Outdoor activities during the 2nd regional workshop with participants from prefecture administration, research institutes, companies, and from the research project in Mandian village, Naban River Water (Wang, Jue)
Aims / objectives: The Sino-German project “SURUMER: Sustainable rubber cultivation in the Mekong Region” is identifying appropriate, stakeholder-validated concepts for sustainable rubber cultivation in Xishuangbanna prefecture, South-west China. In order to at least begin to implement solutions for problems arising from monoculture, project partners from five German and seven Chinese research institutes and practitioner partners are testing a holistic approach. This combines communication activities (bilateral, as well as groups, mainly through workshops) with scientific analysis to enhance interaction and collaborative learning between practitioners and researchers.
Methods: The approach comprises a pragmatic combination of discourse instruments such as direct communication amongst partners, bilingual information material, newsletters, focus groups, and a series of workshops with key stakeholders. One of its main elements is participatory scenario development - including discussions on problem situations, priorities regarding ecosystem services, and trade-offs in different land use strategies.
Stages of implementation: During the first three-year phase of research, ecosystem functions and services were assessed and quantified. This phase of situation analysis had a clear multidisciplinary focus amongst researchers (topics as widely varied as carbon sequestration, pollination, and household economy). The next phase attempted to integrate findings from on-site measurements, household surveys, policy analyses and joint problem solving into identifying new land management options. A modelling approach which uses assessment indicators to define impacts of land management was chosen. The model also identifies trade-offs and synergies in different land management options. During this phase, demonstration trials were established at the plot level. In the last phase, the focus has shifted more and more towards implementation activities, for example policy briefings and training for farmers, village heads and administrative staff. Discussions with key actors amongst the practitioners, who can influence implementation, have started as early as possible. This follows the assumption that the more “realistic” the concepts are, and the better they are communicated to, and discussed with, the stakeholders, the greater the likelihood of implementation.
Role of stakeholders: Apart from the scientists, three key stakeholder groups have been identified, namely rubber farmers (often the village heads), regional decision-makers (prefecture administration and rubber companies), and provincial politicians. The main initiative, as well as the process of moderation, came from the group of scientists. Practitioners participate regularly at workshops and meetings. They express their interests regarding future rubber cultivation, and the information they would like to get from the researchers, and how this should be communicated.
Other important information: Experience shows that communication processes initiated by research play a key role and must be managed carefully. It is clear that significant resources and long-term commitment are needed, and that even “long” research projects of five years are not sufficient to reach full implementation or create impact.
Localização: Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China
Data de início: 2012
Ano de término: 2016
Tipo de abordagem
| Que partes interessadas/órgãos de implementação estavam envolvidos na abordagem? | Especifique as partes interessadas | Descreva o papel das partes interessadas |
| Usuários de terra/comunidades locais | Village heads as representatives, farmers Poor farmers involved during baseline survey, using semi-structured interviews. | |
| Especialistas em GST/ consultor agrícola | Experts from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden and Yunnan Institute of Tropical Crops | |
| Governo local | Regional administrative, research institutes, company | |
| Governo nacional (planejadores, responsáveis pelas decisões) | Prefecture Regional administratives such as people from Xishuangbanna Agricultural Bureau, Bio-industry Development office, Xishuangbanna Environmental Protection Bureau, Xishuangbanna Reclamation Bureau, Xishuangbanna Forest Bureau, and Naban River Watershed National Nature Reserve Bureau | |
| Organização internacional | SURUMER project |
The discourses with the three stakeholder groups are focused on a joint situation analysis, discussion on the future of rubber, and discussion about ecosystem services and functions under different scenarios. Land use options are developed jointly and consequences concerning local policies, cultivation measures and market strategies are then discussed. Stakeholder discourses are linked with integrated scenario assessment and modelling by an interdisciplinary group of scientists.
As decisões foram tomadas por
As decisões foram tomadas com base em
Training focused (a) on agro-chemicals: problems, awareness, treatment; (b) on water protection: awareness, treatment; (c) on intercropping: demonstration
1. Research on transdiciplinary communication and stakeholder participation.
2. Research on rubber value chain and alternatives
Research was carried out both on station and on-farm
1. Through research-practice interaction, the land users get to know that there are linkages between large-scale rubber monoculture and environmental degradation. 2. The stakeholders get to know each other, expand their communication networks, which will help when they are making land-use and land management decisions. 3. The stakeholders get access to latest scientific results on sustainable land management from the SURUMER project, which provides them new options for sustainable land management.
The effect can only be seen in the long term.
Stakeholder dialogue approach could improve the communication and deliver the research results, however the land users are the one to decide to take the conservation activities or not. The approach have low effect on land users behavior. The problem is unlikely to be overcome in the near future. The institutional issues could not be overcome only by efforts from research projects.
The Green Rubber project which is led by the local research institute, has included stakeholder dialogue as an element.
