Lessons Learned > Component 1 >


Institutionalising Sustainable Natural Resource Management Systems

Despite increased Maoist activity in the two Project districts and a concomitant increase in the presence of security forces, Project staff have continued to travel to the field and to work constructively with communities through local facilitators. The image the Project has of continuing to work actively within the districts on initiatives that improve equity, governance, and livelihoods benefiting especially the poorer and disadvantaged sections of the communities, has led to a greater acceptance of Project activities by various interest groups. In the final stage these activities need to be handed over to appropriate stakeholder partners to continue.

An important impact of the insurgency is the reluctance being shown by some rural communities to become involved in new income generating activities for fear of having some of the income removed from them via ‘contributions’ to the Maoist movement. The “Do No Harm” approach taken by the Project in Stage 1 has helped to ensure that the Project has not inadvertently exacerbated the conflict. A detailed conflict and peace analysis has been initiated to ensure that final stage activities contribute to peace building or at least minimise conflict.

The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) report highlighted that some stakeholders considered the ‘Project Management Team’ appeared not to be fully committed to a partnership approach to Project implementation. The TAG considered that the Project Management Team had given the impression of trying to by-pass the major stakeholders, particularly line agency staff, in the districts. The TAG said that while they understood that the spirit of establishing district offices was to ensure better coordination and partnership at the district level, it appeared that line agency staff have tended to view the offices established by the Project as parallel management and organisational structures. During this final stage, the new Project management has already begun dismantling the parallel systems and structures, and will quickly move to transfer tasks and assets to the line agency staff and give them some support for a transition period.

The TAG considered that the Project made little effort to integrate the MFSC’s ‘Red Book’ planning cycle with the Project’s annual planning process. They considered that this had resulted in poor synergy between line agency district activities and those of the Project. To address this issue during the final stage, the project team will comprise all relevant stakeholder partners at the functional level for planning, implementation and monitoring and ensure inclusion with all activities.

It is important for sustainable handover of responsibilities and work programs that the Project collaborates in genuine partnership and builds capacity with line agency staff during this final stage. Incentives and ownership of the innovative activities need to be institutionalised in the districts through close partnership with line agency officers. The project staff will be facilitators and coordinators and leave the ‘doing’ to stakeholders during the final stage.