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Using Lessons Learned from Field Testing with Achichire-Sureso -Pebaseman CREMA in Wassa-Amenfi

GUIDE TO FACILITATION OF MULTI STAKEHOLDER PROCESSES TOWARDS STRENGTHENING AND/ OR ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AREA (CREMA) STRUCTURES IN GHANA

Using Lessons Learned from Field Testing with Achichire-Sureso -Pebaseman CREMA in Wassa-Amenfi

By Andrew Kyei Agyare PhDNOVEMBER 2017

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INTRODUCTION

Natural resource managers face the challenge of forging a bal-ance between conservation and development, particularly in relation to poverty reduction. This is made more difficult by the fact that human - environment interactions occur at multiple, interacting scales. (Brondizio et al, 2009). For example, local users of ecosystem goods and services can take actions that have profound impacts on other users located far away from their areas of operation. Climate change and other large-scale pressures also strongly influence more local scales.

In the face of this challenge, there has been a growing interest in how governance systems (the structures and processes of decision-making) can best be designed to accommodate the diverse values and objectives of powerful actors at multiple scales (Buizer et al., 2011; Plummer and Fitzgibbon, 2006). For example, some authors have argued that the problem requires institutions¹ that facilitate linkages² between the otherwise inde-pendent centers of governance³ for a long term management and coordination of human – environment interactions (Ostrom and Nagendra, 2006; Dietz et al, 2003).

In order to ensure effective and inclusive governance for a long term management and coordination of human-environment in-teractions, community based governance and management systems for natural resources such as CAMPFIRE in Zimbabwe, ADMADE in Zambia, the Conservancies of Namibia etc have been designed in various forms.

In Ghana a Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) model for enhancing conservation outcomes and rural liveli-hoods has been developed, and is being implemented adap-tively across the country. CREMAs serve as a mechanism for fostering local control and participation in binary conservation and development initiatives in the off-reserve areas. They are constituted by self-mobilised local communities that are willing to integrate natural resource management into their land uses. This makes it possible to deliver tangible results from REDD+ activities such as tree - based diversification in local land uses. CREMAs are unique because their governance structures build on existing traditional governance systems that enhance effec-tive participation and inclusiveness of all stakeholders in the community.

To date, there are thirty two (32) CREMAs across Ghana. Twenty four (24) of them have received their certificate of devolution of authority and responsibility for natural resources management and are fully operational. Eight (8) are also at various stages of development and are yet to receive their certificates of devolu-tion. The CREMAs are located in about twenty six (26) districts, in seven (7) regions of Ghana (IUCN, 2017).

Despite the significant potential of CREMAs to deliver sustain-able community resourcmanagement and REDD+ implemen-tation in Ghana, significant challenges exist generally with the

governance and management capacity of the CREMA commu-nities’ to abide by the constituent communities’ consensually developed CREMA constitution, as well as to maintain function-ality and enforce agreed and gazetted bye laws. Consequently, many of the CREMAs have remained dormant for considerable periods of time due to weak capacity to self-organise. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in collaboration with its local partner Codesult Network and the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission intervened by providing some financial, technical, and facilitation support to the Achichire- Sureso-Pebaseman (ASP) CREMA to devel-op a comprehensive five (5) year Action Plan as an operational strategy to revamp the governance structures and instruments of the CREMA, and guide it on a path to sustainability. Imple-mentation of the Action Plan was initiated with a review of their CREMA constitution to reflect existing challenges and opportu-nities. They also developed and published the District Assembly bye laws in a government bulletin to provide the CREMA consti-tution with the needed legitimacy.

Realisation of the objectives of the Action Plan depends to a large extent on well functioning Community Resource Manage-ment Committees (CRMCs) and an umbrella CREMA Executive Committee (CEC). Against this background, IUCN, in collab-oration with the Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, and Codesult Network facilitated a multi stakeholder process towards the establishment and/or reconstitution of CRMCs and the CEC of the ASP CREMA. This was carried out using a phased approach which targeted 5 Pilot CRMCs as part of an initial Pilot Phase. Lessons learned from this phase have fed into a Replication Phase where activities were facilitated towards the revamping of the remaining 6 CRMCs and subsequent recon-stitution of the CEC.

This brochure provides guidelines that can be adopted to strengthen and/or establish CREMA governance structures at the local level, based on ev-idenced-based lessons from field testing of multi-stakeholder participatory approaches used within the ASP CREMA in Wassa Amenfi landscape, situated in the Western Region of Ghana. It also seeks to provide policy recommendations for strengthening CREMA governance structures to make them fully functional.

ACTIVITIES TO REVAMP THE COMMUNITY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES (CRMCS) AND CREMA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (CEC)

Many community-based natural resource governance and man-agement systems are established with short term projects that are completed without any exit strategies such as medium term action plans, that will ensure that the governance structures that are set in place are firmly grounded for sustainability.

