Partnerships
Within CEESP, TGER is nurturing a very close cooperation with TILCEPA - mostly about governance type and good governance for protected areas and on Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs); with E&S, on improving governance in specific security-challenged sites; with SEAPRISE, about promoting and supporting Citizens' Advisory Councils around major development initiatives; and with TSL, on demonstrating mutual support between improved governance of natural resources and enhanced livelihoods. Outside CEESP, the Theme is engaged in learning from field initiatives in partnership with IIED, FIBA, CIFOR, the IUCN Regional Office for West Africa, the IUCN Regional Office for Central Africa, the IUCN office in Burkina Faso, Coope Sol y Dar and the Vision Durban group of Madagascar. TGER has planned joint initiatives with Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact Foundation (AIPP), IWGIA and FPP and is discussing joint work with Both Ends, Fundacion Futuro Latinoamericano and CARE International.
TGER members
- TGER members are individuals with concern and expertise on the practice and theory of governance of natural resources, equity, and human rights who agree to engage and collaborate with others towards better understanding and action on these subjects. The members generally offer their contributions on a volunteer basis. They can be compensated for their professional activities if funds are available through specific projects or programmes.
- Membership in the TGER automatically implies membership in the CEESP Commission.
- Membership is by invitation, which is issued by one of the TGER Chairs on behalf of the CEESP Chair, or on the recommendation of experienced TGER members if the work of the candidate is not well known by the Chairs.
- The TGER membership is comprised of about 700 members from about 50 countries. More than 30% of them are women and more than 50% are from countries in the South.
- Members may be more or less active depending on individual commitments and opportunities, and can focus their interest in one or more specific sub-topics.
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Specific areas of work
Within the broad perspective and scope of the Theme, different members focus on different areas of inquiry and action. These include:
Co-management of natural resources
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In close continuity with the work of CMWG and TILCEPA, field-based initiatives are proceeding in South-East Asia, West Africa and Madagascar in collaboration with AIPP, IWGIA, FPP, FIBA, the IUCN Mauritania office and the group Vision Durban of Madagascar;;
- A translation and revision of Sharing Power in Spanish is being discussed in partnership with the Fundacion Futuro Latinoamericano
Understanding and improving governance of natural resources
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“good governance” (how can processes of participatory governance evaluation be best facilitated and supported? Can those be a path towards effective and long-lasting governance improvements? Current field-based initiatives in West Africa and Central America; other regions under development; a project proposal submitted. Collaboration with IIED, Coope Sol y Dar, UICN Regional office for West Africa )
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governance types for protected areas ( recognition , legitimisation and support for a variety of governance types, with emphasis on community conserved areas and co- managed protected areas; current field initiatives in Madagascar, Italy, India and support to policy development for the CBD and first World Congress on Marine Protected Areas. Cooperation with Kalpavriksh)
- governance of landscape (What have we learned about the governance of large scale units such as eco-regions including protected areas of variable type and category, Model Forests, Natural Regional Parks and the like? Field-based initiatives in South Africa, Cameroon, West Africa and France and collaboration with the WCPA Transboundary Task Force, CIFOR, UICN office in Burkina Faso, Federation des Parcs Naturels Régionaux )
A rights-based approach to conservation
- promoting a rights based approach to conservation (What is a rights-based approach to conservation? What concrete benefits can be expected from its adoption and implementation? Who will enjoy those benefits? What can TGER/CEESP do to assist the IUCN members and partners in adopting such an approach? A project proposal is being submitted to hold a main strategy-setting event. Cooperation with BothEnds, Forests Peoples Programme, IIED.)
- the social impact of conservation (What are the main positive and negative consequences of establishing protected areas? Is there a link between biodiversity conservation and local poverty? A project proposal is development).
- governance and security (Factors determining human and environmental security need to be appreciated as crucial for conservation and sustainable livelihoods, and to be effectively incorporated in the governance of natural resources).
- understanding theinstitutional implication of a rights-based approach and social accountability in conservation (Improved policies and practices need to foster and support the social accountability of conservation agencies. Ideas under development).
- towards a more gender equitable sharing of costs and benefits of conservation. (Ideas under development.)
