Submitted to MOOC on Community Engagement – 8th April 2015

Nepal

Community Engagement in Natural Resource Management: A reflection on

Community Learning and Action Centre

Policy provision

Guidelines for Community Forestry Development 2009, Nepal has been a key policy document to focus on women, marginalized and poor households with the clear statement that at least 35 percent of the Community Forests Users Groups (CFUGs) income should be invested in livelihoods enhancement activities of the women, poor and marginalized communities.

Transformation: structural change

What needs to be transformed

All citizens including women, poor and marginalized communities need to be

• Aware of their rights, • Able to create opportunity to raise their voice, • Have choice to solve their problems , and • Have developed capacity to exercise their rights

Your suffering

your issue

Your voice you organize

Community awareness centre based on REFLECT |

Your issue you lead

Your advocacy your rights

Inclusiveness Participation

Transformation Networking

Issue based advocacy

Campaigns

CLAC

Knowledge for change

Engagement

Transformation

What is Community learning and Action Centre?

The community Learning and Action Center (CLAC) is a forum where the marginalized and disadvantaged are brought together to identify, analyze and take actions on issues that directly affect them.

The overall objective of CLAC is to facilitate transformative social mobilization process through community awareness and action to advocate their issues and get quality public services. It creates negotiating space with service providers and government.

Three fold approach of CLAC

Information

Empowerment

Transformation

•Deliberative communication on policy provision, issues and responsibility •Collective social actions •ICT enabled communication

INFORMATION +FEEDBACK

• Underlying causes of poverty and social injustice analysis •Thick and thin engagement • Critical awareness and authentic dialogue •Rights based collective social actions and practices •Policy dialogue •Effective implementation of policies and provisions INFORMATION + ACTION+ FEEDBACK

•Citizen actions: Elections, referendum, social movement, participatory budgeting , •Program planning and implementation based on poverty and vulnerability findings •Engagement in local level program planning •Exercise and practices of gender equality and social inclusion •Collective social actions and campaigns •Community involvement in policy implementation and its effectiveness •Natural resource management and utilization •Promotion of good governance •Biodiversity conservation •Equitable benefit sharing exercises •Community resilience

INFORMATION + ACTION + EFFECT/IMPACT +FEEDBACK

Community engagement in

improving development outcomes

Good governance & social justice

Governance Framework – 3 domains of change

Three domains of change where CLAC can contribute its efforts to change power relations in their society through transformative social mobilization processes

Domain 1: Marginalized Citizens are Empowered

Domain 2: Public Authorities and other Power Holders are Effective and Accountable to Marginalized

Citizens

Domain 3: Spaces for Negotiation between Power Holders and

Marginalized Citizens are Expanded

Dimensions of Change

1. Citizens are aware of rights & duties and have a greater sense of agency

2. Citizens participate and organize collective actions

3. Citizens participate in exacting accountability

4. CSOs are representative and accountable to marginalized citizens

5. CSOs influence public policy effectively

Dimensions of Change

1. Public authorities and power-holders have the capacities to protect rights and deliver public goods

2. Public authorities and power-holders are responsive to impact groups

3. Public authorities and power-holders are transparent, providing accessible and relevant information

4. Public authorities and power-holders are accountable to impact groups

5. Rule of law and justice is equitable and impartial

Dimensions of Change

1. Institutionalized spaces are inclusive and effective

2. Informal spaces are claimed

3. Inclusive political settlements are achieved

4. Alliances and coalitions for progressive social change are formed

CLAC implementation process

Informative Stage 16 weeks cycle

Organizing and Mobilizing

Empowerment Stage Emergence of Critical

Mass

Transformative Stage Critical engagement

Education

Health Livelihood

Good governance

Gender equality

Social inclusion

Resiliency Issue

Information

Empowerment

Transformation

Post CLAC Support expectation

• Wider constituencies based on issues and advocate those issues in systematic ways.

• Engage critical mass in social transformation processes.

• Community level interaction and discussion on changing power dynamics within the communities.

• Create community level learning forum for social transformation

Thank you for your time

Note: The presenter acknowledges Hariyo Ban Program CARE Nepal for the materials used and/or adopted in this presentation