What is needed for successful community-based conservation, and how can we achieve it? What are the keys to success in encouraging communities to participate in conservation? CIFOR scientist Linda Yuliani answers these questions, giving examples and lessons her team learned, in this presentation she gave on 8 December 2011 at the 25th international congress of the Society for Conservation Biology. The theme of the congress was ‘Engaging Society in Conservation’ and more than 1,300 scientists, practitioners and students of conservation biology from around the globe attended.

1. The use of innovative learning approaches
and tools to catalyze community-based
conservation and monitoring
Elizabeth Linda Yuliani, Hasantoha Adnan Syahputra, Yayan Indriatmoko
THINKING beyond the canopy

2. Community‐based conservation
Community based conservation
• Aimed to better
recognize local people’s
knowledge, interests,
roles and rights in natural
resources management
• A
As a respond to the
d t th
failures of people‐
exclusion conservation
exclusion conservation
and top‐down
management

3. For CBC to work
For CBC to work
• Socio‐ecological system: dynamics, complex,
multiscale
• Mutual trust, sharing of management power and
responsibility (vs consultation and passive
p y p
participation)
• Learning, building social capital, creativity,
innovation, resilience, strengthening local
i i ili h i l l
leadership and institutions
• Equity and empowerment than monetary
Equity and empowerment than monetary
incentives
• Local and traditional ecological knowledge co‐
management and empowerment
Berkes, F. 2004. Rethinking Community‐Based Conservation. Conservation Biology
18(3):621‐630
Pretty, J.N. and Smith, D. 2004. Social Capital in Biodiversity Conservation and
Management. Conservation Biology 18(3):631‐638

4. Complaints/challenges we often find
• High dependency to the project
• No continuation after the project
No continuation after the project
ended
• Key stakeholders lack of sense
Key stakeholders lack of sense
belonging
• No one knows where the
data/maps/agreements after the
project ended
ildi i l i ld ’ l d
• Building social capital doesn’t lead to
stakeholders behavior change
• Incentives/PES ICDPs don’t work
Incentives/PES, ICDPs don t work
Loss of biodiversity, deforestation,
Loss of biodiversity deforestation
overexploitation continue

5. WHY???
Our experience + observation +
p
discussions + literature reviews:
• Lack of knowledge on local social
context, e.g. paternalism,
complexities, unclear tenure
• Not prioritize processes for trust
Not prioritize processes for trust‐
building, sharing power and
responsibility, learning, self‐
mobilization and resilience
• Predetermined objectives, no
flexibility
fl ibilit
• Bias towards
facilitator s/researcher s
facilitator’s/researcher’s
knowledge and preference

6. WHY???...
WHY???... (continued)
• Community is too narrowly defined, seen as one interest group does not lead
to well representation and equity
• Stakeholders is too broadly defined: all groups/institutions who have interests vs
groups that make decision and/or affected by any decisions made dominated
by external actors, not community
by external actors not community
Local communities
6.98%
6 98%
13.95% Government
23.26%
NGOs
34.88%
20.93% Universities/
Universities/
research institution
Projects/programs

7. What is the most Source of income
important thing (fish, timber, honey,
from your rattan etc.)
rattan etc.)
environment?
Community
priority: economic

8. Participatory • Cultural value
village sketch • Social value
• Food medicinal
Food, medicinal
plants, water,
fish breeding
sites
i
• Environmental
value
• Political value
• How they manage
How they manage
• Roles,
responsibilities
• Sharing knowledge
h k l d
among members

9. The ladder of
The ‘ladder’ of For successful CBC
participation Self‐
mobilization
bili i
Building self-
Interactive
ea e confident, self-
motivation
Strengthening
Functional local institutions
Most participatory
Most participatory
approaches and CBC Objectives are pre-
projects Bought determined by project
Incentives,
Consultative food etc.
Interview, questionnaire,
Passive consultation
Types of participation adopted from:
Types of participation adopted from:
Familiarization f
F ili i ti of new
Pretty, J.N. 1995. Participatory learning for sustainable agriculture.
policy/program World Development 23:1247‐1263

10. But…
B t
HOW???

11. How to facilitate trust‐building, sharing power and
How to facilitate trust‐building sharing power and
responsibility, learning, self‐mobilization and resilience?
How to catalyze community’s initiatives
without creating dependency to external
facilitation and assistance, now and after
the project ends?
the project ends?
Learning forum 2 days – 2 weeks ‐> what kind of
learning process that could lead to behavior change?
l h ld l d b h h ?