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Strategic approaches
The TGER members pursue their aim by following the strategic CEESP plan developed in 2003/2004, in continuity with previous work of CMWG and TILCEPA and in close collaboration with the other Themes and Working Groups of CEESP (the petal structure of CEESP). Work strategic directions include:
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field-based, participatory action research : fostering the review and analysis of relevant knowledge and field experience in various regions and ecosystems; at different levels (e.g. local, regional, multi-country); in various societies (e.g. sedentary, mobile/ nomadic, indigenous); under various land-tenure conditions (e.g. protected area, public land, communal, private) and with the full participation of various actors in society (e.g. governments, NGOs, local communities, indigenous peoples, gender and socio-economic groups); this includes developing documentation and exchanging knowledge and experience, as relevant, among the IUCN constituency and partners while fostering active communication among them; flexible m ethods and tools will be sought in support of improved governance of natural resources, equity and human rights, in particular with a direct link to specific targets of the CBD and other international conventions;
- capacity building : pursuing various avenues to enhance the capacity of the IUCN constituency and partners to understand and effectively engage in support of improved governance of natural resources, equity and human rights, in particular among development and conservation practitioners and civil society at large. Learning by doing will be the avenue of choice, in relevant field sites where initiatives that improve the governance of natural resources at local, national and transboundary level and promote equity and the respect of human rights can be variously encouraged and provided technical support;
- networking : assisting regional networks to identify and evaluate crucial opportunities for change (e.g. in policy) and to develop recommendations appropriate to the circumstances of each region; in particular the regional initiatives and discussion lists will strive to provide a forum where individual members can exchange ideas and experience and support one another technically and politically, as needed, towards improved governance of natural resources, equity and human rights.
- policy advocacy : engaging the IUCN constituency and partners in constructive debates about governance of natural resources, equity and human rights and on the (usually multiple) ways in which positive change can be sought, in particular concerning the IUCN and other conservation, development or donor organizations, as well as international agreements and conventions.
Structure, roles and responsibilities
The TGER structure is comprised of a Theme Chair (who serves as a focal point in the CEESP Executive Committee), three Co-chairs and a collegial governing structure (Core Group) composed of members who agree to take an active lead on TGER matters on a regional or thematic area. The Chair and Co-chairs promote and represent the interests and concerns of the TGER in appropriate forums, deal with membership issues (e.g. new appointments, maintenance of the database), and facilitate and coordinate the collaboration among the members of the Theme and between the members and relevant others. In particular they foster collaboration and joint initiatives with other Themes and Working Groups of CEESP with whom they partially overlap in terms of key concerns and work objectives.
The members of the Core Group take responsibility for TGER initiatives on a given topic or region. They take upon themselves to identify and contact the TGER members with relevant concerns (and/or to propose new members with appropriate capacities and concerns) and to collaborate with members and partners- including other IUCN commissions, IUCN member organisations and the IUCN secretariat- to develop specific initiatives. With the help of the CEESP and TGER Chairs, Co-Chairs and IUCN secretariat, they also seek and obtain the necessary human and financial resources to carry to fruition the said initiatives.
The Chair, Co-chairs and Core Group- as necessary in consultation with the membership at large- take decisions regarding the TGER life and activities and manage the TGER financial resources.
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Communication system
TGER members can utilize various dedicated platforms for internal and external communication.
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Electronic discussion lists : · The CMWG discussion list (CMWG@indaba.iucn.org ) has merged into a TGER discussion list ( TGER@indaba.iucn.org ), open to TGER members only and dedicated to matters of relevance to governance of natural resources, equity and rights. If members wish to discuss matters related to co-management they can sent to either CMWG@indaba.iucn.org or TGER@indaba.iucn.org and re kindly requested to place the term CM at the beginning of the subject line.
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Newsletter : The CMWG has for several years produced a newsletter entitled CM News (issues available upon request in printed format from nahid@cenesta.org ). The last issues (CM News 6 to 8), were already produced as joint issues with Policy Matters, the Journal of CEESP, and are downloadable from the publications section of the CEESP site. TGER will continue to publish special issues of Policy Matters rather than a separate newsletter.
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TheTGER web site is the site you are visiting now. Other sites of relevance are the key topics pages on Shared Governance and on ICCAs
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On-going Initiatives in 2008
- A continuation of the CCA initiative financed, by the GEF Small Grants Programme in Iran, has recently started and will cover three more world regions.
- Finalization of the publication Co-management of Natural Resources in Arabic.
- Finalization of the publication Sharing Power in French
- Continued fundraising for a project proposal to support grassroots discussions on the development of the CCA Alliance throughout 2008.
- Analysis of issues of Access and Benefit Sharing to genetic resources (CBD-related) from a
“governance perspective”
- Support to IUCN Nepal in developing and running a workshop on “Building an effective and
equitable system of protected areas in Nepal”
- Finalization of a CEESP Briefing Note entitled “Governance as key for effective and equitable protected area systems”, printing and distribution.
