Participatory Indicator Development for Sustainable Natural Resource Management

There have been few attempts to develop, test or apply sustainability indicators for natural resource management at a farm-level, and even fewer have fully consulted land users from the initiation of this process. While environmental sustainability indicators need to be accurate and reliable, land users also need them to be rapid, cost-effective and easy to use, in addition to being linked to management objectives such that they can be targeted at community empowerment and sustainable natural resource management. In order to develop farm-level sustainability indicators that meet these criteria, a framework for participatory indicator development has been constructed that integrates land user knowledge with biogeographical information. Integration of qualitative and quantitative approaches incorporating biogeographical evaluation of land user indicators in the context of initial livelihoods analyses may lead to a more concise and useable list of the most effective indicators. Case study material shows that Kalahari pastoralists in South West Botswana use over eighty sustainability indicators for natural resource management. However, indicator knowledge is sparsely dispersed and varies between different social groups in the community, and consequently there is little consensus over which are most effective. Dissemination of sustainability indicator information is proposed through the distribution of rangeland evaluation guidebooks through the Ministry of Agriculture that integrate participatory rangeland condition assessment with management strategy advice. In this way, it may be possible to empower communities to effectively monitor and respond to rangeland degradation to enhance the sustainability of natural resource management.