Women participating in a participatory planning workshop.
High Atlas Foundation
Participatory Project Approach
In implementing community development projects, particularly those related to the environment, it is vital that local communities are involved as they understand their environment best. The participatory approach encourages close collaboration with civil groups. Heavily focusing on its members’ capacities to be effective managers of change, a more functional and successful solution can be adapted. Through participatory dialogues, technical trainings, and the fostering of partnerships among NGOs, business, and governments — local and national — solutions are generated that cannot be achieved by any of these entities on their own. These dialogues allow the opportunity to collectively assess needs, and identify, design, and implement initiatives.
Community ownership, as exemplified by their contribution of resources and effort, is our key measure for sustainability and acceptance. This outcome is an extension of the initial empowerment and community-planning sessions. Another highly relevant aspect is coordination and project managerial support that are provided by village-based civil associations and cooperatives. Key to project longevity is the ongoing local and institutional participation during the project’s life.
By ignoring the concerns of society in relation to the environment, we risk endangering the continuous and reliable provision of the natural resources on which economies depend. When discussing ecosystem-based approaches in the context of sustainable development, the social dimension must be considered. The production and use of natural resources, therefore, must not only take into account society's environmental priorities, but also be organized in a way that supports the social consensus that binds us together. Additionally, when facilitating community dialogues, they must be inclusive of public, private, and civil organizations, which provides information and an essential basis for sustainable decisionmaking. By fostering the inclusive dialogue quality needed for a resilient program and environment, the project will have greater impact.