12. Change the way we do and see things
Ch th d d thi
• Appreciative Inquiry
• Accelerated Learning
Accelerated Learning

13. Appreciative Inquiry
pp q y
• Action research, 4D cycle (discover,
dream, design, deliver)
dream design deliver)
• Primarily developed in the 1980s by David
L. Cooperrider and his colleagues at Case
oope de a d s co eagues a ase
Western Reserve University for promoting
organizational change.
• Unlock people’s potentials and positive
forces, create positive vision/dream, lead
ii i
to positive action
Cooperrider, D. L., and S. Srivastva. 1987. Appreciative inquiry in organizational life.
Research in Organizational Change and Development 1:129‐169.
Cooperrider, D. L., and D. Whitney. 2001. A positive revolution in change: appreciative
inquiry. Public Administration and Public Policy 87:611‐630.
inquiry Public Administration and Public Policy 87:611 630
Russell, D., and C. Harshbarger. 2003. Groundwork for community‐based conservation ‐
strategies for social research. AltaMira Press, Walnut Creek, California, USA.

14. Accelerated Learning
Accelerated Learning
• Based on latest research on brain
function
• Physical activity, creativity, music,
images, color, and other methods
actively involving the whole person
deeply involved in their own learning
deeply involved in their own learning
• Positive feelings, joyful, relaxed, and
engaging accelerate learning
engaging accelerate learning.
• Negative feelings, stressful, painful,
and dreary inhibit learning
and dreary inhibit learning
problem‐based approach rarely work
Meier, D. 2000. The accelerated learning handbook: a creative guide to
designing and delivering faster, more effective training programs.
McGraw‐Hill, New York, USA.

15. Accelerated Learning
Accelerated Learning…
(continued)
• The human nervous system: more of
an image processor than a word
processor
• Different learning style: community
vs scientists and scholars
• Learning processes: various tools to
accommodate different learning style
• P l ld d h
People would act towards the most
memorable experience and emotions
Meier, D. 2000. The accelerated learning handbook: a creative guide to
designing and delivering faster, more effective training programs.
McGraw‐Hill, New York, USA.

16. How do we use AI
How do we use AI + AL?
Vibrant facilitation
• Confidence
Relaxing atmosphere
• Creative
Inspiring conversation,
Inspiring conversation ideas/strategies, not
ideas/strategies, not
affirmative topics BAU solutions
• Generate individual
Freedom to think
F d hi k motivation
Conventional
forms
of learning,
e.g. formal
g
meetings, Whining or
classroom complaining
style

17. In capacity building/training
event
• Discovery: build community’s self‐
confidence, e.g. draw a symbol that
represent one achievement they most
represent one achievement they most
proud of, share with others
• High paternalism: an important basis
High paternalism: an important basis
for the next processes
• Dream: in groups, draw what they
g p, y
expect to have/see in their future life
and communities within 1‐3 years (in
terms of sustainable natural resources
management, reasonable timeframe)

18. • Design: what will I (each
g (
participant) do to reach their
dream?
• S lf
Self‐contribution rather than
t ib ti th th
pointing what other parties
should do
• Deliver: identify how they
would deliver their personal
contribution to the society,
contribution to the society
what they needed to learn to
support their plan, how they
would learn, and how they
would cope with challenges.
• In all stages: the use of text is
In all stages: the use of text is
kept to a minimum

19. Building trust, sharing
power and
responsibility
• Start from ourselves, e.g. the way
Sta t o ou se es, e g t e ay
we manage the project, inclusive &
respectful communication,
openness
• Facilitate each group separately
• Capacity building and learning
processes that catalyze power
sharing and teamwork
• Games/interactive tools to level the
Games/interactive tools to level the
playing field and power

20. Examples from three case studies
p
• Community‐based wild orchid conservation
• Reviving the indigenous knowledge and traditional systems for
community‐based Bornean orangutan protection
• Microhydro

21. The location

22. The location
• One of largest wetlands in Asia, > 132,000 ha
• Important ecosystem functions (key hydrology regulator of Kapuas
Important ecosystem functions (key hydrology regulator of Kapuas
watershed; high biodiversity; largest supplier of West Kalimantan fish;
largest deep peat deposit in the province)

23. • Local people income: US$11 18 million/yr (traditional fishery + arowana breeding
Local people income: US$11‐18 million/yr (traditional fishery + arowana breeding
farms + organic wild‐bee honey)
• 43 villages : 5 Iban Dayak, 38 Malay (32 permanent, 6 seasonal)
• Each ethnic group has different traditional tenure and natural resources
Each ethnic group has different traditional tenure and natural resources
management

24. Local context
• Strong government paternalism, treat communities as powerless
‘victim’ mentality high dependency to outsiders
• All land surrounding the park are allocated for oil palm, threatening
biodiversity and local people’s livelihoods
• Unclear tenure, overlapping claim over land
• Government policies/decisions: strongly influenced by corporations
and political parties
and political parties

