There are
many benefits to be gained from adopting an inclusive approach
to planning initiatives, some relating to public agencies and
some to the communities themselves.
For public agencies, community
engagement can assist in the identification of needs and
problems, inform policy-making at a local level and help
target services in the most appropriate manner. It can also
provide feedback on the effectiveness of service delivery and
identify where greater co-operation and co-ordination with
other organisations and agencies are needed.
For the community, involvement
allows local people to identify their own needs and
priorities, opens up decision-making processes to those
normally excluded such as young people, ethnic minorities and
job creation, helps to build community spirit and a sense of
local ownership, encourages an acceptance of responsibility
and empowers individuals and groups to make environmental
improvements.
Community engagement does not
provide all the answers to the problems facing planning.
However, working co-operatively can help to develop
credibility and trust, lead to more flexible and creative
responses to planning issues and provide a stable foundation
on which to manage future change and uncertainty.
Public environmental education is
the essential underpinning for both community action for
conservation and for the funding of the conservation and
research activities of conservation
institutions.
In a global context the community
action framework includes communities and local enterprises
which sustainably harness biodiversity as a means of income
generation by adopting sustainable production within the
following categories: forest products (timber, palm fronds,
pulp/paper products); non-timber forest products (such as
rubber, resins, fruits, seeds, nuts); agricultural products
(native crops, indigenous seeds, major and minor crops, roots,
shoots and tubers, fruits, honey, beeswax); horticultural and
botanical products (ornamental flowers, medicinal plants);
agroforestry products (coffee, cocoa, cacao and other fruits);
handicrafts and textiles (baskets, silk and cotton fabrics,
embroidered clothing); personal care and health items (makeup,
soaps, essential oils, medicinal plants and supplements);
aquatic products (edible and ornamental fish, oysters, pearls,
sea urchins, seaweed, sea moss); livestock products (ostrich,
green beef); and insect products
(butterflies).
For certification and marketing purposes,
community biodiversity-based products may also be categorized
by social group (women's products, indigenous/ traditional
products, small farmers/fishers products), region
(desert/rainforest products), productive scale (community
products), and applicable marketing models (organic, fair
trade, climate-friendly).
http://sgp.undp.org/img/file/Community%20Action%20to%20Conserve%20Biodiversity.pdf
http://www.rtpi.org.uk/download/386/Planning-with-communities.pdf