The study evaluates the implementation of community participation as a critical factor contributing to environmental orientation. The phrase “community participation” is currently used in virtually all development plans or reports in Mozambique. The term 'community participation' is more than a phrase used by development organizations and officials, but represents an official principle for Mozambican rural development.
The Study Area 18
LIST OF TABLES AND BOXES
Evaluating the implementation of the community participation principle by NGOs in local development projects in Mocuba; According to the Rural Development Guidelines and Inter-sectoral Coordination Mechanisms, the principle of community participation should unravel all development projects in the country. The research focuses on the efforts of NGOs to apply the principle of community participation in local development projects.
CllAPTER2
SWOT Analysis·
Using different methods to gather more information about the data found is essential to the validity of the research. Successful examples from other parts of the country and the Southern African region were collected as part of the literature review and further compared to the situation in Mocuba, as shown in the discussion section. Power is concentrated in the figure of managers and other staff members are almost unable to talk to an external colleague without prior permission from their superiors.
CllAPTER3 The Study Area
Geographical Location of Mocuba at the Centre of Zambezia Province (Source: Medicins Sans Frontieres, 1997)
Mocuba is one of 4 districts in the province, with locally elected and centrally appointed government authorities. However, there is no duplication of administration in the district, as the country is politically defined as one and indivisible (Article 3.1 of the Constitution, 1990). There is no industry in the district and the main economic activities are agriculture, logging and trade.
A Partial View of "the Principal Trunk Road" in Mocuba Rural Area
NOOs operating in Mocuba District fall into four categories9 namely: (a) local, (b) provincial, (c) national and (d) foreign as described below. With less affirmation in the district, these are the branches of those non-governmental organizations that were created and operate at the provincial level. They always prefer to work with an existing NGO that has gained the trust of local institutions and people in the district.
CllAPTER4 Literature Review
Environmental issues are best addressed with the participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level". http://www.fam.org.ar/docs/pp/en intro.html). Due to their socio-economic impact in The Environmental legislation deserves mention throughout the local development process. Environmental policy is linked to the principle of community participation by taking as its strategy: 'the involvement of local communities in the management of natural resources to promote their sustainable use'. resources”. http://easd.org.zalEis/repts/Mozambique/mozeis2.htm).
The many differences in participatory approaches are not due to the importance placed on people's involvement, but to the way participation is understood and practiced. However, there are general factors or dimensions that need to be taken into account in the whole process of rural development. According to Tandon, when development NGOs came into the spotlight in the 1970s, it was for what came to be called an alternative development paradigm.”
To better deal with community participation and increase its supportive role in rural development, all development agents should be engaged in the change process. 34; insisting on producing plans and setting priorities for community needs". pasteur, but the refinement of this understanding by Marrington (1991) summarizes the fundamental requirement of using grassroots inputs for local development planning and not just making use of orientation of NOO managers People, organizations and institutions involved in the same situation and its problems must understand their respective roles.
However, since community participation is also a learning process, there is still much to be achieved through the interaction between communities, NOOs and other stakeholders in the sense that every idea matters but needs to be shared and understood in a given context (Mckee, 1993).
CHAPTERS The Research Findings
A View of a Public Garden Rehabilitated through Community Work
- Weaknesses and Limitations of Community Participation
One of the benefits of participation is the sense of ownership it can develop in those who actually put their efforts into a project. One of the main focuses of IBIS, for example, is to decentralize the decision-making process, and this. Looking at the number and scope of the issues raised in Table 7, although they do not cover all the weaknesses and limitations of the community participation process, it can be noted that most of the existing weaknesses can be addressed.
There is only one typical environmental NOD in Mocuba, the Nucleus of Friends of Nature and the Environment (NANA). IBIS's commitment to environmental issues was also reported by consultants who had some information on environmental issues, including legal aspects, from a seminar on environmental law conducted by an IBIS assistant at DDADR. Together with the municipal council, NANA participated in the Quelimane and Mocuba Reconstruction Project (PRQM).
The 2001 Environment Week DDCOA report states that prominent members of government, municipality and civil society at the district level attended the ceremonies (Confiar, 2001). The main environmental problems in Mozambique are soil erosion, high population growth, industrial pollution, environmentally harmful mining, emission of gases, the problematic urban environment, tsetse fly infection, endangered ecosystems, deforestation and bushfires, reduction of fauna, degradation of water and land resources, natural disasters (drought, floods and desertification) and landmines (http://eads.org.za/Eis/repts/Mozambique/mozeis2.htm; Resolution No. 5/99). Most of the rural districts like Mocuba district do not directly face all the problems mentioned above.
The municipality's only option is to use the newly established nursery to grow and replant more trees to prevent erosion.
