Understanding
NGO
Non-Government Organisation
NZ
New Zealand
Pacifi c RAP Pacifi c Regional Action Plan
PNG
Papua New Guinea
RAP
Rapid Assessment of Perceptions
SOPAC
Pacifi c Islands Applied Geoscience Commission
SPREP
Pacifi c Regional Environment Program
TNC
The Nature Conservancy
UNDG
United Nations Development Group
UNDP
United nations Development Programme
UNEP
United Nations Environmental Programme
UNESCO
United nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organisation
UNICEF
United Nations Children's Fund
WHO
World Health Organization
WUE
Water Use Effi ciency
ii / Mobilising Integrated Water Resources Management
INTRODUCTION
1
CONCLUSION
40
INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
1
COMMUNITY MOBILISATION
4
MOBILISATION TOOLS
41
IWRM; FROM COMPLEX TO SIMPLE
9
COMMUNITIES AND WATER: WHAT RESEARCH TELLS US
11
REFERENCES
43
IWRM SNAPSHOTS
14
SELECTED USEFUL RESOURCES
44
LESSONS LEARNT
21
USEFUL CONTACTS
45
STEPS TO MOBILISATION
25
Table of Figures and Tables
FACILITATION IS THE KEY
26
TABLE 1: GOVERNMENT, CIVIL SOCIETY AND COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS 6
1. PLAN
27
TABLE 2: COMPLEMENTARY FUNCTIONS OF STAKEHOLDERS
7
2. LISTEN AND LEARN
29
TABLE 3: EXAMPLES OF COMMUNITY ENTRY POINTS
3. DISCUSS AND DEVELOP
31
(LIST NOT EXHAUSTIVE)
10
4. ADAPT AND ACT
33
TABLE 4: TOP 20 PRIORITY ISSUES AS PERCEIVED
5. SUPPORT
35
BY COMMUNITY MEMBERS
11
6. EVALUATE
36
TABLE 5: SUMMARY OF USEFUL PARTICIPATORY TOOLS
33
EXPECTATIONS, ROLES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES
38
FORMING PARTNERSHIPS
38
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
38
FINANCIAL MATTERS
38
COMMUNITY MOBILISATIONS
CHECKLIST
39
r
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P esea
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The
/ iii
iv / Mobilising Integrated Water Resources Management
Introduction / 1
Introduction
Active participation from people is key to the success
of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).
This document is structured in two parts.
The purpose of these guidelines is to support
government departments and organisations in
mobilising people towards IWRM.
Part 1: Theory & Research
The overal goal of these guidelines is to make the
goals of IWRM an attainable ideal. More specifi cal y
Part 2: Practice
they aim to:
1. Give an enhanced profi le to the central role of
Part 1 explains IWRM theory based on
community mobilisation in the pursuit of IWRM;
international perspectives, research and
2. Provide a tool that has the capacity to mobilise
case studies from Pacifi c Island countries.
communities and that facilitates links and
networking, exchange and interaction among
Part 2 outlines a step by step approach
IWRM stakeholders;
to assist in the development and
3. Provide a space and opportunity for refi ning
implementation of IWRM projects
and promoting the vision of, and transition to
through community mobilisation.
IWRM at community level;
4. Foster increased quality of IWRM facilitation
among government and public utilities.
The guidelines were inspired through joint endeavours
between the Pacifi c Islands Applied Geoscience
Commission (SOPAC), the Global Environment Facility
(GEF), the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and the United Nations Environmental
Programme (UNEP) to develop an innovative project
on Sustainable Integrated Water Resources and
Wastewater Management in Pacifi c Island Countries.
The guidelines are founded on stakeholder
consultations, three research investigations and a
series of case studies.
Land
Water
IWRM
People & Institutions
2 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Integrated Water
Resources Management
IWRM is a systematic process for the sustainable
Growth in population, increased economic activity
development, al ocation and monitoring of water
and improved standards of living lead to increased
resource use in the context of social, economic and
competition for and confl icts over the limited
environmental objectives.
freshwater resource. A combination of social inequity
and economic marginalisation, forces people living
"IWRM is a process which promotes the
in extreme poverty to overexploit soil and forestry
coordinated development and management
resources, with damaging impacts on water resources.
of water, land and related resources in order
The basis of IWRM stands on four principles:
to maximise the resultant economic and
· Fresh water is a fi nite and vulnerable resource,
social welfare in an equitable manner without
essential to sustain life, development and
compromising the sustainability of
the environment;
vital ecosystems"
· Water development and management should
(Global Water Partnership, Technical Advisory
be based on a participatory approach involving
Committee 2000)
users, planners and policymakers at all levels;
At its simplest, IWRM is an appealing concept. It's basis
· Women play a central part in the provision,
is that the many diff erent uses of fi nite water resources
management and safeguarding of water; and
are interdependent: a logical and intuitive argument.
High irrigation demands and pol uted drainage fl ows
· Water has an economic value in all its competing
from agriculture mean less freshwater for drinking or
uses and should be recognised as an
industrial use; contaminated municipal and industrial
economic good.
wastewater pol utes rivers and threatens ecosystems;
if water has to be left in a river to protect fi sheries and
ecosystems, less can be diverted to grow crops. There
are plenty more examples of the basic theme that
unregulated use of scarce water resources are wasteful
and inherently unsustainable.
please supply a
photo to go here...
Introduction / 3
Community Mobilisation
The Pacifi c Regional Action Plan
for IWRM
(Pacifi c RAP)
Governments Pacifi c-wide are working to develop
The Pacifi c Regional Action Plan on Sustainable Water
new laws and approaches for strengthening
Management (Pacifi c RAP), developed in Fiji in August
environmental management. These eff orts focus on
2002, provides a blueprint for IWRM in the Pacifi c
improving public participation in government decision-
Islands. It consists of an action plan, a ministerial
making, increasing transparency and open access to
declaration, and a platform for best practice in IWRM
information and providing greater access to justice in
through six thematic areas:
the enforcement of governance requirements. Most
1. Water Resources Management
signifi cantly, governments are realising that they need
to work closely with communities to better deal with
2. Island Vulnerability
the increasingly complex issues of environmental
3. Awareness
management. One way to do this is through
community mobilisation.
4. Technology
Unlike traditional centralised environmental
5. Institutional Arrangements
management, which often neglects the political and
6. Finance
social dimensions of IWRM, once it is accepted that
the local communities are the major stakeholders in
The concept and the approaches it embodies have
environmental management, the decision-making
been practised at a traditional level for decades in
process starts to become more practical and less
the Pacifi c Islands. The uniqueness of the Pacifi c RAP
political: it is led by the people who are most aff ected
lies in the formal development of this concept into
and know the complexity of their issues.
an IWRM management approach implemented in
governance structures at the national level as well
as at the more practical level in the catchments and
the communities. The Sustainable Integrated Water
Resources and Wastewater Management Project in
Pacifi c Island Countries attempts to address this through
a coordinated and holistic approach to water resources
management covering all key areas of the Pacifi c RAP.
IWRM provides a holistic approach to water management problems within natural catchment boundaries.
4 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
The long-term objective of the Pacifi c IWRM project
The Asian Tsunami of 26 December 2004 provided
is to assist the Pacifi c Island Countries to implement
a frightening example of the need for an integrated
applicable and eff ective IWRM and Water Use
approach to water management and for eff ective
Effi ciency (WUE) plans. Targeted actions will be carried
government-civil society partnerships. In the context
out, which include development of National Inter-
of the Tsunami this particularly related to (i) the need
sectoral Committees in each country, development
to integrate recovery and long-term development
of demonstration projects and production of a full
planning, (i ) the need to identify development outputs
brief through an extensive participatory process. The
that meet sustainability requirements, and (i i) the
resulting full project document will identify prioritised
necessity to link infrastructure development eff orts with
national capacity needs, Pacifi c water hotspot areas
community capacity building. The lessons learnt from the
of action, IWRM plans and networking strategies for
Tsunami experience are relevant to the Pacifi c in many
stakeholder groups for the strengthening of national
ways as seen recently in the Solomon Islands Tsunami.
water resources and wastewater management.
Strengthening community organisation wil improve the
impact of capacity building and mobilisation. This can
To ensure IWRM benefi ts are sustainable it is critical
best be done by decentralising IWRM wherever possible
to ensure an understanding on how communities
and encourage water and water related problems to be
perceive issues of water in their community, in a
solved closest to the source.
social, environmental and economic context. Often
community members perceive water issues diff erently
Where some generic theories of community
from people outside the community. Research
mobilisation have been observed, these guidelines
shows that communities often perceive IWRM as a
focus on a practical approach. It assumes the
project with funding attached as opposed to a way
community understands the biophysical environment
of living. This is problematic and creates high levels
better than anyone else as their environment
of dependency on external resources. Partnerships
sustains them. What may not be clear are the links
between civil society groups and the government (and
between environmental, social and economic factors.
organisations) become imperative to IWRM success.
Understanding these factors is of great importance for
Civil society groups are often imbedded in communities
IWRM to succeed and in particular, how these links are
and can assist a shift in attitude needed for IWRM to
refl ected through practice.
take place. Partnerships between government and
civil society groups should by their very nature be
complementary, but often they are competitive. This
can lessen the impact of IWRM. Government play a
role, with a mandate from Pacifi c Island populations, to
govern: a role civil society groups can never assume.
Civil society groups have deep grassroots connections
and use these connections to reach communities
that the government would never have the resources
or capacity to do. Therefore synergies between
governments and their non-government counterparts
are clear and imperative.
What makes community mobilisation successful
and sustainable?
· Engage communities early
· Understand community perceptions
Women are prime water users and important in
· Allow time and relevant resources
mobilising IWRM.
· Creation of meaningful partnerships
Introduction / 5
Community Mobilisation
"There needs to be a change in the ethic of
In order to understand community mobilisation we
working with local communities. The essence
must fi rst have a sense of what community is. The
of this change is respect and understanding,
word `community' reminds us that humans are social
through process and relationship building. Not
beings. It is important to know as much as possible
about the social, environmental & cultural aspects
patronising condescension, nor squeezing into
of the community. These should not just be facts a
project output boxes, nor tokenism, but real eff ort community is how these aspects are linked. Community
to understand and work within the lives of the
is a word that encompasses many diff erent types of
people who are married to land with signifi cant
social groups, organisations, and/or institutions, and
conservation values."
may include locations such as villages or groups of
villages, community councils, church groups, youth
(James, 7th Pacifi c Islands Conference on Nature
groups, women's groups, community banks, or kinship
Conservation and Protected Areas, 2002)
groups A community is not merely a collection
Community mobilisation is the process of bringing
of individuals, but a system that transcends those
together people and providing them with the space
individuals. As a system it has various dimensions,
and opportunity to act on common concerns
technological, economic, political, institutional,
and problems.
ideological and perceptual. People come in and go
out of the community, by birth, death and migration,
yet the system persists. And it is always changing. So
when strengthening communities for mobilisation, you
have to strengthen both capacity and the system that
sustains the communities.
NGO's
Universities
Sports Clubs
Church Groups
Youth Groups
Schools
Unions
Women's Groups
6 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
The process in which people join together to take
The community will mobilise toward or away
action to accomplish one or more objectives is known
from something . Either way community
as `mobilisation'. When local institutions are weak
mobilisation is about change. Change is not
and many barriers to involving communities exist,
mobilisation will be required. That said, attempting
always easy but small voluntary steps outside of
mobilisation does not automatically lead to success,
people's comfort zone can lead to dramatic shifts
as constraints abound. The word `enabling' is
in attitude and behavior.
an important concept in the role of community
When seeking to mobilise a community we need to
mobilisation. To assist in mobilising the community
consider the stages people go through for change to
it is important to enable people to participate and to
happen. Below are seven steps people seem to
bring people together. The word `act' implies that there
follow for eff ecting change. These steps are important
is active participation by community members on an
and should be incorporated for eff ective
issue of concern through collective learning and self-
community mobilisation. Community involvement does
educated action. The community does not just mobilise
not just happen; it must be initiated, further stimulated
into action: they act in response to an issue.
and nurtured as seen in the diagram below.
Community mobilisation is important because the
most sustainable solution to any community problem
is for the community to have the skil s to identify
I wish
Vision
V
and solve the problem. The participation of people
in the solution to their problems is one of the most
I know
no
Understanding
eff ective ways to not only deal with issues but is also
important in reducing the risk of problems repeating
I can
Sk
S ills
themselves. Signifi cant research, especial y in the fi eld
of community development, has been conducted
It's easy
Con
C v
on enienc
v
e
enienc
highlighting this; however, unfortunately theory is
often not taken into practice.
I'm not alone
I'
Tr
T ust
r
ed others
ust
Community mobilisation is particularly appropriate in
It's low risk & fun
s lo
Change
C
the Pacifi c region due to:
Tha
T t w
ha
as gr
t w
ea
as gr t
ea
Reinfor
Reinf c
or emen
c
t
emen
Government decentralisation and
sub-regional policies
The key principle to enhance the eff ectiveness of
Infrastructure appropriateness, effi ciency
community mobilisation is the participation of the
& coordination
community. There are many ways of doing this. In the
end, the opportunity for people's participation in any
Geography - distance & access
society is determined by the quality of civil and political
rights that they are accorded: in essence, political,
Diversity - of people, culture & environments
societal and cultural freedom.
Introduction / 7
Challenges to Community Mobilisation in
It would be true, but unhelpful, to say that everyone
the Pacifi c
is a stakeholder in IWRM. All of us will feel the impact
of its relative success or failure, and all of us aff ect
Community involvement in environmental
the impact of IWRM by our behaviour, which may be
management is particularly appropriate in the Pacifi c as
supportive or undermining. This generalisation does
the geography, and in particular distance and diffi culty
not however help to identify targeted strategies of
in travel, can mean that those people making the
cooperation, communication or action. Particular roles
policy are not always in touch with the people who
and responsibilities devolve to a number of bodies
will be directly impacted by the policy. Communities
and groups at diff erent levels: local (sub-national),
in the Pacifi c are also very diverse. There are generic
national, regional and international (Table 1). At each
policies that do not allow for adaptability based on the
level, stakeholders may be part of government (or
community situation are often prone to failure.
intergovernmental at regional and international levels),
The region's widespread nature, together with the
civil society and non-governmental organisations, or
dispersed populations, result in diffi culties of control
in the private sector. The functions and roles of these
and enforcement of legislation. National and local
categories, at each level, are complementary (Table 2):
council laws along with traditional laws operating
Some functions are common to all stakeholders,
via individual islands chiefs, lead to lengthy chains of
including the development of IWRM expertise
communication and delays in response at both ends
and capacity, the production of educational and
of the system. Sectoral division of responsibilities
informational materials, the identifi cation and
may also lead to duplication of eff ort in some areas.
mobilisation of resources, the modelling of sustainable
In order to bring IWRM into eff ect, partnerships
development practices in institutional life, the exchange
need to be developed, often requiring very diff erent
of information, and the promotion of cross-sectoral
stakeholders, sometimes with apparently irreconcilable
cooperation.
diff erences. Equitable partnerships for decision-making,
representing all sections of society and with good
recognition of gender issues are essential.
Table 1: Government, Civil Society and Community Stakeholders
Governmental
Civil society and NGOs
Private
Sub-national
· Provincial/area/district
Community-based organisations
Local business
departments
· Schools
· Clans and families
· Municipal authorities
· Local sections of NGOs
· Individuals
· Public utilities
· Youth associations
· Universities and colleges
· Womens' groups
· Churches
· Village development
committees
· Rural training centers
National
· National government
· National NGOs and NGO
· Private sector businesses
departments / Public works
coalitions
(Engineering)
departments
· Branches of international NGOs
· Business associations
· Universities and research
· Faith-based organisations
· Media (private)
institutes
· Universities
· Media (governmental)
· Teachers' associations and trade
unions
Regional
· Regional inter-governmental
· Regional NGO groupings and
· Regional business associations
groupings (SOPAC/ SPREP)
networks
· Regional IWRM networks
· Faith-based organisations
International
· UN agencies, ADB and World Bank · IWRM networks
· International associations of
· Global Water Partnership
· NGO UN Liaison Committee
businesses (eg in the extractive
· Dialogue of Water and Climate
· International environmental
sector)
· UNDG member agencies
NGOs and water alliances
· Media corporations
· Millennium Project Task Forces
· Faith-based organisations
· Offi cial/semi-offi cial watchdog
bodies
8 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Table 2: Complementary functions of stakeholders
Governmental and
· policy-making and framework-setting
intergovernmental bodies
· promoting public participation and input
· national (and international) public campaigns and actions
· embedding and operationalising IWRM
Civil society and non-governmental and
· public awareness-raising, advocacy, campaigns and lobbying
community organisations
· participation and input into policy formulation
· delivering services and education
· mobilisation, participatory learning and action
· mediation between government and communities
Private sector
· provision of appropriate technology
· entrepreneurial initiatives and training
· management models and approaches
· implementation and evaluation
· development and sharing of practices of sustainable consumption of water
Policies implemented in the communities directly
The centralised and typically top-down approach
depend upon the community leaders understanding
to make and enforce policy is refl ective of most
and endorsement for success. With understanding and
government approaches across the world. However,
endorsement they can be instrumental in raising public
communities are acutely aware of the longer-term
environmental awareness and mobilising community
environmental changes that are impacting quality
support: without this they can encourage and/or ensure
of life and want to see the government act on these
the failure of the policy. The involvement of community
issues. The communities in the Pacifi c are varied; some
leaders and/or gatekeepers is instrumental for the
have a certain level of community autonomy while
success of government policies and approaches.
others are very reliant on the centralised government.
Understanding the degree of community autonomy
Centralised political systems characterize current
will be an essential starting point for encouraging
government-citizen relationships throughout the
community mobilisation in any particular situation.
Pacifi c, however there is a strong move toward
decentralisation. Mobilisation may be able to provoke
some degree of devolution of management authority to
regions and, in particular, island communities. This can
lead to more realistic planning and more eff ective local
action. However, mobilisation of the community may
only be feasible with some autonomy or once a degree
of decentralisation has occurred. There may also be
ways to catalyse community mobilisation.
For a number of years, there has been increasing
promotion of community participation in the delivery
of public services to empower island communities
coupled with increased accountability and ownership.
