Community participation in international projects: an analytical perspective from the Russian Far East |
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Authors: | Emma Wilson David Koester |
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Institution: | (1) Environment & Community Worldwide, Ltd., Cambridge, UK;(2) Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK;(3) Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 310 Eielson Bldg., PO Box 757720, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA |
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Abstract: | International projects frequently struggle with the dilemmas of community participation, whether the community in question
is the object of a development or aid intervention, or is to be persuaded to cooperate on a conservation project. This paper
discusses the challenges facing interventionists and the obstacles and opportunities that local people encounter as they come
into contact with exogenous conservation and development projects. The key issues presented can be summarized as legacy, legitimacy,
agency and communication. We argue that project planners need to understand the history of past interventions in order to
respond appropriately to local expectations. At the same time, the complexity of community leadership and representation complicates
the sometimes conflicting agendas of project developers and communities. Much depends on personal relations, individual agency,
and initiative. Finally, the physical means of communication—language, print and broadcast media, transport and telecommunications—are
important aspects to consider when assessing the limitations to community participation. Although there have been valuable
successes in international projects in Russia, as in other regions of the world, a better understanding of community participation
is needed to ensure more effective and sustainable means for engaging communities in project development and implementation.
This paper explores these questions through a locally-grounded analysis based on the academic research and practitioner experience
of the two authors in the remote home of a World Heritage site—the Kamchatka Peninsula, in the Russian Far East. |
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Keywords: | Community participation Kamchatka Protected areas International projects Development Indigenous peoples |
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