25. Community‐based wild orchid conservation
We have • Community
•Media coverage
orchids too. Forest patch full protection,
•Visits by high
Please train us.
l with black‐orchid
h bl k hd declared as
declared as
officials, tourists,
(Coelogyne Selimbau
scientists
pandurata) – Wild Orchid
protected by Garden
G d
Indonesia law • In 8 months:
Training on •Pride, more
district’s
orchids
orchids motivation to
motivation to
decree
(taxonomy, conserve
ecology, social) Forest full with •Motivate and
• Develop
Develop
endemic orchids train communities
customary law
in other villages
What’s this to protect the
(self‐mobilization)
plant for?
l tf ? forest and the
forest and the
Outsiders pay trees
us Rp. 100,000
(USD 12) to Replicated, more
collect these. forests conserved

26. Community‐based orangutan protection
Awareness raising Learn that ‘high’
Folkstories programs orangutan
population in
their village has
Documentation attracted many
of traditional
of traditional visitors/
s to s/
land‐use Communities scientists
systems, form voluntary
Traditional land‐ orangutan
‘orangutan
customary
t •Community
use systems and study group’
rules, monitoring
customary rules:
folkstories g
•Rescuing
•integrated into
integrated into
A series of orangutan
park zoning
training‐workshop
system and
and
district land‐use
district land use
multistakeholder
planning A work in
processes to foster
•used to progress
collaboration
strengthen law
h l
enforcement

27. Microhydro
•Benefits
enjoyed by all
community
• Shared
S a ed •Funding to members
e be s
learning on Self‐ buy turbine Self‐ •Better forest
microhydro organized •Self‐ sufficient protection
• Existence of
Existence of proposal sufficient electricity
y Self‐
•Self‐
protected development mobilized
forest and of small dam monitoring
river
Self‐organized
Self‐organized
learning
across villages

28. Monitoring
g
Topic Monitoring on Objectives Who How
Wild orchid Orchid smugglers,
ild hid hd l Manage and d KWADS Direct
forest district land‐use plan protect wild (Association of observation
and policies that may orchid forest, to Danau Sentarum , patrol on
affect the forest, maintain village’s Wild Orchid rotating
seasonal flowering ‘heritage’ Ecotourism) and/or
variation volunteer
Orangutan Hunter, poacher, Involved in Orangutan study basis
trader, dietary plants orangutan group
phenology, nesting
p gy, g protection
p
behavior, crop‐raiding Learn more
about orangutan
Microhydro River discharge water Maintenance of
River discharge, water Maintenance of All village
All village
quality, conditions of micro‐hydro members, on
dam, turbines, rotating basis
electrical wiring
electrical wiring

29. Results of AI + AL
Results of AI + AL
• Self confidence self‐motivation
Smugglers will be fined: Indonesian Rp. 2
g
million, foreigner USD 2,000.
self‐mobilization
• Increased creativity and adaptive
strategies
• Increased ability to cope with
shocks and complexities
shocks and complexities
• Develop strategies, looking for
information, do necessary actions
information do necessary actions

30. What factors motivate people?
What factors motivate people?
• Realized that they have rich knowledge
and strong potentials to make changes
and strong potentials to make changes
in their lives and help them move
forward
• The processes result in practical vision,
they knew how to achieve it and had
self confidence
• Passion, strong motivation, opportunity
to learn new knowledge
• F li fid
Feeling confident
• Feeling of being a well appreciated and
trusted individual
• Freedom to think

31. Lessons our team learnt
Lessons our team learnt
• CBC that focus on particular
species/genera/forest product/ecosystem
/ /f d /
service could lead to protection of large
extent of forest/landscape
• Snowball/multiplying effect of self‐
mobilization: significant

32. Challenges
g
• Strong paternalism; government’s programs contradict to conservation
principles
• Nurturing new knowledge, passion and positive spirit generated through the
AI approach, and make AI principles become a new thinking culture and
AI approach, and make AI principles become a new thinking culture and
applied in daily behavior
• Problem‐based approach ‐> weaken the positive thinking we build
• Top‐down approach and break the trust
• Rotation of government agencies we have been working with

33. Keys to success
y
• Facilitation skills
• AI AL Asset‐based thinking
AI, AL, Asset‐based thinking
• Working with the right ‘agent of
change’ ‐> social change
• Right key affirmative questions
• External knowledge shared in the right
way, under the right context
• Flexible, tactful and creative. Allow
community s dream and planned action
community’s dream and planned action
that beyond your project’s focus
gy
• Exit strategy embedded since the
beginning
• Cultural sensitive

34. Thank you
y