Community groups often provide public or collective
services available on distant islands; however, some
initial capacity diffi culties have been encountered
which could be overcome through assistance for
adequate organisation and management of groups in
the form of co-operatives.
Infrastructure should be linked to skills development,
capacity building and local ownership.
Introduction / 9
Community Fabric
The distinct diversity of communities within the
Pacifi c and the traditional knowledge existing in these
There are a variety of existing components of the
diff erent communities needs to be explored and
communities that are communal such as: communal
documented. For example, the traditional knowledge,
wells, water tanks, agricultural plots and meeting
once highly appreciated, of using herbs as medicine
areas. These existing communal areas and activities
is losing its value and prominence in the respective
are very important considerations for any community
communities and has not been transferred to the
mobilisation approaches.
younger generations. The traditional stories and skills of
To understand community and the environment in the
the main occupations of water management are also
Pacifi c it is also important to understand religion: this is
being replaced by new and sometimes less sustainable
something all too often overlooked when dealing with
approaches.
community environmental issues, environment includes
biological, social, economic and cultural aspects.
Modes of Mobilisation
The cultural values of humans aff ect the way the
natural environment and resources are perceived,
Mobilisation may be initiated at any level; community
used, and managed. Water management principles
individual, local, national, regional or international civil
that heed the local religious context are likely to be
society group; or by the government itself. Regardless
more eff ective than imported, foreign ones. Religious
of the starting point, there are unique features of
teachings contain fertile ground for developing
partnership combinations to be considered. Three
water management principles. If applied, perhaps in
diff erent modes are listed below.
conjunction with other water management policies in
culturally and demographically heterogeneous areas,
these principles could fi nd wider acceptance than
non-native ones.
Mobilising Partnerships
Advantages
Disadvantages
Relationships developed
Drain on human resources
directly with stakeholders
Expensive and time consuming
Government
Community
Needs and capacity can be
assessed fi rst hand
Civil Society Groups are often
Often time consuming
experienced in facilitation
Requires good channels of
Utilises existing networks with
communication
local knowledge
Civil Society
Capacity of some civil society
Group
Access to research and
groups is low
community perspectives
Building on lessons learnt
Government
Community
Community needs and
capacity are highlighted
Work is based on sustained
research and experiences
Expert technical and specifi c
Often short term engagements
advice at hand
Consultant
Often lack of local knowledge
Access to technical networks
Government
Community
10 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
IWRM from complex
to simple
"IWRM is a chal enge to conventional practices,
Community Entry Points
attitudes and professional certainties. It
Finding relevant entry-point into the community is an
confronts entrenched sectoral interests and
important aspect of understanding the community and
requires that the water resource is managed
showing respect. Community members are often busy
holistical y for the benefits of al . No one
and many do not have time to spend on consultations
pretends that meeting the IWRM chal enge wil and workshops. Therefore, fi nding strong and relevant
be easy but it is vital that a start is made now
entry points will avoid time being wasted. By having
these entry points one assures that the people who are
to avert the burgeoning crisis."
participating have the capacity and skills to participate
(Global Water Partnership)
and their time commitment is shown the respect it
IWRM deals with water resources in an al -
deserves. Holding large-scale and open stakeholder
encompassing manner. For IWRM to be effective
consultations on very specifi c issues may be counter-
and meaningful it needs to be broken into practical
productive and does not always produce good and
working tools relevant to national and local context.
workable outcomes. Civil society groups that are already
No one size fits al . Pacific Island Countries are
engaged with the community can provide assistance in
facing unique chal enges that wil shape IWRM
mobilising the entry-points and do much of the ground
implementation including remoteness, salinity,
work (Table 3).
hydrology, access to services, ensuring appropriate
technology governance structure etc. In this context
IWRM is not an end in itself but a means of achieving
key strategic objectives, such as:
· Efficiency to make best use of water resources,
· Equity in al ocation and access of water across
different social and economic groups,
· Environmental sustainability, to protect water
resources base and associated eco-systems.
In many ways IWRM has become a conventional
wisdom, as it defines the future direction for
managing water. However, there are innumerable
examples of wel -meaning IWRM projects that fail
due to a disconnection between the vision of IWRM
and realities on the ground. It is critical to start from
where people are at: it is important to recognise that
IWRM competes with many other community issues
such as unemployment, access education, substance
abuse, law and order etc. Therefore, IWRM needs
to be seen in the context of the whole community.
Creating meaningful community entry points and
IWRM must succeed for future generations and they are
understanding community perceptions provides a
part of the process.
first phase for mobilisation.
Introduction / 11
Table 3: Examples of Community Entry Points (list not exhaustive)
IWRM Issues
Possible Community Entry Point (Group)
Possible Community Entry Point
(Theme)
Water supply
Community based water committees
· Identifying appropriate technology
that can be maintained by the
community
· Communities participate in
construction of wells and latrines and
where ever possible use local
resources
Sanitation and hygiene
Women's groups, church groups, sport clubs and
· Sanitation and hygiene education
schools
·
· Link awareness to action through
improved practice
Participatory policy development
Chiefs and Community Management
· Assessment of needs,
Committees, women groups
· Community-government dialogue in
policy implementation
· Joint development of policy
that refl ect community reality and
government capacity and resources
Waterborne diseases and health
Health clinics: (church and government
· Early warning systems for
supported)
communicable and non-
communicable diseases
· Identify how communities can be
part of prevention and cure (change
of practice)
Water quality
Schools
· Participatory water quality
monitoring
· Mobilise action based on results
(advocacy)
· Peer-education among schools, links
with universities
River Management
Farming groups, schools, landowner groups
· Sedimentation and river bank
protection
· Best practices in farming to reduce
rive pollution and minimise use of
fertilizers and chemicals
Water Governance
Paramount chiefs, chiefs and key water users
· Ensuring equal assess to water
(women)
· Put in place eco-system conservation
measures and protecting
· Water allocations, pricing and
infrastructure needs
WASH Education
Teachers, rural training centres, schools
· Resources development and
information sharing
Soils and Vegetation
Schools, youth groups
· Revegetation and tree planting
schemes
· Prevention of erosion
Irrigation
Farming groups and land owner groups
· Water allocations
· Effi cient irrigation technology
Appropriate technology and
Youth groups, rural training centres church
· Building, installation and
maintenance
groups and women's groups
maintenance of rainwater tanks
· Eco toilets and construction of wells
12 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Considering Gender Issues
in IWRM
Consideration of gender has rightly become an
Gender and Participation
essential component of any program, the question of
Participation can mean many diff erent things;
who participates, who benefi ts and who is impacted
here we refer to both the use of participatory
are priority concerns. However, understanding what
methodologies in development projects and taking
gender diff erences are, and how to address them,
part in governmental and other political processes.
is not as simple as merely asking women's opinion
or counting the number of women involved in an
Participatory methodologies are now a frequent
activity. The issue of gender within a community is
component of development projects in order to enable
closely linked with culture, power, perception and
local ownership over such processes of social change.
politics and is therefore often defended as being
However, communities are not the same throughout
simply `the way things are'. Sensitivity to, and strategic
and participation is not an open and spontaneous
interaction with the power dynamics involved and
process whereby everyone participates equally, leading
a willingness to tackle stereotypical representations
to a `free consensus' on the issues under discussion.
of gender, can make change possible. Change
Insights from gender analysis highlight that data
will take place at many levels and necessitates:
separated according to gender (disaggregated data)
and separate meetings for women and men, can enrich
·
fi nding ways to allow marginalised groups,
participatory methodologies, but also warn away from
including women, to be heard,
the assumption that women share a set of interests that
·
supporting initiatives and control by those
are inherently diff erent from those shared among men.
groups with relatively less power,
Participatory approaches are growing in the realisation
·
building alliances with people who may support
that they previously underestimated the diversity
equality, especially those with some authority (e.g
and confl ict within communities, and within groups
men, chiefs, landowners) and young people who
of women and men, and that the lines of division
have not yet set certain patterns of behaviour,
may be multiple: ethnicity, caste, race, class, culture,
sexuality, education, physical ability as well as gender,
·
communicating with, and seeking support
economic diff erence and many other factors.
from, those with some power who may be
suspicious of change (eg. men, elders), and that
The following trends may inhibit gender and
development work from being more participatory:
·
organisations need to be prepared for
possible changes to their own priorities and
·
Women are already working hard, particularly
programs if previously excluded groups
poor women, and women's labour is already a
genuinely gain decision-making power.
part of the economy, although not necessarily
recognised as such, or remunerated. Increasing
When addressing the issue of gender it is important that
their `involvement' in development projects or
`gender'is not confused with `being about women' and
research may mean increasing their labour burden.
that assumptions where women are viewed as victims
and men as the problem, are tackled and avoided.
·
Treating men and women as if they are
The assumption that all women identify with gender
instantly diff erent groups by sex alone and
issues and `women's needs' and that these are always
assuming diff erent interests or competing
diff erent to men's needs and interests must also be
claims between women and men. This
avoided. Equipping men with the concepts, knowledge
isolates women and men from the social
and skills for gender sensitisation and advocacy in
interactions important for community co-
order to transform their own attitudes, behaviours and
operation and may cause confl ict to arise.
infl uence among their peers and their communities
is as important as empowering women directly.
Introduction / 13
·
A focus on women may mask other forms of
A genuine integration of gender and participation
exclusion, such as disability, age, clan or religion.
into projects and programmes needs to be done at
Equally there may be a failure to look for other
each stage of the project cycle. The entire cycle from
marginalizing factors within groups, such as marital
participatory planning, to implementation, monitoring
status, divorce, and widowhood
and evaluation fi lters information at diff erent levels to
reach new insights for action. As well as being gender
·
Women are also active in their relations with others
disaggregated, data needs to be processed in a way
and are not necessarily anymore open to sharing
that exposes and explains interconnections between
power and control than men.
issues, and reaches conscious conclusions to be fed
Just because women's participation was actively
back into the project strategy. Gender analysis gives
sought and women were present during community
us information about women and men, about who is
discussions, we cannot assume that women were
included and who is left out, who makes the decisions
able to express their opinions or, if discussions were
and who sets the agenda, how resources are allocated
held separately with women, that their concerns were
and who benefi ts. If there is no critical analysis of
integrated into decision-making structures. Meaningful
gender dynamics, then there is a danger that men and
participation is about more than listening to the views
women will be represented as isolated from the web of
of benefi ciaries. It is about strengthening the capabilities social relationships that aff ect their well-being.
of marginalised people - men as well as women - to
Not all participatory methods work equally well for men
realise their rights to have a say on the issues that aff ect
and women; for example, not all women's and men's
their lives and to take part in creating solutions.
concerns can be represented by spatial (mapping)
Strategies that enable diff erent voices to emerge
techniques, therefore tools need to be constantly
include:
adapted to suit the context in which they are being
used.
·
consulting women and men separately;
"We can't draw changes on this map, because the kind of
·
ensuring the timing of any meetings suits both
changes we need can't be drawn". They were referring
women and men;
to issues such as overwork, breakdown in support and
·
reviewing the selection process or criteria for
beatings from their husbands, which could not be
recruitment to participate
drawn through visual PRA techniques.
·
facilitators encouraging non-dominant speakers to
join in, and
·
consultation with both women's and men's
organisations.
·
Research teams comprising both women and men,
so people can be interviewed by someone of the
same sex if they prefer.
14 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Developing appropriate methodologies
·
Appropriate forums and spaces for discussion
Gender-sensitive participatory
should be identifi ed as well as appropriate timing
practices require:
to ensure those involved can attend.
·
Skills: Organisations need to develop the
·
Understand practical conditions that can aff ect
skills to do this type of work. Facilitating
women's involvement. For example, household
gender-sensitive participatory processes
work may hinder women's participation in
requires experience and the ability
community and group activities.
to deal with confl ict if it arises.
·
Avoid processes that favour a select group of
·
Time: Participatory processes can take a long
women. For example, women may be more vocal in
time and may require support over some years.
group discussions due to higher status and/or more
·
Flexibility and adaptability:
experience with public speaking and not because
The
they represent the concerns of other women
selection and sequencing of methods
should be based on the specifi c
·
Ensure that women have access to appropriate
circumstances. Responding adequately
forms of expression to articulate their needs,
to specifi c contexts requires fl exibility.
interests and concerns.
·
Support: Participants (women and men)
·
Use methods not only to show diff erences in needs
require support as they explore new
and interests but also to analyse their causes and
issues. It is irresponsible for an outside
reasons why they may change.
organisation to encourage people to
·
Trying to change the situation of a group of women
raise issues of gender inequalities and
without looking at how the men in their lives might
then not support the consequences.
be aff ected made for an ineff ective strategy
·
Follow-up: Can the organisation respond to
·
Implement gender-focused and disaggregated
the issues raised? If development cooperation
monitoring to ensure that men and women's
organisations are serious about participatory
perspectives have been incorporated into plans
processes, they must be prepared to act on the
and that these plans are translated into action.
priorities identifi ed and issues that emerge.
·
Ensure that organisations have the capacity to
incorporate gender aware participatory approaches,
as the structure and procedures of organisations
strongly infl uences the nature of the outcomes. This
may involve creating incentives to motivate those
involved.
·
Negotiating equal and fair participation for men
and women and structural change takes time and
courage, making it a sometimes unappealing task
for donors and many NGOs; commitment in time
and funding and appropriate follow-up is necessary
to ensure success.
Participatory tools and methods are only as eff ective
as the people who use them, and as the institutional
culture that supports them. The tools used will not in
themselves address social exclusion and illuminate
power imbalances in gender relations, but when they
are used well, gender-sensitive participatory processes
can challenge inequalities in many ways.
Introduction / 15
Communities and Water:
what research tells us
Gaining extensive insight into how communities
In examining environmental issues related to health,
perceive IWRM is imperative to its sustainability
making a living and culture, participants articulated
and success. We cannot assume just because people
a wealth of detailed information concerning their
participate in IWRM consultations they are interested
perceptions of problems, decision making, hopes for the
in the issue. We must link into their thinking and gain
future, and community organisation and capacity.
deeper understanding of the particular dynamics in
Understanding community priorities, local traditions
which people live. Often government departments
or customs that impact on IWRM implementation and
do not have the time, networks or resources to
the community barriers to participation are essential
engage in sustained community research and this is
pre-requisites to working eff ectively towards mobilising
one of many areas where civil society groups can be
communities and forming partnerships.
of great assistance.
Water is a priority
Two recent studies demonstrate the valuable insights
that can be gleaned from understanding community
Water was unanimously perceived as the top priority
perceptions (i) a Rapid Assessment of Perceptions
issue across more than 100 communities surveyed in Fiji,
into communities understanding of environmental
PNG and the Solomon Islands (Table 4).
management in rural areas of Vanuatu, Papua New
Two-thirds of respondents in a diff erent study were
Guinea and Solomon Islands (Henderson, 2007) and (ii)
currently
curr
concer
ently
curr
ned about children's education, 53%
a research investigation into community perceptions on with family welfare, 48% with rubbish in the community,
community based water governance (Asker, 2004).
47% with law breakers, 41% with water pollution, and
26% with deforestation.
Table 4: Example of top 20 priority issues as ranked by community members
Rank
Men
Women
Youth
1
Water
Water
Water
2
Forest / Logging
Rubbish
Land
3
Custom & Traditions
Fishing / sea resources
Forest / Logging
4
Toilets
Health
Rubbish
5
Health
Uncontrolled animals
Fishing / sea resources
6
Rubbish
Land
Toilets
7
Agric Cash crop
Toilets
Uncontrolled animals
8
Uncontrolled animals
Custom & Traditions
Custom & Traditions
9
Tourism
Forest / Logging
Kava
10
Fishing / sea resources
Gardening
Health
11
Mosquitos
Alternative Income
Mosquitos
12
Family relations
Family relations
Language
13
Respect
Money
Tabu sites
14
Population growth
Law & Order
Population growth
15
Alternative Income
Family planning
Village cooperation
16
Land
Markets
Bride price
17
No tools
Pollution
Tourism
18
Language
Medicinal plants
Pollution
19
Bride price
Tourism
Urban drift
20
House boi
Women's rights
Education
16 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
The water problem
Opinions diff er!
Water contamination was often described as `pollution'
Not all communities see issues in the same light. Indeed,
and was thought to come from a variety of sources
even within communities there may be wide variation
including toilets, rubbish dumping, changes in
in opinions. In one community just over half of all
hydrology through clearing, runoff from agricultural land respondents believed that water in their community
and by animals wandering freely throughout villages
was shared equally while the remainder did not
and defecating on or near water sources. The lack of
consider water to be shared equally at all.
toilets, or inadequate toilets, was often connected
While often villagers will have defi ned roles and
with water pollution and disease with examples given
responsibilities within the village in order to promote
of local creeks used for water supply also being used
unity and communal ownership they may not always
as a toilet. Community members generally had a
be clear. In one situation, half the participants thought
good understanding of the link between toilets and
that decisions concerning water were only the domain
groundwater contamination and the consequent eff ects of men, while the other half though it was a shared role
on water supplies. A Vanuatu community said that wells
by men and women. Equally there were sometimes
supplying water "were not 100% clean due to the leaching
noticeable diff erences in the level of understanding
of wast
of w e mat
ast
erials dumped nearb
e mat
y
erials dumped nearb .y" Lik
"
ewise the impact
and views on inclusion in decision-making within
of pit toilets on ground water, which was not treated
communities. These diff erences could be seen to have
before reaching a community tank, was an issue raised
a relationship with gender, socio-economic status, age
by one youth group.
and educational attainment.
The practice of defecation on the beach and in the
Decision-making bodies in urban centers appeared to
bush was considered to be a health problem in the
attach diff ering cultural, economic, and social values to
communities where it was practiced: both for general
the environment compared to those held by villagers.
water contamination and also disease, as fl ies could
Many urban community members viewed the benefi ts
carry contamination from uncovered faeces to food and
of the traditional governance system as having both
utensils.
stability and responsiveness to their immediate needs.
Coastal communities situated only marginally above
sea level found that pit toilets were impractical or likely
to cause groundwater contamination; indeed one such
community regularly experienced overfl owing pit toilets
on high tides.
For IWRM to succeed community perceptions on water must be understood .
