Part III. TOWARDS EEFFECTIVE PROCESSES Chapter 4. A POINT OF DEPARTURE

Document begins: Part III. TOWARDS EEFFECTIVE PROCESSES Chapter 4. A POINT OF DEPARTURE. 4.1 What iis tto b be m managed? W Who iis tto b be iinvolved? The basic point of departure for co-management (CM) is a situation in which sev- eral social actors-- bearing different interests, concerns and capacities for the management of a given territory or set of natural resources-- not yet found, or possibly not even explored, the possibility of joining their forces and agreeing on a way to do it together. These actors may comprise indigenous and local commu- nities, local authorities, government agencies and representatives at different lev- els, NGOs, associations, individuals with special interests and private companies and businesses of various kinds. In recent decades, the number of social actors interested in managing natural resources has increased as a result of widespread socio-political change, including governments` decentralisation processes, the pri- vatisation of previously state-controlled initiatives, the emergence of new demo- cratic institutions, and the proliferation of NGOs, associations and business com- panies. Many such "new actors" perceive environmental or social problems and opportunities and believe that they can adequately respond to those if they are allowed to participate in management decisions and actions. 110 ...