Environment and development in coastal regions and in small islands

work in progress 2

3.  CHARACTERISTICS OF WISE PRACTICES 

95.  One of the initial goals of the Forum (username: csi; password: wise) was to examine wise practice characteristics, which had been developed by the participants in the workshop on ‘Towards wise coastal development practice’ held in Paris in 1998, through the presentation of specific case studies (example wise practices) in which the characteristics were to be used to analyse the case studies.  (The list of characteristics and their definitions, as agreed by the participants in the December 1998 workshop, and as revised following this analysis, is included in Appendix II).  Through this process, the usefulness of these characteristics as a means to help identify wise practices could be determined.  Thus the idea was to go back to the field level, to the grassroots level, and look at the characteristics in a critical and case-specific light.  

96.  Contributors were asked to present their example wise practices (EWPs) in a specific format, namely to provide a short description of the activity followed by an analysis of the activity using the list of 15 wise practice characteristics.  Thirty of the 52 contributors of EWPs followed the suggested format.  These contributions were much easier to assess because the contributor, the person with the most knowledge about the activity/example practice, had already done the analysis.  All the EWPs were analysed and assessed.  Lists were compiled for each characteristic, summarising the essence of the particular characteristic in each EWP.  Patterns and groups were then determined, their essential qualities are described in the following sections. 

97.  The major findings relating to the use of each characteristic are summarised below.  The reader is referred to the full text on this analysis in Appendix VII in order to fully comprehend the breadth and diversity of the Forum (username: csi; password: wise). 

3.1  Brief Analysis of Wise Practice Characteristics 

Long term benefit: the benefits of the activity are still evident ‘x’ years from now and they improve environmental quality. 

98.  Long term benefit is implicit to example wise practices, if a particular practice is proposed as wise and as an example, then it is likely to provide long term benefit.  Long term benefit is defined in tangible terms, benefit which can be quantified and expressed in economic terms; and less tangible (but equally important) terms, which range from changing attitudes to improving communication, and which are more difficult to quantify and express in economic terms.  Most EWPs contain tangible and less tangible benefits.  The time scale for long term benefit has been suggested as ranging from ten years to a lifetime (70 years).  Indicators of long term benefit are very specific to the nature of the EWP and cannot be generalised in a meaningful manner. 

Capacity building and institutional strengthening: the activity provides improved management capabilities and education for the stakeholder groups as well as knowledge and efforts to protect the local coastal/marine environment. 

99.  Almost all the EWPs discuss capacity building and institutional strengthening.  The nature of this characteristic can be divided into actions to strengthen specific sectors of society - such as non government stakeholder groups (13 EWPs), local communities (12 EWPs), and government (federal and local) agencies (15 EWPs); and actions which establish linkages between various sectors of society - such as assisting all stakeholder groups (government, communities, private sector, general public and others) to work together (11 EWPs), inter-agency cooperation (5 EWPs). 

Sustainability: the activity adheres to the principles of sustainability, the extent to which the results will last and development continue once the project/programme has ended. 

100.  The majority of the primary contributions discuss sustainability and consider it important to wise practices.  However, since many of the EWPs are either conceptual or in the early implementation phase, it is a little early to discuss sustainability in the context of continuation after project life.  Notwithstanding the above, of the 48 contributions which discuss sustainability, 36 of the EWPs are considered likely to be sustainable in the future, nine are actually sustainable and three are not sustainable.  The nature of the sustainability ranges from the development of standards to a project becoming a self-financing activity.  In addition, several other important ideas and concepts emerge which cannot be easily categorised, but include ethical concerns, transparency and conflict resolution. 

Transferability: aspects of the activity can be applied to other sites, in and/or outside of the country. 

101.  Thirty five of the 52 primary contributions consider that wise practices are transferable; 14 contributors consider they could be transferred to other countries without qualification, 10 consider they can be transferred to other sites in the same country and/or region, and 11 consider they can only be transferred to other parts of the same country.  Of the 35 EWPs considered to be transferable, seven had actually been transferred.  Transferability is not discussed in 16 of the primary contributions, and one contribution deals with a negative aspect of transferability. 