Introduction / 17
Consideration of culture & tradition is important
Communities frequently report that lack of resources
aff ects their capacity to undertake projects: fi nances
Understanding the subtleties of a community's
to implement the project, and fi nances to motivate
culture increases the ability to ensure equity in
people to be involved. "People are more interested
participation; appropriateness of project goals and
in income generating activities that can support their
improve prospects for project sustainability.
families fi nancially. Projects are left idle if a "job" comes
For example, the traditional Fijian concept of Vanua
up. The village men have just returned to the village after
does not consider land, water, customs and human
a two weeks contract to plant mahogany. "Jobs" such as
environments as separate units; rather they are one
this keep the men away from the village and any other
and indivisible. So water governance cannot be seen
commitments they have" (A village headman, Fiji).
separately to overall governance throughout the Vanua.
Equally motivation toward participating in activities
Likewise, projects aiming to utilise women's groups
may be strongly connected to economic concerns. "In
in one community would need to be mindful of
the past the whole community under the late paramount
communities where "women originally from another
chief was very active in community projects both
village, who have married into the village, are not given
cultural and projects initiated by government agencies
any rights to participate in decision -making at any level as
and the catholic mission. The introduction of the cash
they are not seen as belonging to their husband's village".
economy (cash cropping) has destroyed this community
spirit people have become more individualistic."
PNG participants articulated specifi c diffi culties
(PNG) However, some communities also suggested
of working within their communities: "within the
that it was due to laziness, especially by the men, "too
communities themselves, there are social friction
much time spent around the grog (kava) bowl" (Fiji).
between families and villages. This hinders people from
working together, also ethnic groups have contributed
Women in particular would like greater participation
and living is quite diff erent between diff erent groups";
in decision making at the community level. Only
and "there are 3 ethnic groups in the community and
one-third of women felt they had some input into
people seem to cooperate with leaders of their own
decision-making: of the 66% who felt they were not
ethnic groups" and "most people don't own land.
at all involved in decision-making 73% would like
Non- landowners often don't seem to care about their
greater participation. Women also expressed a desire
actions. The original landowners cannot do much, as
to be involved in some issues traditionally considered
they are fewer in number compared to the settlers".
as men's business (such as village development), as
well as to participate in decision-making relating to
women's topics that they are intimately involved in.
Community participation
It is likely that community participation will fail if
Good relationships and motivation to participate
there is poor understanding of the terminology being
is related to trust in the organization promoting
used: while community members had a very good
the program. Reducing or removing mistrust and
understanding of traditional concepts of governance,
skeptism is essential. "People don't seem to have any
the commonly used term of `good governance' was a
more trust in the government in delivering badly needed
new and confusing term for many. Around a third of
services such as roads. This is due to so many empty
all community members said they did not know what
promises made over the past years. People will only
good governance meant or involved. Where the term
listen to their local leaders and will respond positively
was understood, discussion revealed that modern
if they know that the initiatives come from their own
governance systems were perceived as presenting
leaders and not dictated by a higher authority." (PNG)
particular problems, including; that they make decisions
without consulting the people they aff ect; they
Scepticism exists in the rural communities about
threaten the role of traditional governance; and they
the capacity, and indeed willingness, of public
are seen as unsympathetic to community concerns.
authorities to fully understand and address
water issues most relevant to villagers.
"diffi culties in getting things done within the
community are when people don't see any
concrete evidence of what the proposals or project
programmes have achieved. Thus people will not
fully support or participate in the programmes" .
18 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
IWRM SNAPSHOTS
The following IWRM snapshots provide examples of IWRM in action and inspiring examples of individuals and
communities mobilising to address local challenges.
Waibulabula, Fiji
Partners in Community Development t
Background
IWRM relevance
The Waibulabula (Living Waters) Project was a combined Benefi ts institutionalised: The outputs from this project
eff ort of Partners in Community Development Fiji
were mainstreamed into the practice and priorities
(PCDF), the Shangri-La Hotel Resort and the people of
of the resort, ensuring sustainability without external
Cuvu district. The project involved diverting wastewater
funding.
from the resort through constructed ponds where
Communities mobilised: Nearby communities were
nutrients would be used by plants and fl owers.
involved in supporting the project as it decreased
Wastewater from the ponds was recycled and used to
the amount of wastewater pumped into the sea.
water golf greens and fl owers around the resort. The
Degradation of marine resources was a long-term
project started with a lot of discussion and consultation
issue between the resort and the nearby communities
between the Resort and PCDF as this was the fi rst of its
and landowners. This project helped address the issue
kind in Fiji at that time. The Engineers at the Resort were
and the people from nearby communities were glad
very supportive in testing out the new project. And
such initiatives took place. Local tour guides were also
the management of Shangri-La was happy with the
engaged taking groups or school children through
outcomes as less waste was being released into the sea,
the Waibulabula Project. It also strengthened the
which aff ected marine life. The golf green was healthy
relationship between the Resort and the landowners.
as they were watered regularly from the pond fi ltered
wastewater. There were some challenges The resort had Economic benefi ts: The link between best practice in
to overcome. One of them was managing the ponds.
wastewater management and coral reef preservation
They needed to know the right amount or level of waste had direct economic benefi ts for both local tourism and
to pump into the ponds: if the level of waste was too
local fi shing communities.
high it aff ected the plants and could kill the fresh water
fi sh. Another issue was to make sure plants and weeds
that grew in the ponds were cleaned out regularly:. the
Key Factors for Success
plants grew very fast and if not maintained they aff ected
the fl ow of water from one pond to the other and
· Leading participation from the local community
contributed to a foul smell in nearby areas.
· Strong links with private business (for sustainability)
· Economic benefi ts arising from best practice
IWRM Snapshots / 19
Governing Water, Fiji
Live & Learn Environmental Educationn
Background
IWRM Relevance
Governing Water is an EU funded project, coordinated
Safeguarding of drinking water: The water test
by Live & Learn Environmental Education that aims to
kits advance the safeguarding of drinking water by
strengthen community governance and action in water
providing a practical monitoring tool. The kit comes
management. The Project works in 40 communities
with a community education pack encouraging
across Fiji and highlights that governance and
discussion and problem-solving on drinking water:
government are diff erent, withgovernance starting at
which is governance in action.
the village level. The project aims to make governance
Links with Government: The Project is working
practical by developing tools through which people
closely with the Rokos in 8 provincial councils. A large
can participate in water governance. Nukulaca
component of the project is focussed on decentralising
settlement, an Indo-Fijian community situated in the
the management of water and the strengthening the
western part of Viti Levu, is one of seven Governing
role of Rokos to support such decentralisation.
Water Communities in Ra province. . Community
representatives were trained in the use of water
Women taking leadership: Women are a driving force
monitoring test kits at a workshop in 2006. Following
behind activities in this community. The water kits have
the training, those representatives went back and
provided a practical tool for women to lead and take
conducted "Learning Circles", using water testing kit,
action. This will create opportunities in other areas and
with the people in their community. Women and youth
will result in greater participation from women in IWRM.
participated alongside the elders and the men. . During
Improved health for children: Improved drinking water
their group discussion members of the community
quality will have a positive impact on children's health.
agreed that it had been a long time since their water
source and water tank were cleaned: the women in
Water education in schools: Governing Water links in
particular became more conscious about the quality
with education in schools and communities and allows
of the water they used after this water testing exercise.
for youth participation and innovation.
Water is a basic necessity and the women are eager to
see that water quality be improved. They do not want to
see young children suff er from drinking dirty water from Key Factors for Success
their own water source. The elders and the men agreed
to clean their community water source and water tank
· Governance starts at village level by the community
twice a year to ensure improvement in their water
· Innovative learning tools that are practical and easy
quality. They all agreed that they should monitor water
to use
regularly to ensure safe and clean water was available at
all times. The ongoing support and initiatives of Live &
· Women are prime water users and a strong target
Learn have been benefi cial and appreciated.
group in IWRM and in this project
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20 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Initiative of One, Relief for All, Pakistan
Background
Key Factors for Success
One poor woman in Pakistan, Nasim Bibi, with no land
· Women's groups able to gain community-wide
to cultivate and a husband who worked in construction,
support because it started with a base of
motivated other villagers to organise their own water
people who trusted each other due to their familial
supply scheme. Nasim formed a community-based
relationships.
women's organization which was then eligible to access
· The women's groups' male relatives realised that
fi nancial assistance through a regional NGO's Rural
women's participation was benefi ting the entire
Support Programme. Through monthly meetings the
family, increasing respect and recognition of women
women identifi ed increased access to water as a priority
as community leaders.
for action and, over a two-year period, installed seven
water hand pumps in diff erent locations bringing water
· The groups' members consciously involved the
into their village for the fi rst time. Nasim acted as overall
community through shared management roles.
manager with three committees formed to manage
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various aspects of the project. Every participating
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household took turns providing food for labourers
engaged in hand-pump drilling and the village women
themselves helped soften the ground for drilling and
with construction of hand-pump platforms.
IWRM Relevance
Sanitation & Health: Increased frequency in bathing
and cloth washing; decreased time needed for
collecting water, resulting in a large increase in time
available for other activities; reduced contamination of
the new water sources due to animal waste.
Women's leadership roles: Increased decision-making
power at the house-hold level for women involved in
the water scheme; growing understanding of how such
activities can benefi t families; increased acceptance by
men that women can be eff ective community leaders;
enhanced sense of independence due to greater social
mobility.
Education: Establishment of a non-formal school in the
village, primarily supporting girls' education.
Community involvement and participation:
Community group membership has grown and villagers
who did not participate in the scheme now perceive
it as something that was done on behalf of the whole
community.
Sustainability and transferability: Nasim is now seen
as an informal leader and often approached for advice;
increased understanding of the importance of sanitation
resulting in further community resolutions to organise
village sanitation schemes.
IWRM Snapshots / 21
The ATLoo Project, Papua New Guinea
AT Projectss
Background
Key Factors for Success
WaterAid's partner ATprojects is a Goroka-based NGO
· High level and practical community participation
that works with communities, NGOs, and the provincial
and ownership
government in the Eastern Highlands province of Papua · Mobilisation of young men and women in
New Guinea. Its mission is to enable rural people to
construction
develop and use skills and appropriate technologies
(AT) that give them more control over their lives and
· Use of appropriate technology
contribute to the sustainable development of their
· Local capacity building leading to
communities. ATprojects builds on locally available skills
independent sustainability
and materials and encourages the full participation
of local people in its projects. This should mean that
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technological and social changes that follow are more
likely to complement evolving local traditions and
culture. ATprojects has developed its low cost `ATloo'
to provide safe excreta disposal in rural areas away
from any mains sanitation provision. With funds from
WaterAid these have now been installed in 14 schools in
the Eastern Highlands. The ATloos are easy to build and
maintain, easy to clean, free of smell and nice to look
at. Far from making sanitation a taboo subject, the idea
is that users develop a sense of pride and ownership
of the facility. In addition to hygiene education, local
people are taught to operate and maintain the latrines.
IWRM Relevance
Local Ownership: Toilets are easy to build and most
importantly can be built by local people using local
materials. They are also easy to keep clean.
Hygiene and Sanitation: The building of the ATloo
links in well with hygiene education in schools and
communities.
Appropriate technology: The ATloo promotes
appropriate technology, addresses local needs, and
lessens dependence on external resources
22 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
The Power of Many, Papua New GuineaG
Background
IWRM Relevance
Wewak is a town of 27,000 people run by the Town
Links between waste management, health and water
Commission situated in the East Sepik Province, Papua
management: The example from Wewak illustrates how
New Guinea. As more people change from traditional
environmental issues are linked. Communities should be
to modern lifestyles, so too does the type and amount
mobilised on issues important to them and refl ecting
of household waste. In the past, household waste was
real issues aff ecting their lives. Actions are practical and
organic and nature took care of it. Villagers would put
owned by the community.
their waste into piles, burn it, and throw it in the sea or
Women are empowered and inspire collective action:
the bush. Today, supermarkets sell imported, packaged
A number of people tried separately to make the
goods in plastic bags. Although there is a regular
authorities take notice of the rubbish dump problems
rubbish collection in the town area, many households
but it was only when the East Sepik Council of Women
still treat their rubbish in traditional ways. It is heaped
organised a meeting for the local community that
into piles and left to rot or it is buried or burned. Often
things began to change.
the air in Wewak is fi lled with the smoke of thousands
of small rubbish fi res. The unsorted rubbish from
Involving all stakeholders: Amongst the people who
households is put into plastic bags, which are collected
came to the meeting were the headmaster from the
by a contractor and taken to the rubbish dump on the
Community School, an elder from the settlement,
outskirts of town. Only a road separates the rubbish
the director of the Local Environment Foundation,
dump from a nearby village settlement and a school,
women from the East Sepik Council of Women and the
and only a narrow strip of water separates the dump
staff in charge of waste and planning from the Town
from another settlement. Sewage is also disposed of
Commission. Everyone came to hear each other's stories
in the dump. Some settlements have sewage buckets,
and to discuss solutions. At the end of the meeting the
which are collected and emptied into the lagoon on the individuals formed a group to ask the government to
edge of the dump. Nearby communities are concerned
improve waste management and clean up the town's
about pollution from the sewage, the waste piles and
dump. The individuals had become a group and the
the burning rubbish. There is a small settlement straight
power of many was at work.
across from where the sewage is emptied into the
Building capacity and ensuring sustainability:
lagoon. The settlers rely on fi sh as part of their food and
The Town Commission has since removed the rubbish
income. They can see how the sewage is trapped by the from the corner closest to the school. They have covered
tide and believe that the fi sh may be no longer safe to
the ground with fresh soil and topped it with a layer of
eat. They worry that they will not be able to sell their fi sh gravel. The students from the Mongniol Community
and also about the health of their children swimming or
School have written to the Town Commission to thank
playing in the lagoon.
them for their eff orts. Now the students will keep a close
watch on the site - they have a voice in the future of
the dump and are already making a waste plan for their
school.
Key Factors for Success
· Local ownership and participation
· Recognition and inclusion of stakeholder opinions
and issues
· Timely, visible & appropriate action
· Action based on issues that are of real concern to
communities
· Empowering youth (students) and women into
leadership roles
http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu
w
.au/globaled/go/
.globaleducation.edna.edu
pid/152
IWRM Snapshots / 23
Economic costs of water pollution, Cook Islands
CSIROO
Background
IWRM Relevance
Water pollution is a signifi cant issue for many small
The Project advocated a management approach of
island nations with fringing reefs. The environmental
watersheds, which required a combined government,
and social impacts are recognised but rarely
industry and community response on:
quantifi ed in economic terms. In this project, the Cook
Islands Government and the South Pacifi c Regional
· soil erosion and stream sedimentation
Environment Program (SPREP) engaged CSIRO to
· herbicide and pesticide run-off
estimate the economic impacts of water pollution
to Rarotonga, the largest of the islands in the Cook
· fertiliser run-off
Islands nation, in both area and population. There was
· livestock and animal waste
a capacity building component to this study to ensure
new skills were transferred and retained by the people
· septic tank leakage
of the Cook Islands. The most signifi cant costs to the
· mosquito outbreaks from stream blockage and poor
community of the Cook islands include: loss of tourism,
waste disposal
purchase of bottled water and costs of water-related
illness. Currently, like in most Pacifi c island countries,
· liquid and solid waste disposal.
Rarotonga has no chemical water treatment. Coarse
gravel fi lters remove leaves etc from the water but do
not fi lter out bacteria. As a result, the quality of tap
Key Factors for Success
water falls below internationally accepted water quality
· Focus on integration of economical issues in IWRM
standards for drinking and locals and tourists are advised
to boil their drinking water. In 2005, CSIRO estimated
· Focus on multiple stakeholders the government
that sound watershed management could save the
and the community
community of the Cook Islands millions of dollars that
· Capacity building an integral part of the Project
are being spent dealing with the consequences of
water pollution. The project estimated that currently,
http://www.csir
w
o
.csir .au/science/ps1uc
o
.html
.au/science/ps1uc
water pollution in Rarotonga costs the Cook Islands
in the vicinity of NZ$3.2 to NZ$17.7 million per year,
with a best estimate of NZ$7.4 million per year. The
fi gure of NZ$7.4 million, a best estimate between a low
estimate of NZ$3.2 million and high estimate of NZ$17.6
million, translates to NZ$2 900 per household.
24 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Water for African Cities
Gender and Water Alliancee
Background
Key Factors for Success
UN-Habitat, the United Nations Agency mandated
· Using a participatory research approach
to promote socially and environmentally sustainable
· Utilising local expertise and resources
human settlements works to improve water and
sanitation in African countries through the Water
· Recognising location specifi c context, knowledge
for African Cities (WAC) Programme, partnered with
and situations
the Gender Water Alliance who promote gender
· Integrating capacity building to ensure sustainable
mainstreaming as a fundamental part of IWRM, to
long-term results
alleviate the burden placed on women and children
in fetching water and the adverse consequences of
· Exchange of information, methodological
inadequate water supplies. The GWA, commissioned by
approaches and situational analyses
UN-Habitat, conducted rapid assessments in 17 cities
· Provision of follow-up support to the
in 14 countries, using a pro-poor and gender lens to
implementation of concrete actions
identify, gather and analyse baseline data relevant to
six priority themes previously identifi ed by participants
· Enabling a process of local ownership and learning
from 17 WAC programme countries
by doing
http://www..genderandwat
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..genderandwat .or
er g/cont
.or
ent/
g/cont
IWRM Relevance
download/6772/47238/fi
do
le/Ench32313GW
wnload/6772/47238/fi
A.pdf
le/Ench32313GW
Pro-poor water governance: Recommendations focus
on how local utilities can deliver water and sanitation
services with aff ordable charges for the poor.
Sanitation: Recommendations aimed at local and
regional governments paying specifi c attention to
creation of income generating activities in areas such
as latrine construction and recycling and re-use of sold
waste.
Urban catchments management: Recommendations
relate to implementation of minimum improvements to
the traditional water sources with adequate and regular
health education messages. Agencies and institutions
are urged to incorporate gender equity considerations
for both men and women throughout urban planning
programmes.
Water Demand Management: Water demand
management refl ecting pro-poor and gender-sensitive
perspectives should be integrated into the institutional
and legal framework of IWRM strategies.
