Adaptive Collaborative Management in Forest Landscapes: Villagers, Bureaucrats and Civil Society

"This is a thought-provoking and engaging book about how a global initiative on adaptive collaborative management has helped transform the lives of both rural community members and researchers. It provides an inspiring account of the enormous power of shared learning experiences. What makes the book stand out to me are the personal reflections by the authors, especially when it comes to the many struggles involved in creating and sustaining this innovative initiative." Krister Andersson Professor of Political Science and Director, The Center for the Governance of Natural Resources, University of Colorado at Boulder, USA "This book explores the critical role researchers and development practitioners have in promoting collaboration and reflexive learning. A reminder that engagement should not be taken for granted, chapters offer insightful approaches to unpack what collaboration is really about and why it is needed to advance transformative development outcomes. Drawing on a comprehensive set of situations that span diverse geographies and topics, the book provides insightful perspectives to address emerging challenges in natural resources governance." Iliana Monterroso Ibarra, Scientist, Co-Coordinator of Gender and Social Inclusion Research, CIFOR, Guatemala City, Guatemala "What a privilege to share these authors’ quest to apply appealing concepts: Learn by doing and adjust. Work alongside groups you support. Listen to diverse perspectives. Recognize disparities. Their amazing exploration shows those concepts’ huge promise and complexity. Few final answers, but tons of wisdom. Well worth the ride." David Kaimowitz, Manager of the Farm and Forest Facility at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and CIFOR’s second Director General "This book provides a unique and rare reflection on a multi-year learning programme on Adaptive Collaborative Management. The cases engage a reader as a co-learner in the evolution of the participatory action research approach and its outcomes. The honest reflection of the authors reveals the quality of implementation and their own development in these processes. A great read, with lots of lessons for anyone engaging in complex natural resource management interventions!" Jürgen Hagmann, Institute for People, Innovation and Change in Organisations - PICOTEAM "Building adaptive and collaborative capacity requires ability to learn by and learn from doing, seeking long-run improvements over time; demands inclusivity while turning participation on its head. This book demystifies the processes for researchers and the communities they engage alike, while highlighting the value of emergent outcomes on the Research – Action continuum." Nadarajah Sriskandarajah, Professor of Environmental Communication (Emeritus), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala "This collection by three leading scientists in the world of natural resource governance demonstrates brilliantly the potential and impact of adaptive collaborative management – as a means to advance sustainability and democracy, to co-produce knowledge and practice, and to strengthen governance processes. Its insights will be of interest to students, professors, and researchers and to scholars and decision makers alike." Arun Agarwal, Professor, SEAS, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI 48109 USA "A timely reminder about the untapped potential of exploring theories about practice in environmental governance. At once illuminating in its genealogy and rich for its empirical applications across tropical forest regions in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, this book provides both a window into praxis and a menu for those driven by collaborative interests in addressing pressing environmental challenges at a landscape scale. It is both rich empirically and unique for its generalizability, catching readers up with important dimensions of thinking around gender, justice, and representation in ACM. With all the hype around participatory approaches and knowledge co-production in both research initiatives and development projects, this book reminds readers how to easily avoid classic mistakes and shows what it takes to nurture better participatory process to achieve more meaningful outcomes in environmental governance." Micah Fisher, Assistant Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawaii, Honolulu "ACM has evolved over the past couple of decades and has demonstrated its worth as a multidisciplinary participatory approach in achieving practical, social and research outcomes. This volume brings together researchers, many of whom have been involved in ACM since its inception, to reflect on their experiences in applying ACM and participatory action research in a wide range of complex natural resource management settings. It is a valuable addition to the research and development literature." Don Gilmour Chair of ACM International Steering Committee from 2000, and Adjunct Associate Professor, Forest Research Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland