Institutionalizing citizen participation and community representation in natural resource management: Lessons from the social responsibility agreement negotiation in Ghana

Abstract

Many attempts to institutionalize community-based natural resource management have focused on mechanisms to secure accountable representation through participation. Within the framework of co-management, negotiation has become a prominent strategy for dealing with conflict. Using a case study of the negotiation of the social responsibility agreement for acquisition of timber rights in Ghana, the paper explores citizen expectations of participation compared with reality and the factors influencing citizen preference. Specific lessons learned were the need to be sensitive to opening social and political spaces for citizen participation, flexibility to allow dynamic interplay between the influencing factors and the representation process, and some empowerment interventions to create civil consciousness to ensure demand for downward accountability. © Oxford University Press and Community Development Journal. 2007 All rights reserved.