Water Education in Schools and Communities:
Recommendations for training and educational
materials to encourage recognition of the needs of
both genders.
Advocacy, Awareness raising and Information
Exchange: Recommendations aimed at local
governments focusing on development of education,
communication materials and tools; encourage
participation and representation of individuals from
informal settlements and slums; and create information
exchange and dissemination using a variety of media.
IWRM Snapshots / 25
Lessons Learnt
There are many water and sanitation pilots in the Pacifi c. · Link initiatives to broader strategy or policy
The above case studies provide a few examples of how
frameworks (institutionalised)
projects have been working to practice IWRM principles. · Innovative and replicable by the community using
Many endeavour to test news ideas and approaches,
communities' own skills and resources
whereas others are part of broader strategies.
Lessons learnt are varied but successes share similar
· Provide ongoing support to the implementation of
characteristics, namely:
concrete actions
· Recognise location specifi c context, knowledge
· Encourage IWRM to become a `way of living' as
and situations
opposed to a funded project
· Utilise local expertise, resources and existing
· Avoid stand-alone infrastructure projects
partnerships
· Build human capacity and links between the
· Strengthen the organisational fabric of the
environmental, social and economical
community
community aspects
· Foster community ownership
· Driven by good planning, good people
and good will
· Nurture collaboration between the government,
community and civil society
Many further examples of IWRM case studies worldwide
are available from the GWP Toolbox
· Simple and practical wherever possible
http:/www.gwpt
w
oolbo
.gwpt
x.or
oolbo
g/
x.or
· Conducted on a community dictated timeframe
· Outcome, rather than output, focused
· Promote organic development of ideas and
directional change
· Integrate capacity building to ensure sustainable
long-term results
Collective community action and behavioural change can clean up Pacifi c island rivers.
26 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
e
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P Prac
28 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Introduction / 29
Steps to Mobilisation
It is important that the correct approach is used when
These steps are not the only way of mobilising
working towards a goal. There may be many approaches communities: they are a guide and can be changed to
that may work and some that work better than others.
suit individual and community context. While they have
This often depends on the goal itself, the audience
been tested for impact and appropriateness, they are
and sometimes the location and time available. There
also easily adopted and changed as you see fi t.
are many theories but the only way to really know is
You need to have good organisational skills to bring
to try. The over-riding concept is to start simple and
the community together and good management skills
progress. If it is not working - learn from it and adapt the to manage diverse needs once they are together. You
approach. You need a strategic approach to work with
especially need to show these skills (lead by example),
communities. This approach chosen for community
as they are skills the community will need to continue
mobilisation has been developed in six broad steps to
the community mobilisation approach.
mobilisation (see below):
30 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Facilitation is the Key
Good facilitation empowers and unites
have detailed knowledge of the communities they are
working with.
Good facilitation can enhance community mobilisation,
change and participation. Poor facilitation can have the
· IWRM should specifi cally relate to the community
reverse impact. A facilitator's main role is to engage and
their situation, their beliefs and their problems.
mobilise communities. A facilitator is not expected to be
Existing community knowledge and stories should be
an `expert' and have all the answers but is expected to
the foundation for IWRM.
bring the community together and create opportunities · The community participation will include the
for a common vision on IWRM. For this to eventuate
whole community not only leaders and high profi le
the facilitator needs to manage diff erent agendas and
members. IWRM must fi nd ways of meaningfully
interests and ensure everyone has an opportunity to
including women.
speak. Good facilitation is an extensive process and
it is critical to the success of IWRM. Millions of dollars
· The community should be included in developing
have been spend on well-intended IWRM projects have
their own resources and processes. Any monitoring
failed because lack of active community participation
results should be made available for further
and no community "buy in". The key question is not
community empowerment.
"whether" you mobilise community participation but
· Community organisation and structure are important
"how" it is done. The facilitator can make or break the
in sustaining IWRM. Workshops and training are not
impact of IWRM by the way he or she is interacting with
enough to sustain change. Structural changes to the
the community. Often participation and consultation
community fabric may be needed to ensure good
are perceived as the same, but they are quite diff erent.
governance, inclusive decision-making and action.
Consultation is merely a meeting where an issue is
Pilot and demonstration activities are an important
discussed and there is no obligation to take onboard
way of strengthening new ways of community
community views: participation is a process whereby
organisation.
communities are actively contributing, deciding and
taking control of their own development.
· Community participation should not be rushed. It
is critical that communities have a strong sense of
ownership of their own development and that the
Weak
Strong
participation process will lead to real results that are
sustainable.
Good facilitation will also assist in not only getting good
information
consultation/
collaboration/ empowerment/
data and gaining better rapport with the community,
sharing
seeking
joint decision
shared control
most importantly it will help to empower the community
feedback
making
to act (See Mobilisation Resources).
It is easy for the facilitator to fall into the "consultation
trap". Therefore it is important to always consider that
community ownership and participation in developing
these solutions is key to sustaining their impact.
The Facilitators role in IWRM mobilisation
· Create interest on IWRM
· Create an open discussion on opportunities and
constraints concerning IWRM
· Explore and understand priorities and problems
· Provide assistance for planning and problems
solving
· Community participation should be fully planned for.
Realistic time and resources should be allowed for
Good facilitation empowers and unites.
within designs. Facilitators must be intimately familiar
with the issues under discussion and should also
Steps to Mobilisation / 31
1. Plan
The fi rst skill is planning, as without planning you may
Stakeholder Analysis
forget some of the necessary skills and resources. You
need to be an organiser, manager, public speaker,
Stakeholder: A stakeholder is a person, group or
facilitator, note-taker, listener and questioner. These
organisation that has an interest or "stake" in your project.
are skills that have some theory but are mostly best
There are three main types of stakeholders; those who have
learnt through experience learning by doing.
a controlling interest and who will infl uence the design;
those from whom requirements, intellectual, physical
To eff ectively plan for community mobilisation you
or fi nancial, will be drawn; and ultimately, the people
need to consider: planning, goals, the target audience,
who will reap the benefi ts of your completed project.
logistics, skills & resources and concepts (Resource #1).
Stakeholder analysis should be conducted in the
early stages of the planning process. It is extremely
important to involve stakeholders in al phases of
Understand your Goals and Purpose
your project for two reasons: Firstly, experience
The major reason a community mobilisation approach
shows that their involvement in the project
is taken is because it is the most eff ective way to
signifi cantly increases your chances of success by
get some, but not all, things done. Many studies
building in a feedback loop; Secondly, involving
and reports support the involvement (participation)
them in your project builds confi dence in what
of people in solving their own problems as one of
you are trying to achieve and wil greatly ease the
the keys to success and sustainability of actions.
projects acceptance to your target audience.
Part of the reason may be that the government
The fi sherman must know the sea to catch the fi sh.
and/or project specifi cally acknowledged the
importance of community mobilisation.
If you want to achieve your goal you need to know
whom you are working with. The community is the
·
Why are you doing community mobilisation?
main audience but whom within the community
·
What are the key reasons for community
should you be targeting for involvement?
mobilisation in this situation?
This wil most often link back to your goals.
Before even considering doing any work with
You must know as much as possible about the
the community, you must prepare yourself. The
social, environmental & cultural aspects of the
best way to prepare is to plan. Simple questions
community. This should not just be fact a
such as: who, what, where, when, why and how,
community is how these aspects are linked.
can be a useful guide in preparing as they can
·
Who are you working with and why?
help you to consider what you are doing.
·
Are al sectors of the community
·
Do you understand the objectives
represented? (Gender, age etc)
of the pilot project?
·
Is it community driven or are you
A stakeholder analysis (Resource #2) is a technique
trying to promote it?
you can use to identify and assess the importance of
·
Are you confi dent to facilitate the
key people, groups of people, or institutions that may
discussion and actions?
signifi cantly infl uence the success of your activity or
project. It is important to consider and refl ect how you
You need to know your goals before you start. Develop
have made sure that women have been equal y included
them yourself and then develop them with others.
in the planning and stakeholder analysis stages.
Most importantly, share them with the community
and assist the community in developing their own
You can use these techniques to:
goals. The ultimate goal is the community.
·
Identify people, groups, and institutions
·
What are you doing and why?
that wil infl uence your pilot project
(either positively or negatively)
·
What do you want to achieve, specifi cally?
·
Anticipate the kind of infl uence, positive or
·
How will you know if you are successful?
negative, these groups wil have on your initiative
·
Develop strategies to get the most eff ective support
possible for your initiative and reduce any obstacles
to successful implementation of your program.
32 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Logistics and Resources
The timing of facilitation sessions should be linked
to what you know about the community and timed
to encourage maximum interest. Often when
participants are asked to spend more than 2 hours
it can interfere with other work commitments or
they may lose attention if they are not accustomed
to spending long times discussing issues.
·
How long are the activities?
·
Did you set the time or did the community?
·
Is the timing suitable for all groups within
the community, including women?
The location of the community is an important
consideration and can aff ect approaches to
facilitation. If it is very diffi cult, takes a long time
Success = Good Planning, Good People, Good Will
and/or is expensive to get to the community it may
aff ect the timing and approach you wish to use.
·
Did you set the location or did the community?
·
Is it a suitable site? Will weather aff ect
it or your travel to the site?
·
Do you have the time and money to do this?
It is important to know how you will do what
you are planning. You need to know what skills
and resources are required. You will also need to
develop these skills and obtain the resources. It
is very important that you ensure that these skills
and resources are suitable to the situation, and if
not then be willing and able to adapt them.
·
What skills & resources do you need to
conduct community facilitation?
·
How can you minimise weaknesses
and maximise strengths?
·
What can the community supply?
Steps to Mobilisation / 33
2. Listen & Learn
To eff ectively mobilise communities you need
Collecting information (data)
to listen & learn about the local community
perceptions, keep notes on what is said and
It's not about what you've got - It's about
facilitate further debate to make sure any myths or
how you got it and what you do with it!
misconceptions have been identifi ed. The objective
of this step is to establish a common information
The mode of collecting information or data should
base and consensus of understanding about the
be linked to the fl exible nature of working with the
community perceptions, needs and capacity to
community. A broad contextual plan for data collection
implement IWRM that can be shared and agreed
is more appropriate than intensive data collection
on by stakeholders. (Mobilisation Tools #3-11).
that may place a burden on the community. Most of
all, your work with communities should be interesting
Understand Community Perceptions
to, and as close to the community way of living, as
possible. Many manuals have endeavoured to give
It is important to understand the local perceptions
a list of participatory tools or methods to promote
relevant to your goal. Make your own observations
the involvement of communities: these guidelines
about the community as well. Think about the
will not replicate that, but rather emphasise a few
community's social organisation, local livelihoods,
key participatory tools that can assist in gaining and
politics, values, traditions and the relationship
maintaining the participation of the community.
with the environment. These observations,
There are many ways to collect data from people,
combined with the communities' perceptions,
however for community mobilisation focus groups
can help you to develop a better understanding,
and interviews are some of the most commonly
however, you should never stop learning about
used. Focus groups are a bit diff erent from interviews:
the community, as you can never know it all.
interviews are a question and answer process, whereas
·
What do you think the communities
focus groups encourage more open discussion of the
perceptions related to your topic are?
issues. Questions are still used and must be on hand
as a prompt to illicit key information that does not
·
What does the community think their perceptions
come out through discussions. You can easily extend
on environmental management are?
the focus group discussion to include some of the
participatory tools in Table 1 below. These tools can help
to get the group more involved in the discussion, focus
on a particularl issue and help people who prefer to
communicate in a visual way, rather than just talking.
Focus groups are a valuable way of encouraging
involvement, de-mystifying the role of the facilitator
and extending the range of skills people can build
through their participation in the learning circle.
·
What do you really want to know?
·
Does the community want to know this?
·
What are you going to do with the data?
·
Is the community happy for you to do that?
34 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Table 1: Summary of useful participatory tools
Transect
Used to gain physical information about an area, through participant observation
and facilitator questioning. It is usually an outdoor activity where the participants
walk along a designated course through an area. The concept is for the participants
to consciously look at their physical environment with a key focus such as water,
resources, problems, solutions etc.
Mapping
This tool can be used inside or outside. It is designed to get participants to draw
and visually represent an area as they see it. Mapping may not necessarily be about
accuracy as it is based on perception. Mapping can serve to highlight group dynamics
and perceptions as people discuss the way they see an area.
Listing
This is a documentation tool that requires the participants to list a certain issue. This
tool can be linked to Transect and Mapping, which are used to simply document
certain issues. It can be important in-group verifi cation of the data collected before it
is documented.
Timeline
A timeline, or calendar, gives a temporal history of the area or a specifi c issue or issues.
It requires the participants to think about when things happened (seasons, holidays,
key dates etc). It can be very arbitrary as some things happen over time without a
distinct date; this therefore brings in group dynamics and stimulates discussion on the
issues. This can really promote the critical exploration of an issue.
Drawing
Drawing encourages people to think more about a particular issue and off ers another
way of expressing their views visually. This tool can be used to promote increased
thought and discussion on the issues that have been highlighted. It can serve to
ensure feedback from all participants, and highlight previously missed information.
Ranking
Ranking allows the participants to work through issues and as a group prioritise them
into a ranked order. This leads to group discussion about perceptions of importance.
More issues may also arise as participants explain the importance of diff erent issues.
Self-evaluation
Self evaluation encourages the participants to look at the process and say what they
did and did not like about it, whether they thought it was good or not and off er
suggestions. Evaluation is critical as it looks at how to enhance the participatory
process or tools for future use.
Introduction / 35
Note-taking
Keeping notes shows that the knowledge
and experiences of members are
valuedand helps ensure things aren't
forgotten or confused over time.
Recording the work of the facilitation can help
people to focus. It makes it possible for the group
to see how its views have developed and to share
experiences with other groups. Importantly, notes
can enable data collected in one area to be compared
with other data. Written notes also make it easier
to include any initiatives or activities undertaken
by the group in a newsletter or on a website, so
we can learn from one another and participants
see a visible outcome from their activities.
Having specifi c staff to act as note-takers allows the
lead facilitator more freedom to follow the fl ow of the
If you ask a question, be prepared to act on the answer.
group. It is important to explain to the group about
note taking and check they are comfortable with it or
if there is any specifi c way they would like it organised.
It does not need to be a big job: every word spoken
does not need to be written down; indeed for some
discussions it may be preferable for no notes to be
taken, but instead a record of summary key points.
·
What do you want notes taken on?
·
What does the community want notes taken on?
·
Who will take notes?
·
How will the notes be taken?
(written, tape-recorder, video)
Good notes record;
· What the group covered/discussed: try to get as much detail as possible and record key words
and quotes.
· Key issues, ideas and points of particular controversy: sometimes it is important to highlight who states
a key or controversial issue. Issues where participants agreed to disagree are also important for future
evaluation of activities.
· Note-takers can take notes in local language, and translate to English at the soonest convenience.
Translation, if necessary, should be done by the note-taker too.
Try to have two note-takers, as this will help to ensure quality notes.
36 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Facilitate Debate
Are you really listening?
The skill of listening is just as important as speaking.
It is a good idea at this point to check that
In some cases it is more important. Good listening
you are listening well, not making personal
skills include refl ective listening and strategic
assumptions and that you are listening to, or
questioning to ensure you understand what was
including, all groups within the community
meant. Attentive listening shows an interest and
·
Have you really listened?
respect for the participants' knowledge and can help
to start a positive relationship (Resources #3, 10 & 11).
·
Is it a problem for everyone?
·
Have you understood what was being said?
·
Have the consequences of
change been considered?
·
How do you know you understood
what is being said?
·
Are you listening to everyone's point of
view or only one groups perspective?
·
Are you interested in what people have to off er?
It is important to remember that at this stage
Community entry points can be key people or
you are there to listen & learn. Some visioning of
organisations, they are dynamic and can sometimes
solutions will occur naturally but it is important
signifi cantly change over time. Sometimes the people
to take things slowly and not jump to a "quick fi x"
or organisations that are seen as key community entry
solution. Note down ideas or strategies that are
points are known as `gatekeepers'. To work with these
mentioned and keep these in mind as you move
people can mean opening the gates of the community.
to the next stage of discussing & developing.
These `gatekeepers' are also the people most likely to
directly aff ect the success or failure of any community
activity. They are important in assisting with the
sustainability of any community approaches, it is very
important to involve them and consider their opinions.
·
Who can best help you work with the community?
·
Who do you know in the community?
·
Who do you know who knows
someone in the community?
Steps to Mobilisation / 37
3. Discuss & Develop
Once you have listened and learnt what the community
A good facilitator can help each group, the farmers and
and stakeholders have to say you are in a good position
the women, to understand each others issues and work
to further discuss and develop strategies for action.
together to fi nd a way that will mean solutions, not
To eff ectively discuss & develop for community
problems, for both groups. Perhaps the farmers can dig
mobilisation you need to be able to visualise solutions,
out a section of the bank and line it with small rocks to
facilitate selecting a strategy, pre-test the chosen
help the older cattle get down to the lower water level.
approach, consider sustainability, the logisitical
requirements and provide awareness raising through
Developing Consensus
appropriate communication pathways (Resources 4-6).
There are often several approaches that may be
Visioning Solutions
taken. It takes good facilitation to guide discussions
towards a consensus agreement on which
"If you ask a question, be prepared
approach or approaches are the most appropriate
to act on the answer"
to the situation and resources available.
Through listening and learning what the community
Good facilitation is the glue that
had to say you will have a better idea and more
holds a group together
detail about what the exact nature their problems
It is always important to remember that you
or issues; preferred solutions, where to focus
should be trying to make things easier/simpler.
activities, what support is required and perhaps
The main role of a facilitator is organisational; you
understand what has hindered activities in the past.
are there to make the discussion process easier. A
With all this information to hand you can now
good facilitator is an `introduction agency' they
begin to develop ideas for strategies or projects
bring people together, help good interpersonal
that will create change, bring benefi t or otherwise
relationships to form and guide the group towards
off er solutions to the issues identifi ed.
common agreement about the way forward
Confl ict can easily arise at this step, as what is felt to be a ·
Is your approach simple?
good thing for one person or group may be a problem
·
Can you make the approach easier?
for a diff erent person or group within the community.