- Participation in the forthcoming meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Protected Areas of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Rome (February 2008) and organization there of a side event on governance of protected areas.
- Continuation of CCAs regional studies in Melanesia/ Polynesia, South Asia, Central Asia and possibly South America.
- Completion of a project proposal for the EU on Improving Governance of Natural Resources from "co-management experiments" to "mainstreaming equity, accountability and environment-related rights".
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2007 Work Report
2006 Work Report
2005 Work Report
Publications by TGER members
The publications by TGER members are many and unfortunately we cannot report about them all as we are not always kept informed. In recent months we heard about the ones listed below, which are very relevant for the work of our group. Many more publications by TGER members are listed here.
Namara, A., 2006. 'From Paternalism to Real Partnership with Local Communities? Experiences from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda)', Africa Development, Vol. XXXI, No. 2, 2006, pp. 39–68.
Wollenberg, E., J. Anderson and C. Lopez , Though all things differ: Pluralism as a basis for cooperation in forests, CIFOR, Bogor Barat (Indonesia), 2005
TPCG and Kalpavriksh, Securing India’s Future: Final Technical ical Report of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, NBSAP Technical and Policy Core Group, Kalpavriksh, Delhi/ Pune, 2005.
Ter Heggde, M. (ed.), Lessons Learned by the Congo Basin Co-Management Network in Cameroon, GEF, UNEP & IUCN Report, 2005.
Tacconi, L., and J. Bennett 1995. ‘Biodiversity conservation: The Process of economic assessment and establishment of a protected area in Vanuatu’, Development and Change, 26(1): 89-110
Pomeroy R.S. and R. Rivera-Guieb, Fisheries Co-management: A Practical Handbook, CABI Publishing and IDRC, Wallingford (UK) and Cambridge, MA , 2005.
Pimbert, M., “Supporting locally determined food systems: the role of local organizations in farming, environment and people’s access to food”, Chapter 6 in Bigg, T. & D. Satterthwaite, How to Make Poverty History – the central role of local organizations in meeting the MDGs, IIED, London, 2005.
Pansky, D. (ed.), Governance Stream of the Vth World Parks Congress, Parks Canada and IUCN/WCPA, Ottawa, 2005.
Nurse M. and Y. Malla, Advances in Community Forestry in Asia, RECOFTC, Bangkok, 2005.
Mahanty, S., J. Fox, M. Nurse, P. Stephen and L. McLees, Hanging in the Balance: Equity in Community-based Natural Resource Management in Asia, RECOFTC and East West Center, Bangkok 2006.
Igoe, I., “Global Indigenism and Spaceship Earth: Convergence, Space, and Re-entry Friction” Globalizations, 2(3): 377–390, 2005.
Gilmour, D., Y. Malla and M. Nurse, Linkages between Community Forestry and Poverty, RECOFTC, Bangkok, 2005.
Fonseca Borras, M., V. Solis Rivera, P. Madrigal Cordero y I. Ayales Cruz, Gobernabilidad en el Manejo de Areas Silvestres Protegidas en Costa Rica: La Experiencia de Manejo Conjunto del Parque Nacional Cahuita, Coope Sol y Dar, San José, 2005
Dowie, M., Conservation Refugees, Orion, Nov-Dec 2005.
Brown,J., N. Mitchell and M. Beresford, The Protected Landscape Approach, IUCN, Gland (Switzerland) and Cambridge (UK), 2005.
Borrini-Feyerabend, G., “Understanding and optimising governance: a quiet revolution for protected areas?”, pages12-13 CBD News— Special Edition Protected Areas: Achieving Biodiversity Targets, CBD Secretariat, 2005.
Borrini-Feyerabend, G., “Governance of protected areas”, ID21 Insights, Institute for Development Studies, Brighton, September 2005.
Borrini-Feyerabend, G. with C. B. Tarnowski, “Participatory democracy in managing natural resources: a Columbus’ egg?” in Brosius, P., A. Lowenhaupt Tsing and C. Zerner (eds.), Communities and Conservation, Altamira Press, Walnut Creek (CA), 2005.
Borrini-Feyerabend, G. M. Moyrand et Y. Vérilhac, “Gouvernance participative: les parcs peuvent-ils mieux faire?”, PARCS, 52: 20-13, Juin 2005.
Bairs, I. G. and B. Shoemaker, Aiding or Abetting? Internal Resettlement and International Aid Agencies in the Lao PDR, Probe international, Toronto (Canada), August 2005.
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