Problem overview:
Awareness and visions: The problem of deforestation, especially in watershed area, is imposing a threat to the water supply of the country. As a result, the government has announced Phonpei as a forest reserve. However, the government has to face with the problem of dissatisfaction from local communities.
Integrating stakeholders: Participatory techniques have proved especially helpful for environmental planning in the Pacific islands. There is a need for community participation and understanding in environmental planning. The following is an example from the Pacific islands where involving the community made a significant difference in results.
Background in summary:
Pohnpei forest reserve stirred up the conflict between government and local community: In the early 1980's deforestation of the interior of Pohnpei and resultant pollution of the watershed resulted in the creation of a 5100 ha forest reserve. When survey teams tried to mark out the boundaries of the reserves, they were threatened by angry villagers. The government quickly backed down and deforestation, largely to plant kava (a valuable social drug crop), continued.
Conflict resolved by involving community participation in watershed management: In 1990, the government formed a Watershed Steering Committee to promote watershed conservation and develop a long-term strategy. The Committee conducted an island-wide education and consultation programme. Their approach revealed a strong community desire to participate actively in planning for their own future.
Community participation lead to better conservational results: Community action plans were drawn up with the help of the high chiefs at the municipal level and village chiefs at the local level. The process of consultation and participation in the long term plans for the watershed areas lead to a request by villagers to extend resource management to the entire island, from the mountain tops to the edge of the lagoon.
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Good practice rating:
(1 for the best, 5 for the lowest score) |
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Sustainability
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Efficiency
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| 2 |
 Improvement in either the environment of economic condition with no harm to the other. |
2 |
Cost efficient. |
| 2 |
Sustainable over time (not one-off) |
Process |
| Adaptability |
1 |
Participation of the community |
| 3 |
Location adaptability (can the project be done in other places?) |
1 |
Participation of resource owners/users |
| 2 |
Socio-cultural adaptability. |
- |
Partnerships between various actors (Governments, NGO, Academia, Private) |
| 2 |
Level of development adaptability. |
- |
Degree of coordination and cooperation between government departments. |
| 3 |
Style of government adaptability. |
2 |
Ability to attract political interest/support |
| 2 |
Degree of decentralization adaptability. |
- |
Procedures for feedback and review. |
Comments on this example:
A factor that could have contributed to the communitys determination to preserve Pohnpei forest and watershed area is that the people still rely on forest resources for nutrition and income. If Pohnpei had been completely deforested, then the livelihood of the community will surely be threatened. That is why Pohnpei community and local authorities were against logging.
Compared to other forest communities (in other countries) that are, although living around the forest boundary, but practice agriculture. They are more likely to cause forest destruction because they need more land to increase agricultural productivity. That is why the problem of illegal forest encroachment by forest communities is serious in other countries.
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Sustainability of the project:
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Awareness and visions: Although the Government of FSM had good intention to preserve the Pohnpei watershed by announcing the forest reserve boundaries, still, that good intention had caused negative effects on the local communities that relied on forest resources for food and income earning. If only the government had included the voices from the community in the first place, the conflict would have not occurred. However, in the end, the government was able to manage the problem with local communities rather well. Consequently, all parties were satisfied.
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Adaptability of the project to other situations:
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| Process of decision making and implementation: |
Integrating stakeholders: Quite often that when the government decides to convert forest areas into forest reserves, local communities that live within the forest boundaries or rely on forest resources for living will be directly affected by the governments decision. These communities have been dependant on the forest for land and source of food and income for generations, hence, there ways of life will be highly affected if they had to be relocated from the area or prohibited from harvesting on forest resources. Since these people living in the community will be most affected the governments action, their say should be highly regarded as an important factor for the governments decision making.
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Documentation: |
Literature or other written project review references
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Source of Information: |
ESCAP: Integrating Environmental Considerations in Economic Decision Making Processes
Synthesis B Modalities for Environmental Assessment-Pacific Islands Subregion
Pacific Island case studies for Samoa, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands (Unpublished)
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Contacts: |
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Submitted by: |
ESCAP
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