Tact and good facilitation skills are essential for helping
·
Does your approach help bring people together?
everyone, community & stakeholders to come to a
·
Is there general agreement (consensus)
common understanding of the issues to be focused on.
on the approach to be taken?
Consider Sustainability
Scenario: Benefi t or problem?
Give a man a fi sh and he'll eat for a day.
A group of farmers in one community have gathered
Teach a man to fi sh he'll eat forever!
together to try to solve the problem on lack of
drinking water for their cattle. The bank of the stream
An important consideration in community mobilisation
where the cattle drink has fal en in and some of the
is long-term sustainability. If the activities require
older beasts are fi nding it diffi cult to get to the water,
too many resources from outside the community
often slipping in the mud and getting stuck. The
then it is less likely to succeed and it may also lead to
men decide to create a damn in the river a little ways
dependency on the external resources. Where possible
downstream, which wil raise the water level and
reduce the external resources and maximise the internal
make it easier for the cattle to drink again.
resources. Where external resources are used try and
ensure if they are skills that locals are taught those skills
Unfortunately, their solution creates a problem
and if it equipment see if there are any locally available
for the women in the community who do their
alternatives or if it is possible to produce locally. Where
washing downstream from the grazing area. There is
external support is given ensure that support is directed
less water fl ow now, so although they can still wash
into making the activity more self-reliant not less.
clothes the reduced fl ow of water is not naturally
cleaning the area.
·
Is external support needed for the community to
continue?
38 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
·
Are you giving the community the skil s to
continue?
·
What else do they need for it to become more
sustainable?
Logistics & Resources
Important considerations for working in a community
include the logistics and resources. Is the community
accessible: is there available transport and enough
money for transport to and from the community;
are you allowed to work in the community; do you
need special permission; and who do you get that
permission from? Even if you do not need formal
permission, are there any local leaders or government
departments that you should notify as a courtesy of
your intended work?
·
Are you organised and following local protocols?
·
Have you involved, informed and gained
permission from the right people?
Discussion must lead to action
·
Have you identifi ed the resources needed?
Don't reinvent the wheel!
One of the most important premises of environmental
Communication
management is effi ciency it is more effi cient to
Clear communication is one of the most important
utilise and adapt relevant materials than to start
tools in community mobilisation. Communication
again. If there are, or have been, people working on
is a skill that is useful for all activities and especially
similar and relevant actions then make every eff ort
important for people working eff ectively together.
to learn from these and where possible utilise and
Some of the key communication skills for community
adapt them. You should always try to get permission
mobilisation include listening and questioning, but it
before using someone else's resource and make sure
is also very important to understand body language
you acknowledge where the resource came from.
as there is lots of communication without words.
Equally, once resources have been developed, it is
If you are not from the area try and get feedback
important to be able to continually refl ect of their
from a trusted local source, as they will have a more
appropriateness and eff ectiveness and be prepared
intuitive understanding of the body language.
to adapt them if necessary. It is very diffi cult to get
a resource right the fi rst time without having been
·
Is the message clear?
able to try it out in several diff erent situations fi rst.
·
Is there someone local who can help
·
Who is working on relevant activities?
you interpret the situation?
·
What resources are already available
·
Are you communicating with the right people?
that may be useful?
·
Do people understand you clearly?
·
Do you have permission to use or
reproduce those resources?
·
Is the resource adaptable to diff erent situations?
·
Is the resource appropriate for all
community members?
Steps to Mobilisation / 39
4. Adapt & Act
To eff ectively adapt & act for community
Milestones and Indicators
mobilisation you need to consider: participation,
resources, adaptability, action and ownership
Action plans also provide a set of checks to make
(Resources 6-11).
sure that activities are happening; which then
also serves as part of the evaluation. These checks
After the community has gained an increased
may be activity milestones, events achieved or
understanding and identifi ed problems and needs,
other indicators that happen, usually within a
the stage is set for the community to take action. If
particular timeframe and that can be measured or
the community cannot take action on an issue that
documented in some way: examples include;
they now understand more, then there may be some
disempowerment it is important to link with some
·
Training workshop conducted
practical action. This is the phase where most of the
·
Communal water well offi cially opened
community organising takes place and may include
developing an action plan. You should work with the
·
A small grants application form
community during the planning and implementation
completed and posted
process to ensure their involvement in decisions
·
A new VIP toilet block completed
and activities.
·
A reduction in the number of
·
Is your approach linked to practical actions?
health visits for diarrhoea
·
Can the community act on the issues raised?
More information on indicators is included in the
·
Who is involved in the activity?
Evaluation section.
·
Who are the decision-makers?
·
Does the community have a plan to follow?
Risk Assessment
Conducting a risk assessment is a means to help
you recognise and avoid the common pitfalls
Test the approach
that sabotage many projects. Brainstorm with
An integral part to the development of most activities
others to encourage team input, and aim to think
is some form of pre-testing. This can be in the form
broadly to anticipate the risks for each activity to
of conducting an activity or just testing parts of an
be undertaken. For each risk assign a category to
activity. You need some way to gauge whether an
refl ect how likely you think it is to happen and how
activity is suitable and eff ective for your audience,
critical it would be for the project (Resource 13).
and be able to make changes, before spending all the
By thinking ahead and preparing for possible delays,
money and eff ort in conducting the whole program.
confl icts or shortfalls in resources it is more likely that
·
How will you test your approach?
you can develop contingency plans to contain the
risk risks, assess your overall level of preparedness
·
Who will you involve in this pre-test?
and monitor ongoing risk as the project proceeds.
Action Plans
Having listened to the community and discussed
and decided on what action to take, it does not
necessarily follow that you have agreement on how
that action is to happen, or who will be involved.
Creating an action plan helps to get everyone
working together, with a clear understanding of his
or her roles and responsibilities (Resource 12).
Caption to come!
40 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Some examples of risks common to
Ownership
community mobilisation activities are;
Each community is diff erent and as such a diff erent
·
Change in community motivation to participate
approach to community mobilisation is necessary
·
Unforseen events arising such
there is no generic approach. When working with
as a death and funeral
communities it is important to be responsive to
their needs, this may not always fi t in with your own
·
Poor weather making travel diffi cult
needs but showing this fl exibility can strengthen the
and meeting or supplies delayed
community activities and specifi cally increase the
·
Confl ict occurring between community groups
communities' ownership. Transferring of ownership will
increase the community's independence to sustain the
·
Mismanagement of money or materials
benefi ts of the activity.
·
Did the community give some direction?
Participation and Action
·
Has the community shown motivation for
continuing?
Community mobilisation is all about participation
in action. A project delivered as a complete
·
Does the community have the tools, resources and
event by someone outside of the community
support to maintain activities?
may still provide benefi t but will likely be
reduced in overall sustainable impact.
What I read, I may forget
What I discuss, I consider
What I do, I remember
·
Is the community fully involved?
·
At what level of participation are people involved?
·
Are they key decision-makers?
·
Is participation open to all groups within the
community?
Communities must be allowed to take the lead .
Steps to Mobilisation / 41
5. Support
To eff ectively support community mobilisation
you need to refl ect often, consider community
change, ensure you are facilitating and not
dominating and make sure you follow-up
and keep any promises you have made.
Refl ect Often
Refl ect not only on the project progress but also
on your own attitude. You should be sure that you
also re-visit and update the key stakeholders on
the progress being made and any issues arising.
Your own attitude can be a critical factor in your ability
to eff ectively work with the community. The right
attitude can help promote success. Consider your own
Link communities up with networks and each other .
actions and always try and `lead by example'. This is very
important as those who tel others `to do as I say, not as
I do' are destined to off end and likely to fail. You cannot,
and should not, expect community leaders to do things
in a participatory manner if you are not you cannot
Follow-up and Networks
expect community leaders to be transparent if you are
To ensure sustainability of eff orts, there should
not. Leading by example can be one of the strongest
be continual strengthening of the community.
educational infl uences you have in the community.
This is achieved through follow-up, positive
Remember that most of what we learn, in fact up to 80%,
feedback and publicity of successes, training, and
is not from lessons in school but is through observing
capacity building. The community should direct
and learning from those people and things around us.
the frequency and method of follow-up; however,
·
Do you always do what you tell others to do?
once you have agreed to provide follow-up it
is important that those promises are kept.
·
Do you like other people telling you
what to do when they do not do it?
·
How often will you follow-up?
·
Will your attitude positively or negatively
·
What type follow-up is wanted, e.g
impact community mobilisation?
personal support, resources
·
Are you open to receiving comment,
·
Have you made any promises?
criticism and feedback?
·
How can you make sure that any promises are kept?
Building alliances with other organisations can
Community Motivation
assist in ensuring ongoing support for community
All the resources in the world won't make a
actions. Assist the community to form strategic
alliances with NGOs, neighbouring communities
diff erence if there is no motivation to use them!
and other organisations with common interests.
Modern research has found that in many cases
Provide links to more advanced and/or newer
behaviour is not linked to knowledge people can
community groups in order to develop a network of
know that something is wrong but do it anyway. For
community organisations. Strengthen the capability
community mobilisation to be successful you must
of community groups by pooling resources and
work with the community to fi nd out what the key
creating networks for advocacy and funding.
motivations and incentives for the desired change
·
Has the community linked with networks?
would be. Try to fi nd factors that are internal and as such
more sustainable as they do not rely on external forces.
·
Do they have the skills and resources they need?
·
What is the community motivation to participate?
·
Can they get them through a local network?
·
What incentives have other activities used?
·
What opportunities are there to
maintain or improve motivation?
42 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
6. Evaluate
Lessons are not simply learnt from success
Identify indicators
or failure they are learnt from reviewing our
An indicator is used to measure how you are
actions and the result of these actions.
progressing toward your goal and objectives. The
Evaluation means the to continually refl ect on what
indicator needs to be clear and measurable in order to
has happened and to use the lessons learnt to either
be useful. Good indicators can be an important way
improve the ongoing activities or to strengthen new
of knowing if you are headed in the right direction.
activities. Evaluation encourages the participants
The successes of community mobilisation eff orts are
to look at the process and say what they did and
evaluated through careful monitoring of indicators
did not like about it and whether they thought
or success criteria and periodic evaluation. You can
it was good or not and off er suggestions: it is an
help the community groups to determine some
important way of making future activities better.
indicators that will help to show if the objectives
of the action they were undertaking are being
Evaluation of community mobilisation
met. It is very important that these indicators were
can occur at two levels;
included in the action plan so you know what is
1) An evaluation of your ability to eff ectively
to be measured by whom and at what time.
mobilise communities to take action, and
·
Do you have indicators to measure eff ectiveness?
2) An evaluation of the costs and impacts
·
Who has decided on the indicators?
of the activities undertaken
·
What indicators are important to the community?
To eff ectively evaluate community mobilisation you
need to consider: indicators, conduct review and
·
Do the indicators make sense to
refl ection and evaluate or analyse the information.
the responsible people?
Sometimes it is as simple as making sure you have
·
Do you know how to measure
kept good records of what was done and who
change in the indicator?
was involved (Resources # 14-16). There are plenty
of additional resources on evaluation to which
There are two main types of indicator; those you
you can refer (see Selected Useful Resources).
can count and those that you cannot count: you
could count the number committee meetings
held, how many people participated in activities,
how many crops were planted or the number
of conservation areas established. However, it is
more diffi cult to determine changes in peoples
understanding or a change in a person or groups
belief that they can contribute to creating change.
Has the IWRM approach provided clean drinking water for
these women and their families?
Introduction / 43
Data collection
Review and Refl ection
Collection of data for evaluation may occur as part
Both participants and facilitators should have
of the general activity sycle or may involve specifi c
opportunities to refl ect on their work and their
information gathering activities. The method used
learning. Organisers get feedback about what
will largely depend on the resources you have
worked well and any changes that need to be made
available to conduct evaluation activities and how
to the resource materials or how facilitations and
well evaluation indicators were identifi ed and
discussions were conducted or supported. Encourage
included in the action plan. It is much easier if you
the community's participation in evaluation eff orts to
were able to think ahead, plan and include the
assess the successes and failures of initiatives. Do not
evaluation indicators as part of ongoing activities!
underestimate the feedback and comments of the
community, they may not have all the technical skills
·
What information will you collect?
or understanding of alternatives, but they know their
·
How often will you evaluate activities / collect
situation. During this phase, you can also help the
information?
community to refl ect on the objectives of the action
they were undertaking: were they met and the reasons
·
Who will evaluate activities?
for the success or failure. Importantly, an outsider may
·
How will you analyse the information?
see one thing while the insider another evaluation
from both can be useful.
·
How will you share the results of the evaluation?
·
Have you learnt from past approaches?
·
Does the community perceive success or failure?
·
Have insiders refl ected on the approach?
·
What would you change if you were doing it all
again?
As community mobilisation is all about participation
and inclusion, it is important that the same principles
are continued into the evaluation step. The evaluation
process should be as open as possible, include
community members as well as stakeholders, and the
fi ndings and lessons learnt be communicated as widely
as possible.
44 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Bringing it all together
Success or Failure? How will we know?
Mobilising civil society in IWRM aims to specifi cally promote the generation of multiple initiatives and to
respect individuality of design to suit the local context and preferences. Given the inevitable wide variation
in projects undertaken how can any assessment be made of what factors infl uence ability for an initiative to
succeed and therefore provide recommendations to improve future projects?
Lessons Learnt Around the Globe
The GWA held three electronic conferences with participants from government departments, universities,
international and national NGO's, agricultural agencies, UN agencies, professional associations, community
networks and individual men and women, to present 82 cases studies based on project reports and
experiences. The conferences were held simultaneously in four languages, so as to draw in a wide range of
experiences based on work carried out in diff erent corners of the world.
Despite the wealth of information presented the outlines of a comprehensive picture began to emerge and certain
patterns could be discerned with some themes becoming commonplace. Findings and recommendations arising
from the review of those 82 case studies were presented in an easy to read, comprehensive yet concise report a
valuable resource tool for any Government or other implementing agency.
Key Principles for Success
· Using a participatory approach, with consideration for language
· Utilising local expertise and resources
· Recognising location specifi c context, knowledge and situations
· Encouraging review, evaluation and sharing of lessons learnt
· Exchange of information, methodological approaches and situational analyses
· Enabling a process of local ownership and learning by doing
Gender and Water Alliance (2006)
http://www.genderandwat
w
er
.genderandwat .or
er g/cont
.or
ent/do
g/cont
wnload/6772/47238/fi
ent/do
le/Ench32313GW
wnload/6772/47238/fi
A.pdf
le/Ench32313GW
Steps to Mobilisation / 45
Expectations, Roles and Responsibilities
Forming partnerships
· using a tape-recorder to verbally record changes that
have taken place;
Partnerships with community groups may be
vastly diff erent from those with other government
· asking a community leader or church representative
departments and diff erent again to partnerships
to ask and record comments from the community at
formed with other local organisations or NGO's.
regular intervals;
The appropriateness of having formal or informal
· providing a simple template or questionnaire to be
agreements needs to be carefully considered. An
completed at regular intervals; or
informal agreement, witnessed by regarded community
members may be suffi cient or it may be useful to have a · making regular visits to personally document the
ceremony celebrating the signing or verbal affi rmation
progress occurring.
of a more formal agreement. Structured organisations
and NGO's may prefer to use a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) to formalise the activities
Financial Matters
to be undertaken, the reporting requirements and
management of fi nances; equally an MOU may simply
The fi nancial cycle of Government departments is
outline the jointly agreed philosophy under which the
likely to be diff erent and even confl icting to that of an
activities are to be undertaken (Resource #18).
organisation or community group.
"Government Departments have to plan on
budgets months ahead of time, so the earlier we
Reporting Requirements
approach [partners] the better our chances of
Partner organisations, especially community groups,
cooperating are" (Fiji)
may not have the skills or resources to provide the
Many community groups, local organisations and NGO's
level of reporting that is traditionally required by donor
do not have fi nancial security to draw upon. Where
funding agencies or to comply to strict expenditure
activities require money to purchase resources, provide
requirements. Community mobilisation is about
incentives or simply to pay for travel and food the
action; not spending time writing reports to justify
fi nances may have to be provided in advance. Indeed it
actions. However, the usefulness of having written
may also not always be possible to know in advance the
records to document what has taken place cannot be
precise amount of money that will be required.
underestimated particularly when it comes to sharing
the experiences with others and maintaining a historic
This requires the sponsoring agency to have in place
record of events that have taken place. Opportunities
systems for providing funds in a fl exible manner while
to keep to keep reporting requirements to a minimum
at the same time maintaining the ability to conform to
should be explored. Alternative reporting mechanisms
often-strict fi nancial reporting requirements. Obviously
may also be explored such as:
it is always important to be assured that money is being
spent wisely and for the purpose for which it was given
· keeping a photographic diary of project stages;
(Resource #17).
· children may enjoy creating a visual record through
drawings of how they perceive progress to have
been made;
Box 1: Options for fi nancial transparency
· Assist the community or receiving group to establish a committee to oversee the fi nances
· Setting up a designated bank account for the project
· Establishing accounts at regularly used service providers
· Consider making two signatures necessary for withdrawing / spending money
· Consider how easy it is for receipts to be obtained in rural environments
· Permit statements of expenditure to be accepted where receipts are not provided
· Provide money in stages, releasing it against specifi c target points of the project
46 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Community Mobilisation Checklist
There are many concepts that will assist in guiding the
Box 2: Summary checklist for eff ecting community
eff ective mobilisation of a community. It is important
mobilisation
to have basic principles to refl ect on throughout the
process of developing and implementing a community
1.
Have you understood the problem?
mobilisation approach.
2.
Have you researched similar programs?
The following highlight some key principles that can
be used as a guide for developing an approach to
3.
Have specifi c target audiences been identifi ed?
community mobilisation:
4.
Are your objectives obtainable?
· Investigate existing approaches that are relevant
5.
Have you really understood the situation and
to your goal.
needs of your audience?
· Listen to the community, as they understand their
6.
Is the solution compatible with your
needs the best.
audience's personal values and norm's?
· Look at what is working in the community and what
7.
Have you planned how to evaluate?
else is happening.
8.
Will it be fun?
· Pre-test the approach with the community
9.
Will it be social?
and stakeholders.