Participatory process: transparent participation of all the stakeholder groups as well as the involvement of individuals is intrinsic to the process. 

102.  There is almost complete agreement that the participatory process is an important characteristic and nearly all, (50) of the EWPs discuss this characteristic.  However, several EWPs also mention that not ALL the stakeholders were involved.  The reasons for this, range from financial constraints to the fact that participation depends on the perceived level of benefit to the individual.  The nature of the participation varies from the empowerment of resource users to manage and regulate their own resources to the financial involvement of communities in development projects. 

Consensus building: the activity should benefit a majority of the stakeholder groups, whilst bearing in mind that certain under-privileged groups may need to be treated as special cases. 

103.  Thirty six of the EWPs discuss consensus building, most of these contributions state or imply that the wise practice involves all the stakeholders.  However, involvement is not the same as building consensus.  Six EWPs do, however, state that the practices had benefited some stakeholders but not all, which is a result more in keeping with the concept of consensus building.  One EWP deals with the needs of a tribal group which should be treated as a special case. 

104.  It is felt that some of the confusion about the consensus building characteristic arose because of the way the characteristics were listed, with consensus building appearing before participatory process. 

Effective and efficient communication process: a multidirectional communication process involving dialogue, consultation and discussion is needed to attain awareness. 

105.  The nature of the communication process is discussed in 36 of the EWPs.  Most contributors acknowledge the need for a multi-directional communication process targeted towards specific groups.  The means of communication varies from informal chats on traditional fishing methods between older and younger fishermen in Senegal to street-side satellite data relay systems for fisheries forecasting in India.  It is also noted that the example provided by a successful activity or project may be one of the best means of communication and that the local language must be used in order for communication to be effective.  The private sector, with their experience in management, may be especially well equipped to carry out effective communication. 

Culturally respectful: the process values local traditional and cultural frameworks while also challenging their environmental validity. 

106.  This characteristic is discussed in 35 of the EWPs. The primary focus of eight of the EWPs is on ways to articulate local  and indigenous ecological knowledge with scientific methods, they range from fisheries taboos to the preservation of a rural way of life.  Twenty EWPs include traditional issues in their implementation.  Seven EWPs, almost all from small islands, challenge traditional practices and propose new practices in keeping with environmental change, such as conserving turtles rather than hunting them. 

Gender and/or sensitivity issues: the process accounts for the many aspects of gender and/or other sensitive issues. 

107.  Twenty eight of the EWPs address the gender and/or sensitivity characteristic. Twelve EWPs focus specifically on the role of women in the wise practice, ranging from marketing and processing roles in fisheries to equal employment opportunities.  Nine of the EWPs discuss other social groups such as students/young people and migrant labourers.  Six EWPs discuss sensitivity issues between local residents and foreign developers, these include conflicts over coastal uses and land development as well as preferential treatment for large developers. 

Strengthening local identities: the activity provides a sense of belonging and self-reliance at various levels. 

108.  Sixteen EWPs discuss strengthening local identities.  The main themes centre around developing a sense of belonging, instilling concepts of resource ownership and establishing links between cultural identity and heritage.  The reversal of urban migration and ex-country migration are also discussed.  One EWP introduces a cautionary note that at a very local level (village), strengthening identity might reduce cooperation. 

National legal policy: the activity adheres to current government environmental, economic, legal and social policies. 

109.  National legal policy is discussed in 14 EWPs. While in most cases the EWPs adhere to national legal policy, there are 3 EWPs where the local legislation is inadequate for conservation needs.  In two of these cases it is envisaged that the EWP will stimulate changes in legal policy.  One EWP brought to light an interesting debate concerning local and centralised policies.