Discussing the Findings
- Non-Participatory Project Planning
- Tangential Environmental Issues in Development Agenda
- Recommendations
And with such a gap in policy dissemination, the implementation of the principle of community participation in local development projects cannot come easily due to the resulting very limited knowledge of legislation among development stakeholders. The process of making policies also plays an important role in the ways in which they can be disseminated, known, implemented or enforced. Nevertheless, in accordance with Decree no. 55/98 NGOs may not deal with political issues, but political actors are also important stakeholders in development and should be included in the process of community participation (World Bank, 2001), regardless of whether they belong to the ruling power or not.
In light of interaction with specific stakeholder groups, political parties should also be involved in the process. 4H6lder Gemo is Director of the Directorate of National Rural Extension (DNER) at MADER. If it happens at the Mocuba level, a critical analysis of the obstacle involving government officials, NOGs and political parties existing in the district is urgently needed.
Consultation seems to be used more to correct errors in the still prevailing top-down planning modus operandi than to minimize these errors by attending to the community felt and prioritized needs. Efforts by NGOs to make community participation happen cannot bring positive results if there are no changes in the system as a whole. They tackle environmental issues only occasionally, as shown in the findings chapter (table 8, page 61), for a clear problem, but not with thoroughness.
However, adequate socio-economic development and environmental awareness will not be achieved and maintained if the stakeholders involved in the process are not well informed about their roles and responsibilities.
Comparing the experiences of Zimbabwe and other English-speaking countries in East and Southern Africa, Gower Publishing Company, p. Capacity building: shifting the paradigms of practice; in Eade, D. eds) Debating Development: NGOs and the Future, Oxfam GB; p. 1995): 'Participation' ill the language of governmental and non-governmental organizations Non-governmental organizations and. participatory development: the concept in theory versus the concept in practice;. eds) Power and participatory development. Liebenberg, S. (2000): Non-governmental organizations as agents of development; in De Beer, F. eds) Introduction to Development Studies, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press Southern Africa, p108-123.
Democratic Decentralization: A Review of African Experiences; in ROOdy, p. 00) Local Government, Democratization and Decentralisation: A Review of the Southern African Region, Juta & Co Ltd, p Participation' in the Language of Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations - Institutionalizing adaptive planning and local level concerns: Looking to the future; in Nelson, N. eds) Power and Participatory Development - Theory and Practice, Intermediate Technology Publications, pI57-169. eds) Introduction to Development Studies, 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press Southern Africa, pp The Role of External Development Agencies in District Planning in Zimbabwe: A Case Study of Districts in Masvingo Province; in De Valk, P. Comparing the experiences of Zimbabwe and other Anglophone countries in eastern and southern Africa, Gower Publishing.
Participatory Learning and Action: methodology for the new vision of development; in Liebenberg, S. eds) Participatory Development Management and RDP;. FONGZA - Forum de ONGs da Zambezia (200 I): Direct6rio de ONGs in Zambezia, Quelimane. 1999): Institutional Support for the Agrarian Sector in Mozambique (AISAM) - Semester Report (June - December); IBIS Database - Queliniane. MADER- Republic of Mozambique (2001): Information to Parliament on Current Rural Development Activities; online, http://www.mozambique.mz/govemo/masoko/informac.htm.
Zeca Manteiga: personal communication President of ANAMocuba - Association of Friends and Residents of Mocuba - Mocuba.
QUESTIONNAIRES
QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED TO NGOs TOP MANAGERS
In addition to the government's definition of "community engagement principles". as a key factor in development projects, do you have any information on community participation in overall development thinking. The Ministry of Coordination of Environmental Affairs (MICOA) also refers to community participation in local development projects. How would you classify your organization's interaction with other local development stakeholders in the implementation of community participation.
Can you list some of your organizational needs for an appropriate implementation of community participation in your projects. How will you measure willingness to participate in local development by other stakeholders and specific community groups. How does your organization deal with the problem of volunteer work versus paid work in terms of community participation in your projects.
What do you consider to be important achievements in terms of local community participation in this area (some physical and historical milestones).
QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED TO ACTIVISTS AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKERS 1
QUESTIONS FOR ACTIVISTS AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKERS 1. community participation in overall development thinking. How would you classify your experience with participatory methodologies? very good Good Needs more practice Does not exist. The Ministry for the Coordination of Environmental Affairs (MICOA) also refers to community participation in local development projects.
How do you see the environmental awareness of the communities in the community you work in? How would you classify your interactions with other local development stakeholders when implementing community participation? Can you list some of your needs for appropriate implementation of community participation in the community in which you work?
What do you think about the problem of voluntary work versus paid work in terms of community participation. In which phases of the project cycle do you involve people in local development projects. What are the most important achievements in local community participation in the area where you work (some physical and historical milestones).
QUESTIONS TO BE ADDED FOR GOVERNMENTAL OFFICIALS 2