10. Have you pre-tested the approach?
· Adapt the approach based on stakeholder and
community feedback.
11. Have you thought about access?
· Implement the approach as soon as possible: things
12. Have you approached partners?
change over time.
13. Do you practice what you preach?
· Support the approach with necessary with training
14. Will you leave something behind?
and resources.
· Evaluate the approach and adapt it as necessary for
next time.
Adapted from Education for Life guidelines for
The following checklist summarises some of the main
biodiversity education 1997
principles as questions. These fourteen questions
can be used as prompts to ensure that you have not
Self-assessment
overlooked something signifi cant (Resource #1).
It is not always possible to have all the skills and
experience before starting but that is not a reason not
to start - it simply means you may need to pay extra
attention to those areas where you may be weaker.
Diff erent people have diff erent skills the best way to
develop these skills is through experience. Look at the
following skills and attitudes that are all considered
useful for community mobilization. Refl ect on how
much experience you have in the skills considered
useful for community mobilisation. Your attitude can
also be a critical factor in your ability to eff ectively
work with the community. The right attitude can help
promote success. This refl ection should help consider
where you may need some skills development. How can
you better develop these skills?
Expectations, Roles & Responsibilities / 47
Box 3: Skills and attitudes useful for community mobilisation
Skills
Attitudes
· Good communication & listening
· Happy
· Observing body language
· Positive thinking
· Use participatory tools
· Believe in peoples' capabilities
· Negotiation
· Receptive to others' ideas
· Writing / documentation
· Committed to social change
· Confl ict resolution
· Sensitive to gender issues
· Leadership
· Respect to local cultures
· Using role-plays, exercises, games and energizers
· Open minded
· Asking & answering questions
· Enjoy challenges and unwanted diffi culties
· Summarising discussions
· Giving & receiving feedback
· Encouraging quiet people to speak
· Encouraging dominant people to listen to others
· Planning
Conclusion
No individual or organisation can know everything, do
These guidelines have been kept simple, but as you can
everything or reach everyone. Government utilisation
see community mobilisation touches on many diff erent
and mobilisation of NGOs, community groups and
skills. We encourage practitioners to seek out more
individuals creates far-reaching and penetrating
information on areas where they are most interested.
initiatives, spreading appropriately targeted and
Use the self-assessment to help you refl ect on those
presented information straight to the source. Change
skills or attitudes you may need to work on in order to
to attitudes and actions are required at all levels, top
be more eff ective at community mobilisation.
to bottom, community to Government. By mobilising
There is limited documentation specifi c to community
resources at all levels can only increase effi ciency and
mobilisation in the Pacifi c. If you have the opportunity
eff ectiveness of IWRM in the Pacifi c Region.
to conduct community mobilisation in the Pacifi c we
These guidelines serve as a step toward or a refresher
encourage you to document some of what you learn,
for those who wish to work toward mobilising the
as it is these documents that help us all make our work
community. They are broad introduction and not a
with organisations and communities more eff ective.
specifi c `how to' manual as it is considered that each
These guidelines are hoped to assist relevant
community should be treated diff erently - this is just
government and organizational staff in making
a guide to encourage approaches that may be useful.
important and positive steps toward organisation and
It is very important to emphasise that issues and
community mobilisation. They are a small step in what is
challenges facing one community may not be the same
a very large and important fi eld in both practice
as those in another. The guide simply highlights basic
and research.
opportunities for community mobilisation.
48 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
c
es
R
esour
Mobilisation
/ 49
50 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Mobilisation Resources / 51
Mobilisation Tools
These resources, pre-tested and used in research studies in the Maldives, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, provide a
small selection of useful tools as a starting point for community mobilisation.
1. Preparation Checklist
2. Stakeholder Analysis
3. Active Listening
4. Facilitators Role
5. Getting Started
6. Staying on Track
7. Encouraging Participation
8. Gender & Participation
9. Using Questions Eff ectively
10. Dialogue versus Debate
11. Managing Confl ict and Emotion
12. Action Plan
13. Risk Assessment
14. Participant Evaluation Form
15. Facilitators Evaluation Form
16. Facilitation Evaluation Form
17. Simple Financial Acquittal Form
18. Memorandum of Understanding (sample format)
Preparation Checklist
Mobilisation Tool #1
1. Have you understood the problem and refl ected on your approach?
Have you talked to experts, and members of the intended audience, about the nature of the problem? Have
you examined alternative approaches?
2. Have you researched similar programs?
Have you done a search to fi nd out about similar programs? Have you contacted relevant people working on
similar programs?
3. Have specifi c target audiences been identifi ed?
Who needs to take action? Have clear target audiences been defi ned?
4. Are your objectives obtainable?
Are the objectives realistic? Does the community understand and agree with the objectives?
5. Have you really understood the situation and needs of your audience?
Have members of the audience participated in designing the approach? Does the approach meet the
audience's needs and yours?
6. Is the solution compatible with your audience's personal values and norm's?
Does your audience perceive the same problem? Have you explored the `common ground' between your
proposed solution and audience values, perceptions and needs?
7. Have you planned how to evaluate?
How will you and your audience know if you are succeeding or failing? Have you planned for time to refl ect?
How will you report back to the audience?
8. Will it be participatory and fun?
Do you have activities to promote audience involvement? Could there be a more fun way to do things?
9. Will it be social?
Is there time for the participants to socialize? Is there shared snacks or a meal?
10. Have you pre-tested the approach?
Have you tried out the messages and materials to make sure they work? Do you have everything you need?
11. Have you thought about access?
Have you off ered opportunities for all of the target audience? (gender, age etc) Will all community groups feel
free to participate? (e.g meet with men and women separately)
12. Have you approached partners?
What other groups are doing similar things? Could you collaborate?
13. Do you practice what you preach?
Do you believe and act in an appropriate manner? Have you thought about the environmental impact of your
approach? How can it be reduced?
14. Will you leave something behind?
How will you build the capacity of the community to continue after you leave? Have people gained new
knowledge, been trained in new skills and introduced to new networks?
Stakeholder Analysis
Mobilisation Tool #2
Stakeholder analysis, conducted using a simple four-step process, provides you with a summary of
all the persons, groups or organisations that will either infl uence, provide support to, or be impacted
upon by your project activities.
Who is the Stakeholder?
Organise group brainstorming to identify all the people, groups, and institutions that will aff ect or be aff ected
by your project and list them in the column under "Stakeholder."
What are their Interest in the project?
Review the list and identify the specifi c interests these stakeholders have in your project. Consider issues like:
the project's benefi t(s) to the stakeholder; the changes that the project might require the stakeholder to make;
and the project activities that might cause damage or confl ict for the stakeholder. Record these under the
column "Stakeholder Interest(s) in the Project."
How important are they to the success of the project?
Now review each stakeholder listed in column one. Ask the question: how important is the stakeholder's
interest to the success of the proposed project? Consider:
· The role the stakeholder must play for the project to be successful, and the likelihood that the stakeholder
will play this role
· The likelihood and impact of a stakeholders negative response to the project
Assign A for extremely important, B for fairly important, and C for not very important.
Record these letters in the column entitled "Importance to the project."
Stakeholder
Interest in the project
Importance to the
Support required
project
How can you get their support?
The fi nal step is to consider the kinds of things that you could do to get stakeholder support and reduce
opposition. Consider how you might approach each of the stakeholders. What kind of information will they
need? How important is it to involve the stakeholder in the planning process? Are there other groups or
individuals that might infl uence the stakeholder to support your initiative? Record your strategies for obtaining
support or reducing obstacles to your project in the last column in the table.
Active Listening
Mobilisation Tool #3
Activity: Active listening
Explain that an important principle throughout the discussion is respect for other participants and one aspect
of this is being an active listener. Many people believe they are good listeners but listening is a skill that needs
to be practiced and refi ned. People who participate in the following exercise are often pleasantly surprised to
have the experience of really being listened to for an extended period of time.
Choose an issue that you think most people in the group will be able to talk about. Write a few questions on
butchers paper that help people connect with the issue, such as:
·
Why are you concerned about this issue?
·
How would you describe the issue?
·
How have your experiences aff ected your opinions about this issue?
·
What eff ect do other people's opinions have on your views?
Ask everyone to reserve discussion about the exercise itself until it is completed.
Ask people to pair with someone they do not know well. One person will talk for three minutes without
interruption in response to the questions you have written while the other listens. After three minutes the
partners reverse roles.
Explain that the task for each listener is to give ful attention to the person talking and to say as little as possible.
The listeners speak only to ask questions in order to understand better what is being said, not to give advice or
express opinions. The listeners should demonstrate active listening through body language (nodding head in
agreement, facial expressions etc.) or short phrases ("I see", "Yes, I understand" etc).
When each pair is fi nished, go through the following questions.
A question for all
·
What are your main reactions to this exercise? In what ways was your experience of this
listening exercise diff erent from the fi rst exercise where you had to introduce your pair?
Questions for speakers
·
What was it like to be really listened to?
·
What types of phrases or body language did your partner use to communicate that he or she was
listening well?
Questions for listeners
·
What was it like to focus completely on someone else's ideas, without thinking about how you
would respond?
·
How would you rate your listening skills on a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent)?
Facilitators Role
Mobilisation Tool #4
Facilitating means:
·
Making things easy and smooth
·
Making it easier for members to share their ideas and learn from one another
·
Encouraging participants to share ideas and experiences with each other
·
Ensuring both women and men are comfortable about participating
·
Using inclusive language
·
Providing or creating an environment where participants can learn quickly
·
Helping the group focus on the subject being discussed
·
Helping each other give and receive feedback about the learning circle activities and management
·
Assisting in solving problems or confl ict situations
·
Summarising ideas or reports at the end of the session or the day
·
Sharing new ideas and other information related to the subject being learned
·
Assisting the group to arrive at decisions
·
Sustaining the interest or motivation of the group in the learning activities
·
Maintaining order and good feelings within the group
·
Initiating, or posing ideas/questions that stimulate participants to talk and discuss among themselves
·
Clarifying unclear messages or questions
·
Providing direction to the discussions and learning activities
·
Monitoring time and process
·
Responding to the needs expressed by or observed among the participants
·
Providing a role model for the group, demonstrating how respectful interactions between people with
diff erent opinions, life experiences and abilities can be achieved.
Qualities of an eff ective facilitator
Stays neutral and objective
Moves smoothly to new topics
Paraphrases continuously
Knows when to stop
Asks good probing questions
Listens actively
Ask open ended and closed question
Uses good body language
Ask question using diff erent formats
Maintains eye contact
Encourages participation
Other comments
Makes clear and timely summaries
Getting Started
Mobilisation Tool #5
Your role and input at a meeting is perhaps the most important part of your job as facilitator.
A key aim is for people to get to know one another and for you (the facilitator) to explore participants' main
interests, why they have joined the group and what they want to achieve. Participants then need to plan and
agree on their objectives and how they will work together.
1. Getting to know each other
Facilitators might consider bringing some food and drink to the meeting, or organising for participants to each
bring a plate to share. If not all members of the group know each other, mixing informally over refreshments
can be a good way to get things started. If you don't know everyone, introduce yourself and talk informally
with others about issues they are interested in. Your objective is to welcome everyone and create a friendly
and relaxed atmosphere.
Once everyone has arrived, introduce yourself and the reason for being there. You need to decide how much
time you want to spend giving an overview of the process and the objectives of this specifi c meeting. The
resource sheets give you some background material to draw on. You might decide to be very brief and provide
some handouts for people to read at their leisure.
Then participants need to get to know one another.
Activity: Who are we?
Ask people to pair up with the person sitting next to them. One participant asks questions of the other
before switching roles. Find out something about the person, their background, what they do, any
special interests and why they have joined the learning circle. After five minutes or so, each member of
the group should introduce their pair to the larger group.
Alternatively, you might begin with each person tel ing a story that conveys some things they think are
important about who they are and what they believe.
It might be helpful for someone to take brief notes as each person talks. Al ow time for fol ow-up
questions to each other.
2. Setting some ground rules
The group needs to agree on some basic ground rules for conducting their meetings for example, listening
to one another, letting everyone have a say, respecting people's right to hold diff erent views.
Activity: how will we work together ?
Introduce the suggestions below noting that these are some ground rules that other groups have found
useful. Invite the group to review the suggestions and brainstorm additions and changes. The main thing
is to agree on some principles that everyone feels comfortable with. Make sure any changes are noted
and known to each participant, and display the rules where everyone can see them eg on butcher's
paper on the wal . If you are short of space, just write up the main point (eg the words in bold).
Listen carefully and actively, making sure the group hears what each member has to offer.
Maintain an open mind. Be open to exploring ideas that you might have rejected in the past.
Try hard to understand the point of view of those with whom you disagree. Understanding an
opposing viewpoint doesn't mean adopting it, or even being sympathetic. In fact, it can make you a
better advocate for your own views.
Help keep the discussion on track. Don't leave it al up to the facilitator and try to make your own
comments relate to the main points being discussed.
Speak freely, but don't dominate. If you are a good talker, encourage others. If you tend to be quiet,
try to have your say more often. You need to find ways of ensuring al voices are heard.
Talk to the group as a whole, not the facilitator. Feel free to ask questions directly to other group
members, especial y ones who aren't saying much.
If you don't understand, say so. Chances are, other people wil feel the same way.
Value your own experience and understanding. Everyone has a contribution to make.
Be prepared to disagree. Conflict is healthy and can help a group progress. But focus on the issue,
not the person, you disagree with.
Try not to become angry or aggressive; it might discourage others from putting forward their ideas.
3. Agreeing on some objectives
Participants have usually already decided that they want to know more about an issue or address a problem
that concerns them, their family or community. They also need to agree on some broad objectives so that the
learning circle meets the needs and interests of its members.
Start by taking the group through some of the topics and issues to be covered in the discussion. Then refer to
what people said at the start of the session about why they joined the group. Ask people to build on this and
talk about what they want to achieve by the end of the session. Note down the main points. Try to agree on
four or fi ve key objectives. The aim is to give participants the opportunity to discuss and agree on what they
want to get out of the session. You'll probably fi nd a lot of people say they want to learn more about an issue,
or fi nd a solution to a problem they are facing. Some may have more specifi c objectives.
If the group can come to a collective agreement, this is great. But it is not essential. All participants need to
take responsibility for meeting their own learning objectives. It should be possible to agree on some common
objectives, plus some that are supported by a majority of members.
About halfway through your meeting, check if the group is on track with its objectives. At the end of the
discussion, as part of the evaluation, the group will have an opportunity to discuss whether the objectives have
been realised.
Staying on Track
Mobilisation Tool #6
These suggestions can help you assist the group's
Confl ict is OK if it's focussed on the issue not the
meetings to run smoothly.
person. Everyone has to feel safe about expressing
Be relaxed and comfortable about your role.
their views, even if they are unpopular.
Go through the material before the session, check
Pauses and silences are OK. They probably mean
out where the group will meet, what facilities are
people are thinking. Count to 10 before trying to
available and how you might use them.
answer your own questions to the group.
Set a friendly, relaxed and respectful
You are not expected to have the answers. If the
atmosphere from the start. Make sure people
group asks you a question, throw it back to them.
know each other. Review the suggested activities to
Invite others to comment on what someone has said,
check everyone understands and agrees on what is
even if he/she has addressed the comment to you.
planned.
Encourage people to talk to each other rather than to
Try to involve everyone in the discussion
you.
if this
isn't happening naturally, try something like `let's get
Help people connect with the issues -- by
the full range of views in the group on this issue'. If some
encouraging participants to tell their own stories and
people tend to dominate, try `those are interesting
draw on their own experiences.
points. Let's go round and see what others think'.
Encourage cooperation among the group -- eg.
Create a secure and comfortable environment
by joint activities such as research projects, meetings
for participants to express their views:
with local politicians, a visit to a local youth project.
· avoid a sense of competition
Regularly summarise where you think the
discussion has got to. Don't get stuck on a topic;
· ensure participants have opportunities to identify
move on if people don't seem interested.
issues or ideas they don't understand
Ask the `hard' questions, point out issues that
· value participants and their views. Learn people's
people are ignoring, help the group examine its own
names and use them. Draw conclusions/
assumptions.
summarise discussion based on people's
contributions
Use questions that encourage discussion rather
than yes/no answers, eg. `Why do you disagree with
· don't allow others to interrupt while someone is
that point?' rather than `Who agrees/disagrees?'
speaking
Make sure there is some `closure' to each
· ensure the group deals with issues such as respect
meeting. This might be a brief question that each
and confrontation as part of its `ground rules' for
person can answer in turn, eg. `What do people feel
working together
they have gained from this session?' Note down any
Draw out the quiet people. Support them and ask
suggestions for improving the process, to help you
if they have thoughts that they would like to share
with the next session.
with the group.
Collect and keep any points written on butcher's
If the group gets bogged down on unprovable
paper; you may want to come back to them in later
`facts' or assertions, ask how relevant they are to
sessions.
the issue and maybe get someone to fi nd out for the
Organise who will do what between meetings,
next session.
eg. photocopying, organising refreshments.
Listen carefully to what people are saying so you
can help guide discussion.
Try to stay neutral when there are
disagreements. The facilitator's role is to assist the
discussion and draw out the diff erent viewpoints, not
to come down in favour of one of them. If there are
strong diff erences, summarise and move on.
Encouraging Participation
Mobilisation Tool #7
Be open from the start, and say there is a common problem in all discussions - some people talk a lot while
others stay silent. Emphasise that we learn both by listening and talking, and we all need to talk and we all
need to listen.
Give turns. This is the most common technique to encourage involvement and prevent one or two people
dominating. Say politely, `you have already spoken on this issue, let's hear from someone else who has not yet
had a chance.'
Hold the conch. Let the group chose an object (a bal , book, pen or whatever) that gives authority to speak.
Only the person who holds it may talk; others must wait. When fi nished, the speaker hands it to someone
else. This promotes the idea of talking turns and listening, regulates itself, draws attention to who talks and
who does not, reduces interruptions, and can give time and confi dence to some who otherwise might have
stayed silent.
Recognise those who tend to dominate and give them responsible roles. For example, make those who
dominate recorders and observers.