Regional dimension: the activity should embody the regional economic, social and environmental perspective. 

110.  Fifteen EWPs discuss the regional dimension characteristic, all of which consider that the EWP embodies the regional perspective such as regional economic slowdowns, and cross border issues.  One EWP suggests that the wise practice characteristics be further developed into international instruments for the evaluation of existing and proposed developments. 

Human rights: the activity should provide freedom to exercise fundamental human rights. 

111.  Four EWPs discuss the human rights characteristic.  In three cases the EWP appears to be stimulating human rights issues in young democracies, and in the fourth case, ‘human rights’ are not the issue, since the EWP deals with a case where human activities were harming the environment.  The importance of this characteristic should not be measured only in terms of the frequency of its occurrence in the Forum (username: csi; password: wise). 

Documentation: the activity and the lessons learnt have been well documented. 

112.  Forty one of the EWPs specifically address documentation.  However, by contributing to the Forum (username: csi; password: wise) there has been at least partial documentation by all of the EWPs.  The most commonly mentioned form of documentation is through reports, papers and publications.  Other forms of documentation include plans, exhibitions, inventories and CD-ROMs.  In several cases the documentation is incomplete.  Two EWPs discuss the actual distribution and accessibility of the documentation.  One contributor points to the wisdom of documenting all aspects of a wise practice, both the positive and the negative as a way to validate the relevance of the practice and the lessons learnt. 

Evaluation: the activity has been assessed to determine the extent to which ICM has been achieved and/or wise practice characteristics utilised. 

113.  Thirty two of the EWPs discuss evaluation, and of these, 18 have been/are being evaluated.  Nine contributors indicate it is too early to conduct an evaluation.  Eleven of the EWPs discuss evaluation in terms of before and after surveys of natural resources, e.g. flora, fauna, pollution levels; while five EWPs describe evaluation in terms of socio economic factors e.g. numbers of partnerships formed, investment opportunities.  Five EWPs describe how ongoing evaluations are used to drive/refocus projects.  Two contributors suggest that the list of characteristics be used as a means of evaluation. 

3.2  Conclusions 

114.  Based on the foregoing analysis, collectively these characteristics go a long way towards defining the nature of wise practices.  While some characteristics are not often discussed in the EWPs, this may be because of unfamiliarity with the particular topic or it may reflect that the contributor found it of little relevance. 

115. Furthermore, in order to reduce some of the duplication and confusion that many contributors found, the list of wise practice characteristics (see Appendix II) has been re-ordered, so that participatory process comes before consensus building. 

116. The following table shows the list of wise practice characteristics and the number of EWPs in which the particular characteristic is discussed. 

Wise practice characteristics and their frequency of inclusion in the EWPs

117. Boina (182) suggests a useful way to conceptualise the wise practice characteristics by grouping them as goal-oriented, means-oriented and value-based criteria: 

Goal-oriented criteria: long term benefit, capacity building and institutional strengthening, sustainability.

Means-oriented criteria: transferability, participatory process, consensus building, effective and efficient communication process, documentation, evaluation.

Value-based criteria: culturally respectful, gender and/or sensitivity issues, strengthening local identities, national legal policy, regional dimension, human rights.

While this grouping may not be the final answer, since some of the characteristics may logically be placed in more than one group, it does present a preliminary conceptualisation. 

118. Based on the foregoing the wise practice characteristics represent a comprehensive list for defining wise practices.  This is not to say that the list cannot be improved and added to, indeed another important means-oriented (criterion) characteristic which has been assumed to date, but which should be clearly articulated, is: ‘Interdisciplinary and intersectoral: The activity fully incorporates all relevant disciplines and all societal sectors.’ 

119. Thus it is expected that the list will be refined and will evolve over time through field testing and further discussion.  This process will also help determine whether a particular activity should fulfil all or just some of the characteristics in order to be termed a wise practice.

start		Introduction	Activities	Publications	search
		Wise practices	Regions	Themes