Participatory Indicator Development for Sustainable Natural Resource Management for Kalahari Pastoralists Andrew Dougill & Mark Reed

Key Issues / Questions How can participatory approaches yield relevant environmental sustainability indicators ? How can pastoralists be empowered to conduct rangeland assessments and to use these to inform their livestock management decisions ? How will this affect / improve existing institutional structures in pastoral communities ? Can an integrated research framework lead from environmental assessment to improved pastoral livelihoods through participatory sustainability indicators research ?

Kalahari Environment, Economy & Society

Pastoralists Perspectives Pastoralist decision-making is controlled by multi-dimensional vulnerability - “ the stochastic poverty traps within which are best uncovered and understood through multiple methods ” (McPeak and Barrett, 2001) Vulnerability can be exacerbated through natural variability and/or rangeland degradation (Scoones, 1995) Multi-dimensional assessments required to assess risks & livelihood vulnerability / decision-making

Environmentalists’ Rangeland Assessment §Conventional environmental assessment focused on species level changes and related extension advice on stocking density or fencing §May require technical expertise or training (e.g. soil tests) that fails to involve pastoralists §Participatory approaches can identify the key livelihood threats, including environmental degradation (e.g. Abbot and Guijt, 1998; Stocking and Murnaghan, 2001) §Quantification of environmental sustainability indicators remains a significant research challenge to improving rangeland monitoring programmes and advice

Sustainability Indicators Dual demands on environmental sustainability indicators - §To empower communities they must be simple, rapid and inexpensive, as well as credible, transferable, dependable and confirmable (Pretty, 2001) §To link to environmental debates and to gain policy-maker acceptance they must be accurate and reliable No accepted framework for participatory identification, evaluation, selection and quantification of sustainability indicators

Proposed Methodological Framework Simultaneous use qual and quant participatory approaches

Indicator Identification & Evaluation Criteria  Indicator objectives elicited from extended livelihoods analysis with discussions on pastoral management objectives  Qualitative data outlined greater emphasis on socio-economic variables, rather than ecological or soil-based  Evaluation criteria also assessed in semi-structured interviews

Participatory Selection of Indicators

Focus Group Evaluation & Discussion §Farmer Focus groups used as stage in indicator evaluation and to discuss the potential for quantification of subsequent data collection §Need for simple vegetation indicators and link to socio- economic variables noted §Key informants identified - for oral histories of env change & livestock trends (ie. Key stage in methods integration ) §Triangulated with aerial photo & livestock records data §Separate group discussions with non-pastoralists & women

Quantification of Indicators & Secondary Evaluation §Integration of PRA methods (farm walks, aerial photo discussions and mapping) with ecological assessment can better quantify ecological change assessments §Involvement of pastoralists and extension agents ensures dissemination of information & PRA uptake by Ministry of Agric. §Discussion of outputs in follow up group meetings enables further discussion of value of indicators and their quantification

Implications to Participatory Rangeland Monitoring by Pastoralists Pastoralists’ knowledge on indicators of ecological change can aid the quantification of rangeland degradation problems & improve management advice Participatory research framework involving pastoralists at each stage enables integration of qual and quant & dissemination Move from dissemination to empowerment in terms of sustainable NRM requires support from all stakeholders & institutions