This article presents the very interesting history of a government agency which has adopted participatory procedures to mobilise communities for resource conservation. It starts with a brief history of soil and water conservation (SWC) in Kenya. The inability of conventional approaches led to the adoption of the Catchment Approach by the Soil and Water Conservation Branch of the Ministry of Agriculture. In this approach, conservation efforts are concentrated in a specified catchment for a limited period of time. It has changed over time to include a high level of community participation in the analysis of their own conservation problems and in deciding what to do. Participation can take many forms and the article discusses how interactive participation is achieved. A survey of the impact of the Catchment Approach showed the greater effect of interactive as opposed to consultative participation. The success of the Catchment Approach has also been a result of institutional factors which support increased use of participatory methods.
Publication year:
1995
Interest groups:
This article is of great interest to government planners, policy makers and managers, in presenting a case where government and local communities can participate together for resource conservation. It is also of interest to donors and NGOs, for the kind of long-term institutional change they could support
Pages:
Jul-15