You can share remarks by everyone, by giving each member of the group fi ve or more match sticks (or stones
or seeds). Each time a person speaks they put one of the matchsticks into the centre. When they have none left
they cannot say any more in that session.
High participation techniques to get everyone involved.
Discussion partners. After posing a question to a large group, ask everyone to fi nd a partner and discuss the
question for a few minutes. Have people report on what they talk about.
Tossed salad. Place an empty cardboard box on the table, give out small slips of paper and ask people to
write down one good idea per slip. Have them toss the slips into the box. When everyone has tossed his or her
slip ask someone to toss the salad. Pass around the bowl so that each person can take out as many slips as they
tossed in. Go round the table and have people share the ideas they picked out.
Pass the envelope Give each person an envelope fi lled with blank slips of paper. Pose the question or
challenge to the group, and then have everyone write down as many ideas as they can within a given time
frame and put the slips into the envelope. Tell people to pass the envelopes, either to next person or in all
directions. Pair off participants and have them discuss the ideas in their envelope. What are the positive and
negatives of each idea? What other ideas should they add? Then ask the pairs to present their discussions to
the whole group.
Brainstorming can be a fun way to encourage creativity and participation and come up with lots of ideas.
Some ideas will high quality, some will not. Once people know there is no restriction on their ideas, they will
have a lot of fun without the facilitator having to give too much direction.
Gender & Participation
Mobilisation Tool #8
In order to consider gender issues in a IWRM it is important to select participatory tools that either
permit collection of data separately from men and women, highlight diff erences in opinion or
situation, or contribute towards ensuring programme activities are appropriately tailored to meet the
needs of both men and women within the community. Presented below are short summaries of some
suggested techniques.
Calendars
Calendars may be drawn to show seasonal patterns for weather or activities such as farming, fi shing, travel or
cultural events. Calendars may indicate not only issues for discussion but also the most opportunistic times to
maximise participation from communities in projects by avoiding busy times and minimising impact on their
livelihoods. Seasonal activity patterns may be diff erent for men, women and youth, for example, the seasonal
gardening or schooling activities for women and youth may be diff erent to fi shing times for men; whereas
religious or cultural patterns may be the same for everyone.
Calendars can be drawn retrospectively (looking back in time) according to participants' memory or recorded
as events happen, usually for shorter periods such as a week or one month, as a type of diary.
Examples include:
·
A daily calendar of an individuals activities, link to the passage of the sun if people do not wear watches
·
A weekly calendar indicating community commitments and social gathering times
·
An annual calendar depicting food planting and gathering; activities can be shown by month or
corresponding to the sequence of major weather patterns such as low / heavy rainfall and temperature.
Social Map
A social map provides graphical information on social interactions and divisions within a given area or group of
people.
Ask the participants to draw a map of their community and extended area and to mark where diff erent groups
socialise, live & work, according to gender, age, or other social sector e.g. marriage, literacy. Marks or boundaries
can be drawn to show where diff erent groups of people (e.g. women and men) spend most of their time or
any areas of restricted access or tabu areas.
Venn Diagram
A Venn Diagram traditionally shows associations and diff erences as an overlap between two circles and can be
a useful tool to fi nd out roles and responsibilities of men and women relating to an issue.
Initially provide a drawing of two overlapping circles and ask the participants to write down who uses (or is
responsible for, or makes decisions about, or makes money from) a resource, dividing up their responses to the
sections for men only, both men and women, and women only. Once this is done, give the same participants
two individual circles and ask them to overlap them to show proportionally the amount that men and women
share the use (or responsibility etc.) of the resource under discussion.
Ocean food: the roles of men and women
· Go fi shing
· Eat seafood
· Scale, prepare &
· Gut & clean fi sh
· Use shell
cook seafood
decorations for
· Make jewelry and
celebrations
ceremonial items
from shell
Flow diagram
Drawing a fl ow diagram allows free form thinking of the processes and consequences of actions taken.
On a large sheet or piece of paper, start with the environmental issue drawn or written in the middle. Ask the
participants to draw arrows fl owing out of it as to what will happen if men only are involved and what women
might do.
Breaking it down
Men's work is often named specifi cally, such as fi sherman or farmer, which are easily identifi ed as linked to
natural resources, including water, whereas women are more frequently referred to as `housewife' without
any reference to a natural resource or task. Deeper analysis of what a housewife's work entails can help
communities to see the links betweens women's daily work, water and natural resources.
Ask the participants to describe what women (and men) do when they are in the fi eld. People generally
enjoy describing their "typical day" or brainstorming with others about how they spend their time. Extend this
brainstorming to ask participants to describe anything they ever have to do with water or each water source
(e.g. river, ocean, tap) in turn.
The following is part of a list from one woman who quickly listed the tasks that put a housewife directly in
contact with water or resources associated with, or requiring, water:
Fishing: Some women fi sh, but all women cook, clean, market, and preserve fi sh.
Coff ee: Some women plant and help with the harvest. Al women process (that is, select, wash, shel , dry, and
bag) the beans after picking. The men market the coff ee. For home use, women toast, grind, and make the coff ee.
Garden: The woman is responsible for tending and watering the garden that provides food for the family
and market.
Animals: Women tend chickens for home use and barter. Women help to weave the fi ber used as rope for the cattle.
Fruit: Women collect, oranges, limes, and lemons to market or to make conserves.
Water and wood: Women are responsible for gathering water and fi rewood for family needs.
By defi ning terms too narrowly women's work may be overlooked. Farming, the raising of animals, may be
defi ned as men's work but when defi ned more broadly to include the slaughter, skinning, and cooking of the
animals, women may be found to play an equal role yet may not have enjoyed the project benefi ts.
Deconstructing terms not only breaks down stereotypes but also allows important insights into the use of
natural resources. Such insights can inform strategic planning and policy decisions for conservation.
Resource Audit
When developing resource materials, educational, visual or written it is important that the gender focus is
maintained throughout. Generally, men are overwhelmingly referred to and pictured.
Exercise
Give each participant an example of environmental education material (poster, handout, fact sheets, local
organisation publication, newspaper article, speech or presentations. Ask them do an individual analysis of the
material to determine how often men and women are represented both graphically (in pictures) and in the text.
On completion, ask the par
n c
ticipant whether they agree or disagr
y agr
ee that the pr
ee or disagr
opor
ee that the pr
tional repr
tional r
esentation b
epr
y gender
esentation b
matches the subject in focus. Ask them to fi nd pictures or text that could be changed to either represent women's
roles better or use a term that includes both men and women.
This type of exercise should be completed prior to production of any new resource materials to ensure that
inadvertent gender inequities are not perpetuated.
Using Questions Eff ectively
Mobilisation Tool #9
Ask questions--this is the most important tool you possess as a facilitator. Questions test assumptions, invite
participation, gather information, and probe for hidden points. Eff ective questioning also allows you to go past the
symptoms to get to underlying causes.
Repeat what people say--to make sure they know they are being heard, to let others hear their points a second
time, and to clarify key ideas. (i.e. `Are you saying . . .? Am I understanding you to mean . . . ?')
Seek comments from others in the group about the individual ideas put forward by participants. In this way you
can build on and enrich the input. This will help build a feeling of group ownership and represent collective thinking
about an issue. (
about an issue eg
. ( .
eg `. Anne, what would you add to Greg's comments?')
If participants make comments that are unclear, ask them to clarify so all the participants will clearly
understand. You should do this before the group continues. (eg. `Peter, what is the comment you are making based
on? Could you explain in more detail how you arrived at that conclusion?')
Choosing the right question
As a facilitator, it is important to choose the right question to ask. Diff erent questioning techniques can result in
diff erent outcomes.
Questions such as who, what, when and how, where, and how much are targeted at obtaining verifi able data.
You can use them to fi nd out about where things are at the moment. For example:
What training or briefi ng have youth received about leadership issues?
Questions about opinions, feelings, values and beliefs will help you understand some of the views and
feelings of participants. For example:
What did you think about your local youth leader?
Do you think that she has received satisfactory training in leadership skills?
You can fi nd out more about what participants are thinking by getting them to explain a point in more detail--
for example,
`Can you explain a bit more about the point you are making? Can you be more specifi c?'
You can encourage people to think constructively about an issue by the kinds of questions you ask.
For example,
`What are some of the highlights of the ....'
`What are the things you think should be changed ....
Sometimes it can be useful to ask questions in a way that doesn't appear to come from you, especially on
sensitive issues. For example
`I have heard that many of your members thought the youth organisation's tactics were inappropriate and their campaign
material poorly written. What is your opinion?'
You can also ask questions that will give participants the opportunity to explore visions for the future by asking
`What if' questions. For example,
`If you were given unlimited resources to develop a training package for your advocacy program, what would you design
for your staff ?'
Question types
Closed questions require
· A one word answer
· Closes off discussion
· Usually begins with is, can, how many or does
For example, `Does everyone understand the changes we've discussed?'
Open-ended questions
· Require more than a yes or no answer
· Stimulate thinking
· Usually begin with what, how, when or why
For example,
· What seems to be the key point here?
· What is the main point to your disagreement?
· What would you say to support or challenge that point?
· Please give an example or describe a personal experience to illustrate that point?
· Could you help us understand the reason behind your opinion?
· What experience or beliefs might lead a person to support that point of view?
· What do you think people who hold that opinion care deeply about?
· What would be a strong case against what you have just said?
· What do you fi nd most persuasive about that point of view?
· What is it about that position that you cannot live with?
· What have we missed that we need to talk about?
· What information supports that point of view?
Dialogue versus Debate
Mobilisation Tool #10
Group discussions aim to encourage dialogue rather than debate. But debates can arise, especially on issues
people feel strongly about. Below are three tables that outline some diff erences between dialogue and debate,
and between healthy debate and dysfunctional/unhelpful argument, followed by some tips on ways to
encourage healthy debate and discourage dysfunctional debate.
Dialogue
Debate
In dialogue, sharing ideas and fi nding common
In debate, winning is the goal.
ground are key goals.
Dialogue enlarges and possibly changes a
participant's point of view.
Dialogue enlarges and possibly changes a
Debate affi rms a participant's own point of view.
participant's point of view.
Dialogue encourages people to look at and
Debate defends assumptions as truth.
evaluate their assumptions.
Dialogue encourages people to refl ect on their
Debate encourages critique of the other position.
own position.
Dialogue opens the possibility of reaching a better Debate defends one's own positions as the best
solution than any of the original proposals.
solution and excludes other solutions.
Dialogue creates an open-minded attitude: an
Debate creates a closed-minded attitude, a
openness to being wrong and to change.
determination to be right.
In dialogue, you can put forward your best idea,
In debate, you submit your best thinking and
knowing that other peoples' refl ections will help
defend it against challenge to show that it is right.
improve it rather than destroy it.
Dialogue requires you to temporarily suspend your Debate calls for investing wholeheartedly in your
beliefs.
beliefs.
In dialogue, you search for basic agreements.
In debate, you search for glaring differences.
In dialogue, you look for strengths in the other
In debate, you look for fl aws and weaknesses in the
positions
other position.
Dialogue involves a real concern for the other
Debate involves countering the other position
person and seeks to alienate or offend.
without focusing on feelings or relationship and
often criticises or puts down the other person.
Dialogue assumes that many people have pieces of Debate assumes that there is a right answer and
the answer and that together they can develop a
that someone has it.
workable solution.
Dialogue is open-ended.
Debate implies a conclusion.
In dialogue, you listen to the other side(s) in order
In debate, you listen to the other side in order to
to understand, fi nd meaning, and fi nd agreement.
fi nd fl aws and to counter its arguments.
Healthy debate
Dysfunctional Argument
· People are open to hearing others' ideas
· People assume they're right
· People listen and respond to others' ideas even · People wait until others have fi nished talking,
if they do not agree
then state their ideas without responding to
· People focus on facts and ideas, even when
the other person's idea
putting their view fi rmly or passionately
· No one is interested in how the other person
sees the situation
· People get personally attacked and blamed
Techniques that the facilitator can use to create Techniques that allow dysfunctional arguments
a healthy debate
to develop
· Stay totally neutral
· Join the argument
· Acknowledge all responses
· Ignore particular groups
· Refocus on the subject
· Let an issue drag on and on
· Get closure on a point and move on
· Sidestep a hot issue
· Create ground rules
· Get defensive
· Point out differences between perspectives
· Stand by passively
so they can be understood
· Make people focus on facts
Managing Confl ict & Emotion
Mobilisation Tool #11
Some signs of confl ict in a discussion:
Force Field Analysis
· People pushing their points of views
Force fi eld analysis is a structured method of looking
at the opposing forces acting on a situation. It can
· People become angry, defensive and personal in
be used to analyse a situation and identify problems
response to other's ideas
that need to be solved. (It also has many other uses,
· Negative body language like glaring anger and
for example as a tool to analyse your circumstances
fi nger pointing
when planning an advocacy campaign.) Force fi eld
analysis works like this:
· Mocking or rude remarks
Step one: identify the topic or situation causing the
· People interrupting and criticising each other's
confl ict (eg the role of youth in decision making).
ideas
Step two: Help the group state the goal (eg all youth
· Quiet people shutting down to stay out of
should have the right to participate in decisions in the
the confl ict
village).
How you might respond
Step three: Draw a line down the down the centre
The facilitator's job is to handle negative emotions as
of a fl ip chart sheet. Use one side to identify all
soon as they appear, so they don't disrupt discussion.
the forces (resources, skills, attitudes) that will help
Here are some strategies that you could use:
reach the goal. On the other side, identify forces that
could hinder reaching the goal (barriers, problems,
· Slow things down
defi ciencies etc). For example,
· Stay totally neutral
· Stay calm
Goal Statement:
· Emphasise listening
Increase youth's participation in decision making
· Create closure assist people to close discussion
on an issue and move on
Forces that help us
Forces that hinder us
· Use a structured approach if the confl ict is serious
and goes to a key issue you are exploring through
Level of education
Culture
the learning circle (such as force fi eld analysis,
Role models in Villages
Traditional norms
below).
Facilitating the resolution of confl ict often
Poor communication
involves two separate steps:
skills of youth
Attitudes
Step one: get things out in the open This involves
listening to people so that they feel heard and any
Pre-conceived ideas
built-up emotions are released. People are rarely
Age
ready to move on to solutions until their emotional
blocks have been removed.
Race
Step two: resolve the issue Involve people in solving
Family and work
the `problem' for example, by accommodating or
commitments
consciously avoiding the confl ict. Once emotions
Disabilities
have been aired, you might choose among several
basic approaches to resolve the underlying issue:
· Ignore the confl ict in the hope that it will go away. Step four: once all help and hinder factors have been
Keep quiet and don't encourage the discussion, or identifi ed, you can use diff erent decision making
try to change the subject.
process to determine which of the hindrances or
· Ask people to be more open-minded and accept
barriers are priority for immediate problem solving, for
each other's views.
example by using a simple 1-5 ranking system.
· Look for middle ground between highly
opposed views.
You can vary this approach by using other headings for
and experiences, even if you do not share them. A
your two columns:
discussion works best when it provides an environment
Pros
Cons
in which people feel safe and comfortable about
expressing themselves.
Things that we
Things we
As a facilitator, you can encourage participants to be
are doing well
could do better
supportive and understanding of one another and give
Hopes
Fears
people space to talk. But in the end, a group meeting
is not a counselling session. It's not fair for anyone
Best case scenarios
Worst case scenarios
to expect this of others in the group, and the group
Asset
Liabilities
shouldn't feel uncomfortable because it can't or doesn't
want to take on a counselling role.
Strengths
Weakness
Positives
Negatives
Checking how things are going
Facilitators might fi nd the following a useful exercise
Emotion, anger and sensitivity
to use during meetings. It takes about 5-10 minutes,
depending on the size of the group. It can serve
People will come to a discussion with a wide variety
two purposes -- a quick check on how participants
of interests, views, attitudes and personal experiences.
are feeling about a session, or a check that people
This is why group meetings are such eff ective
understand what is being discussed and their needs are
environments within which to discuss, explore, learn
being met.
and problem solve. Everyone has experiences, views
or attitudes from which others can learn something
Stock take exercise
-- even if it something like the importance of tackling
discrimination or how to argue eff ectively against a
Choose an unfi nished sentence appropriate to the
position you strongly disagree with.
aim of the exercise (see some examples below). Ask
each person to complete the sentence in a few words.
But with diversity can come argument and confl ict. And Ensure everyone has a turn then summarise the
sometimes people will come to discussions with very
responses and, with the group, address any issues
clear views about a topic and how to deal with it. The
that arise.
suggestions for keeping things on track give you some
ideas about how to approach such situations. The main
Examples:
thing is to get people to focus on issues and ideas, not
· `Right now I feel....'
the person, and to avoid getting stuck in debates when
there is no one right answer.
· `The thing I fi nd hardest to understand is...'
Getting the group to think about such issues at the
· `I would like to change...'
beginning of the meeting and to agree on a set of
Or
group `rules' can help. If people have agreed, for
example, to respect the views of others even if they
· Ask the group to `Choose one word that explains
don't agree with them, to focus on the issue, not the
what is happening for you right now?'
person, and to acknowledge that everyone can learn
Diffi cult points
something from others in the group, you can point to
these `rules' if things get diffi cult. If everyone has agreed
· Are there areas where you need more
at the start that the discussion will be run on the basis
information? You might like to invite a guest
that all members are equal, this can be quite a powerful
speaker or fi nd more information from a community
tool in managing confl ict.
group, an expert or government department.
If participants' lives have been directly aff ected by
· Briefl y summarise where you have agreed to
the issue being discussed, they may respond in a
disagree, so minority views are identifi ed as valid.
very personal or emotional way, or tend to dismiss
the views of people that haven't had the same direct
experience (`you don't really know what it is like'). It's
important to acknowledge and respect people's feelings
Action Plan
Mobilisation Tool #12
VISION:
PROJECT TITLE:
OBJECTIVE:
Activities
Indicator
Person
Timeline
Resources
responsible
required
Risk Assessment Matrix
Mobilisation Tool #13
Activity
Risk
Likelihood of
Impact on
Strategy to reduce
happening
Project
or
a. Very likely
manage risk
b. Quite likely
a. Low
c. Possible
b. Medium
d. Not very likely
c. High
d. Catastrophic
Participant Evaluation
Mobilisation Tool #14
The impact of this discussion on you
1. Please circle the response that best refl ects your thoughts:
Good
OK
Poor
My ability to discuss issues openly and frankly
3
2
1
My understanding of my attitudes and beliefs
3
2
1
My understanding of the attitudes and beliefs of others
3
2
1
My understanding of the issues covered in this learning circle
3
2
1
2. Did your group set its own objectives? If yes, do you feel that the group achieved its objectives?
3. Do you feel you achieved what you set out to achieve?
4. What aspects of your experience with the discussion did you fi nd useful? Please tick any that apply:
Having access to reading materials about the issues
The discussion material itself
The group encouraged me to discuss issues
Working with others on issues aff ecting our community
Other (Please specify)
5. Do you plan to become involved in the issue your group focused on in your local community? If yes, what
are your plans?
