Watershed Stakeholders and Stakeholder Analysis

Watershed Stakeholders and Stakeholder Analysis By Robert W. Solar

International Course on Community-based Integrated Watershed Management

Content: Definitions Importance Uses How we do it What it tells us about the challenges ahead – practicum exercise – stakeholder relationships

Definitions: Stakeholder: Any group of people organized or unorganized, who at times may share a common interest, but always have a vested stake in a particular issue or system, they can be at any level, or position in society, from global to national and regional concerns down to the level of household or intrahousehold, and be groups of any size and aggregation

Stakeholders in Watershed Management: Here stakeholders may be viewed in a continuum which include highly varied groups from forest dwellers, fuel wood collectors, fishers to farmers at the local on-site level to downstream communities,including concerned government agencies, NGOs, POs, or even donor agencies.

Partners Vs Stakeholders The word ‘partner’ signifies collaboration/ collectiveness in the sense of achieving a common goal – ‘Stakeholder’ indicates ‘vested interest’ or having a stake/ claim – but may OR MAY NOT work in a collective manner with others

The who’s who of Stakeholders: • In terms of effect on decision making: • Active – those who affect/ determine a decision or action • Passive – those affected by the decision or action Based on target beneficiaries of a project: • Primary stakeholders – the heart or interest and the intended beneficiaries of the project • Secondary stakeholders – other groups which are not the intended major project beneficiaries According to relative influence or importance: • Importance – those whose needs and interest are the priorities of the project • Influence – refers to the power certain stakeholders have over the success of the project

… and the what in action and application:

Stakeholder Analysis Stakeholder analysis can be defined as a holistic approach or process for gaining an understanding of a system, in our case a watershed system that includes both the bio-physical endowments, and more so as we have realized – ‘the human element’. This is done by means of identifying the key stakeholders and assessing their respective interest in the system.

Why is SA Important to Watershed Management: • Presence of externalities – activities done in the upper watersheds like intensive cultivation have its adverse impacts to the downstream communities Unclear or open property rights in many watershed areas - unclear or open property rights creates confusion in resource management, responsibilities, and sharing of benefits need appropriate arrangements among various groups concerned

Different levels of stakeholders – includes the macro and micro interests and objectives and the need to consider them in decision making processes Trade offs need to be made at the policy level over the use and management of resources – national policy objectives encourage conservation/ preservation, but local people are primarily interested in clearing land for agriculture

… the PURPOSE of SA: Improving the selection, efficiency, and effectiveness of policies and projects – the explicit considerations of potential trade-offs between policy objectives and stakeholders’ interest helps avoid the unexpected, facilitates good design, and improves the likelihood of good implementation

Better addressing the distributional and policy impacts of policies and projects – explicit analysis of the interest of, and impacts of intervention on different stakeholders can help ensure that costs are borne and benefits are realized by those intended.

… the HOW of SA: First – Identify the main purpose of the analysis

• What is the problem that needs to be addressed?

• What are the objectives and intended outputs of the analysis?

• Who are the relevant decision makers?

• How will the out-puts be targeted/ used/ amined towards action?

Second – Develop an understanding of the system, its decision makers, and decision making processes

• Getting a holistic understanding of how the overall system operates, who are the main decision makers in the system, and what drives the decision making within it

… the HOW of SA:

Third – Identify principle stakeholders

• Which stakeholders should be included and excluded in the full analysis Forth – Investigate stakeholder interest, characteristics, and circumstances Fifth – Identify patterns and contexts of interaction between stakeholders Sixth – Analysis, synthesis, actions and cautions defined, and incorporated in to policy and project design

… practicum: First – Identify the main purpose of the analysis – to identify how specific stakeholder relationships impact project implementation (e.g. Community vs. GO, Community vs. LGU, Community vs. NGO, GO vs. LGU, LGU vs. NGO) Proceed to compiling a problem or issue of relevance Second – define and discuss the context of the problem/ issue (developing an understanding of the system, its decision makers, and decision making processes – brief statement Third – Identify principle stakeholders Think about – stakeholder interest, characteristics, and circumstances – the context of the initiative, and power dynamics, etc.

Present the following: Problem/ Issue: (be very specific) Stakeholder

Strengths

Weaknesses

Threats

Opportunities

Project Impact

Recommended Action