Facilitator's Evaluation Form
Mobilisation Tool #15
Group Profi le
Facilitator's name:
Group location (village, town, city, region):
1. How was the group established? How were participants identifi ed?
2. Details of participants:
Name of participant
Contact details
Sex
Age
Occupation
Mark with X if
(M/F)
dropped out
3. How many meetings did the group hold in total?
4. Number of participants for each session (if multiple meetings held):
Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
5. Where were the meetings held? (eg. private home, vil age/community facility, meeting room at a workplace etc)
6. When were meetings held? (eg weekday evening, weekend day)
7. Did guest speakers participate in any sessions? If so, who were they and which sessions?
8. Did group members receive information material in advance of each session? If yes, did most people do
some preparation before the meeting (such as reading, talking about issues with family or friends?)
Did the group adapt the material to suit it (eg focusing on specifi c issues, adding their own resources or
material? If so, how?
Facilitation Evaluation Form
Mobilisation Tool #16
1. Did your group have:
One facilitator
a team of facilitators
2. What did you like best about the way your facilitator(s) led the discussion / meeting?
3. What do you think your facilitator(s) should do diff erently next time?
4. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements? (Please mark one box for each item).
The Facilitator(s):
Disagree
strongly Disagree Agree strongly Agree
Began and ended sessions on time
Helped the group set the ground rules
for the discussion and stick to them
Listened well
Remained neutral
Group members were encouraged
to talk to each other, not just to the
facilitator(s)
Helped the group discuss different
points of view productively
Seemed familiar with the discussion
material
Encouraged everybody in the group to
participate in conversations
Did a good job of keeping any one
person from dominating the discussions
Encouraged quiet members of the
group to share their ideas
Offered summaries of the discussions
and/or encouraged participants to do so
Handled intense situations well
Financial Receipt Log
Mobilisation Tool #17
Project name: Community/Organisation:
Date
Description of Item or Name of provider
Amount
Receipt
Service Purchased
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Checked as correct by ____________________________ ___________________
Signature
Date
Memorandum of Understanding
Mobilisation Tool #18
Memorandum of Understanding
between
(Organisation #1 Name)
AND
(Organisation #2 Name)
(Date)
(Country)
[Organisation #1] and [Organisation #2],
Recognizing
ecog
environmental and development education is closely linked with human sustainability and
survival, and
Fur
F ther recog
ther r
nizing
ecog
that it is essential to integrate environmental and development education into the training
structures within the formal and non-formal education system,
Noting that [Organisation #1] focuses on the [description of organizations focus],
Fur
F ther noting that [Organisation #2] is recognized as a representative body of [description of who organisation
#2 represents], and
Ack
A nowledg
no
ing
wledg
that building community and teacher capacity to deliver environmental and development
education is a key tool in promoting human and ecological sustainability, therefore
THE PARTIES HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Co-operation and consultation
1. The parties agree to co-operate on matters concerning [brief description of project].
2. The parties commit to the development of joint approaches to environmental and development education
through relevant projects.
3. The parties will provide each other with support, wherever possible, during fi eld work including access to
[detail of resources needing access e.g community, library etc.] resources and the provision of technical advice
and expertise.
Representation
1. In agreeing that creation and strengthening of capacity is a priority, the parties agree to, where-ever-
possible,
collaborate in [main focus areas of the project] within the framework of the above
terms of co-operation.
2. Representatives of either party shall be invited to relevant and appropriate meetings of the other.
Exchange of information and documents
1. The parties agree to the exchange of publications between the two agencies in the areas of mutual interest.
2. Each party shall keep the other informed of developments in the work and activities of mutual interest.
Implementation
1. The [Contact person of Organisation #1] and the [Contact person of Organisation #2] may make specifi c
arrangements for the satisfactory implementation of this Memorandum of Understanding.
2. This Memorandum of Understanding shall not impinge on or interfere with the sovereign rights of any
individual
member of either organisation or the organisation as a whole nor shall it imply any restrictions and/or
commitment on fi nancial matters.
Amendments
The provisions of this Memorandum of Understanding may be amended by mutual agreement of the two
parties. The amendments shall enter into force after the approval of their appropriate bodies.
Termination of the Memorandum of Understanding
Either party may terminate this Memorandum of Understanding subject to [period of notice required] written
notice. If one of the parties decides to terminate this Memorandum of Understanding the obligations
previously entered into in respect of projects under implementation through this Memorandum of
Understanding shall be decided upon by the parties on a case-by-case basis.
Entry into force
After this Memorandum of Understanding has received the approval of the appropriate bodies of the two
parties, it shall enter into force immediately upon signature by the [Contact person of Organisation #1] and the
[Contact person of Organisation #2].
Completed at [Location], [Date]
..........................................
.........................................
Signed
Signed
[Contact Name Org #1]
[Contact Name Org #2]
References / 77
References
Andreasen A (1995). Marketing Social Change: Changing Behaviour to Promote Health, Social Development and the
Environment. San Franciso, CA, Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Anonymous (2000) The Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Social Science Resource Kit. Toolkit on
Community Based Natural Resource Management. International Development Research Center (IDRC).
Asker, S. Nielsen, C. Prasad, S. (2004) Water and Governance in the Fiji Islands, A Social Research Investigation. Live &
Learn Environmental Education, Suva Fiji
Bartle, Phil (1998). Community Empowerment Handbook for Mobilizers. Community Management Program. United
Nations Habitat. Uganda, 91 p.
Brown, M. Issue Brief #20. (2001) Mobilizing Communities to Conserve Forest Resources Cameroon Case Study.
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eg
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.umd
Chambers, R. (1994) Relaxed and Participatory Appraisal Notes on Practical Approaches and Methods. Institutes of
Development Studies, Discussion Paper 311. University of Sussex. Brighton.
Community-Based Natural Resource Management (Asia) http://www.idr
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v-3161-201-1-DO_T
Cornwall, Andrea (2000) `Making a Diff erence, Gender and Participatory Development', Discussion Paper 378,
Brighton: Institute of Development Studies
Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of the Department
of Agriculture, and Department of the Interior and Local Government. (2001) Philippine Coastal Management
Guidebook No. 4: Involving Communities in Coastal Management. Coastal Resource Management Project of the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Cebu City, Philippines, 84 p.
Gender and Water Alliance. (2006) Report on the Survey of Progress Towards IWRM. Presented at the Japan Water
Forum. Available from: http://www.wat
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t
Henderson, R. and Clothier, H. (2007) Rapid Assessment of Perceptions, Building a Sustainable Future, Live & Learn
Environmental Education, Port Vila, Vanuatu
James R. (2002) Local Communities, Customs and Conservation. Paper presented at the 7th Pacifi c Islands
Conference on Nature Conservation and Protected Areas. http://www.spr
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ep
.spr .or
ep g/r
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LocalC
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onsvtn.pdf
Ingle, M and Halimi, S. (2006) Renaming Power: The Challenges of Shared Governance in Theory and Practice
"Community Based Environmental Management in Vietnam: The Challenge of Sharing Power in a Transitioning Society"
Paper prepared for presentation at the Public Administration Theory Network (PAT-Net) February 8-10, 2006.
Olympia, Washington
International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR). (1998) Participatory methods in community-based coastal resource
management. 3 volumes. International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, Silang, Cavite, Philippines, 100 p.
Mayoux, Linda (1995) `Beyond Naivety : Women, Gender Inequality and Participatory Development', Development
and Change Vol. 26, The Hague: Institute of Social Studies
Robinson, L and Glanzing, A. (2003) Enabling EcoAction: a handbook for anyone working with the public on
conservation. Humane Society International, WWF Australia, World Conservation Union, Sydney.
Shields, K. (1994) an empowerment guide to social action. New Society Publishers.
78 / Mobilising Integrated Water Resources Management
Selected Useful Resources
IWRM online tutorial http://www.cap
w
-net.org/iwr
-net.or
m_tutor
m_tut ial/mainmenu.htm
ial/mainmenu
Integrated Water Resource Management in Australia
Case Studies, Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2004
http://www.en
w vir
.en onment.go
vir
v
onment.go .au/wat
v
er/publications/case
.au/wat
-studies/index.html
Australian Development Gateway
Promoted sustainable development through sharing knowledge. Has links to a variety of resources, case studies and
toolkits, including Wat
W er supply
at
, sanitation & int
er supply
eg
, sanitation & int rat
eg ed wat
rat
er r
ed wat
esour
er r
ces management (pdf 287k
esour
b) available from
http://www.de
w velopment
v
gat
elopment
e
gat way
wa .com.au/jahia/J
y
ahia/pid/9
The Communication Initiative
Link to a list of useful community communications resources / models http://www.comminit.com/en
w
vir
.comminit.com/en onment/
vir
Community Problem Solving
The strategy section discusses the big problem-solving processes in an accessible way to help develop strategies
that work, plus links to much more helpful advice and tools available (some for free) elsewhere.
http://www.communit
w
y-problem-solving
y-pr
.net/
oblem-solving
Morgan DL (1998) The focus groups kit. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications
Quinn-Patton M (2002) Qualitative research & evaluation methods. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications
Simpson-Hebert M (1993) Methods for gathering socio-cultural data for water supply & sanitation projects. United
Nations Development Project. Washington, DC, World Bank (Interregional Project INT/81/047)
Narayan D, Srinivasan L (1994) Participatory development tool kit: training materials for agencies & communities.
Washington, DC, World Bank
Whyte A (1986) Guidelines for planning community participation activities in water supply & sanitation. Geneva. World
Health Organization
Lammerink MP (2002) Supporting Community Management: a manual for training in community management in the
water and sanitation sector. International Water and Sanitation Centre, Delft, Netherlands
http://www.ir
w c
.ir .nl/cont
c
ent/do
.nl/cont
wnload/2626/27751/fi
ent/do
le/op34e
wnload/2626/27751/fi
wnload/2626/27751/fi
.pdf
le/op34e
.pdf This manual provides background on key concepts
and skill, and innovative tools to help improve the training of fi eld staff related to community management of water
and sanitation services.
Parks W, Lloyd L (2004) Planning Social Mobilization and Communication for Dengue Fever Prevention and Control: A
Step-by-Step Guide. Geneva, World Health Organization http://www.who
w
.int/t
.who
dr/publications/publications/pdf/
.int/t
planning_dengue.pdf
planning_dengue
A compr
.pdf
planning_dengue
ehensive and innovative managerial insight to planning social mobilization and
communication for behavioural impact. While the topic is dengue, the planning process described and practical
tools provided, are applicable to many developmental programs.
BRIDGE http://www.br
w idge.ids
idge
.ac
.ids .uk/P
.ac
ar
.uk/P ticipation
Cutting Edge Packs provide accessible overviews of the latest thinking on a gender theme and summaries of the
most useful resources. Each pack includes an Overview Report, a Supporting Resources Collection and a copy of
Gender and Development In Brief
Natural Resource Management
Questions of Diff erence: PRA, Gender and Environment: A Training Video, London: IIED Sustainable Agriculture and
Rural Livelihoods http://www.iied
w
.or
.iied g/bookshop/pubs/6100.html
.or
Two hours of thought-provoking images including an overview and case studies which can be used to stimulate
discussion and lead into class-based exercises. The overview presents a summary of the key elements for using PRA
to understand gender and environment.
Participatory gender analysis frameworks
Navigating Gender: A Framework and a Tool for Participatory Development, Finland: Ministry for Foreign Aff airs,
Department for International Development Co-operation
http://for
http://f min.fi nland
min.fi
.fi
nland
.fi/public/?contentid=69181&cont
/public/?cont
entlan=2&cultur
entid=69181&cont
e=en-US
entlan=2&cultur
Navigating Gender is an on-line manual aimed at helping development professionals to apply gender theory.
Contacts / 79
Useful Contacts
Global Water Partnership http://www.gwpf
w
orum.or
.gwpf
g
orum.or
The Global Water Partnership (GWP) is a working partnership among all those involved in water management;
government agencies, public institutions, private companies, professional organisations, multilateral development
agencies and others committed to the Dublin-Rio principles. This comprehensive partnership actively identifi es
critical knowledge needs at global, regional and national levels, helps design programmes for meeting these needs,
and serves as a mechanism for alliance building and information exchange on integrated water
resources management.
Gender and Water Alliance www.genderandwat
w
er
.genderandwat .or
er g
.or
The mission of GWA is to promote women's and men's equitable access to and management of safe and adequate
water, for domestic supply, sanitation, food security and environmental sustainability. GWA believes that equitable
access to and control over water is a basic right for all, as well as a critical factor in promoting poverty eradication
and sustainability.
WaterAID http://www.wat
w
eraid
.wat
.or
eraid g
.or .uk
g
WaterAid is an international non governmental organisation dedicated exclusively to the provision of safe domestic
water, sanitation and hygiene education to the world's poorest people. They also seek to infl uence policy at national
and international levels.
InterWATER http://www.ir
w c
.ir .nl
c
InterWATER off ers information about more than 650 organisations and networks in the water supply and sanitation
sector, related to developing countries.
SOPAC www.sopac
w
.or
.sopac g
.or
SOPAC, the Pacifi c Islands Applied Geoscience Commission is an inter-governmental, regional organisation
dedicated to providing products and services in three technical programme areas of: Community Lifelines;
Community Risk; and Ocean and Islands. Its Secretariat is based in Suva, Fiji.
SPREP www.spr
w
ep
.spr .or
ep g
.or
SPREP is a regional organisation established by the governments and administrations of the Pacifi c region to look
after its environment. SPREP's mandate is to promote cooperation in the Pacifi c islands region and to provide
assistance in order to protect and improve the environment and to ensure sustainable development for present and
future generations.
Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacifi c International http://www.f
w spi.or
.f
g
spi.or .fj
g
.fj
FSPI is a network of South Pacifi c island non-governmental organisations and overseas affi liates working in
partnership across the South Pacifi c. The main function of the FSPI Secretariat is to coordinate the planning and
design of regional development projects, based on the needs identifi ed by the members and their constituencies.
Live & Learn Environmental Education http://www.idea.or
w
g
.idea.or .au/liv
g
eandlear
.au/liv
n/
Live & Learn is a non-government organization, which promotes greater understanding and action toward human
and environmental sustainability through education and dialogue building.
Church of Melanesia http://www.melanesia.anglican.or
w
g
.melanesia.anglican.or
Committed to working towards a future, which is economically, environmentally and socially sustainable for all.
BRIDGE http://www.br
w idge.ids
idge
.ac
.ids .uk/P
.ac
ar
.uk/P ticipation
BRIDGE supports gender advocacy and mainstreaming eff orts by bridging the gaps between theory, policy and
practice with accessible and diverse gender information in print and online.
International Water and Sanitation Center Dayal, R., van Wijk, C. and Mukherjee, N. (2000) `Methodology for
Participatory Assessments (MPA) with Communities, Institutions and Policy Makers. Linking Sustainability with Demand,
Gender and Poverty', Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), International Water and Sanitation Center, the Hague.
Available on-line at: http://www.wsp
w
.or
.wsp g/pdf
.or
s/global_met
g/pdf
guideall
s/global_met
.pdf
guideall
The MPA was used to investigate the links between demand-responsive, gender-sensitive approaches and
sustainability in eighteen large projects in fi fteen countries. An overview of results is given along with information
about the tools and methods used. The methodology mainstreams gender and poverty indicators into a
participatory methodology that can be used to monitor key aspects of sustainability.
80 / Mobilising People Towards Integrated Water Resources Management
Wan Smolbag Theatre, Vanuatu
http://www.wan-smolbag-theatr
w
e
.wan-smolbag-theatr .or
e g/
.or
Community theatre brings plays to the people, plays about environmental, health, social and human rights. The
Wan Smolbag Theater, located in Vanuatu, writes and produces a large number of plays, drama sketches and
participatory drama workshops for government agencies, NGOs and development programs.
Solomon Islands Development Trust (SIDT)
http://www.f
w spi.or
.f
g
spi.or .fj
g /affi
.fj liat
/affi es/solomon.htm
liat
SIDT seeks to address the social, environment and economic challenges facing the Solomon Islands by improving
the quality of life in the villages. SIDT has a network of Village Demonstration Workers who reside in and work with
communities. Using community theatre, Village Demonstration Workers, magazines and comics among other tools,
SIDT has addressed development issues such as malaria prevention, Vitamin A defi ciency, eco-forestry, coral reef
conservation, small-business development, fruit fl y eradication and rural water supply and sanitation.
Partners in Community Development Fiji (PCDF)
http://www.fspi.org.fj /affi liates/fi ji.htm
PCDF projects encompass health and community awareness, the sustainable management of marine and forest
resources, small-business development, disaster relief, human rights and good governance. PCDF has a skilled group
of community outreach workers and technical experts who utilise participatory tools in their community work.
Foundation of Peoples and Community Development Inc. in PNG (FPCD)
FPCD is very active in PNG and focuses on fi ve core programmes which are: Awareness Community Theatre,
Ecoforestry, Grass Roots Opportunity for Work, Literacy Education and Awareness Development, and Integrated
Conservation and Development.
Tonga Community Development Trust (TCDT)
admin@tcdt.t
admin@t
o
cdt.t
TCDT is an indigenous, non-governmental development organisation operating in the Kingdom of Tonga. Activities
focus on: Home, Family and Community Health; The Environment; Village Women's Development; Rural Water
Supply; Community Agro-Forestry; Social, Human and Community Development Training; Disaster Preparedness
and Rehabilitation; Human Rights; Good Governance.