¹Systems of rules, decision making procedures, and programmes that give rise to social practices, assign roles to participants and guide interactions among the occupants of the relevant roles (Science Plan, 2005). ²Direct interactive social networks that mediate the competitive relationships between independent centers of governance through contractual and cooperative undertakings (Mc-Ginnis, 2005)³Independent centers of governance are different actors across multiple scales within the same socio ecological system that are making natural resources management decisions

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As a result, not long after project closure, the governance and management structures grind into dormancy. To revamp the governance structures, it is imperative that the CREMA constit-uents and their allies are supported to elaborate Medium Term Action Plans to guide the activities of the CREMA. The action plans should include a multi-stakeholder review of the CREMA constitution and bye laws and outline processes and activities to facilitate the reconstitution or formation of new CRMCs in areas where they do not exist, and the strengthening of existing ones. This will ensure functional leadership and good governance within the CREMA

Six main activities may be implemented to revamp the gover-nance structures. They include;

1. Briefing meeting and training workshop for a three to five member volunteer group from each CREMA constituent community or a cluster of neighbouring communities that form a CRMC. This will equip them to disseminate the CREMA constitution, bye laws and action plans in their respective communities;

2. Initial visits by a third party, possibly an NGO or CBO to all the communities to introduce the 3-5-member volunteer groups to their respective communities within CREMA;

3. Election of members of the CRMCs that form the gover-nance foundation of the CREMA;

4. Publication of nominees at vantage points within their re-spective communities for the approval of the larger com-munity;

5. Two-day workshop to train the newly elected CRMC members and inauguration of the CRMCs in their respec-tive local communities; and

6. Reconstitution and inauguration of the CREMA Executive Committee.

The next sections suggest steps to achieve each of the six ac-tivities in an efficient way.

ACTIVITY 1. BRIEFING MEETING AND TRAINING WORKSHOP

Step 1. Invite representatives of all the constituent communities to the meeting and training workshop.

The representatives should include community leaders and other champions, and the existing CRMC members, in cases where they are in place, even if they are inactive. The invita-tion should clearly articulate the purpose of the meeting and the need for the invitees to discuss with their respective community members, and suggest active volunteers who may be tasked to disseminate the constitution, bye laws, and action plans (gover-nance instruments) of the CREMA. In this meeting, a number of steps are taken;

Step 1 Brief the representatives fully on the impending re-vamping exercises and agree on the strategies to achieve effectiveness (Figure1). One of the key reasons behind the briefing meeting is to have representatives from all the constituent communities share the status

of their respective CREMA governance structures and the ex-tent to which the entire community members are aware of the provisions in the CREMA constitution and bye laws. This is im-portant to engage their minds and hopefully whip up their inter-est to participate in CREMA governance and management.

NB: Experience from such interactions is that, most communi-ty members do not know and appreciate the provisions of the constitution and the bye laws that are binding on all who reside in the CREMA.

Step 2 Discuss selection of nominees to assist in the dissemination of the CREMA constitution and bye laws

The dissemination exercise is to enhance community members’ knowledge and understanding of the role of the CRMCs, the CEC, and the general vision and strategy of the CREMA, as well as other provisions of the two governance instruments. Develop criteria for the selection of the volunteers across the communities. The criteria may include: • Availability, commitment and willingness of the nominee to

volunteer; • Ability to fairly read and write • Ability to communicate clearly in at least, the predominant

local language of the community;• The nominee must have a fair level of integrity and be one

that the community(s) can identify with;• The nominee must as much as possible, live in that com-

munity or one close by and have some community mobil-isation skills.

Figure 1: Briefing Session on Revamping of Governance Structures (Source Codesult Network, 2017)

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Step 3 Facilitate nominations of the 3-5 member volun-teer groups• Ensure that nominees come from the communities that

form or may form a CRMC• Ensure as much as possible, a fair balance between the

number of males and females.• Compile a list of the nominees and entreat the community

leadership/CRMC executive (where CRMCs exist) to inform the nominees for their consent to volunteer (where the vol-unteers are not part of the meeting)

Step 4 Extend formal invitations to the volunteers for training• Carry out a two-day training for all the volunteers to equip

them for the dissemination of the constitution, bye laws, and action plans in their respective communities. This is to ensure that majority of the community members know and understand the contents of the constitution and bye laws.

• Take the volunteers through the constitution and bye laws by explaining all the salient provisions enshrined in them. The salient provisions may include powers and objectives of the CREMA, membership and duties, CREMA governance structure, tenure of office of the CRMCs and CEC and their office holders, rules governing the CREMA, internal sources of funding of the CREMA, mode of expenditure, right of ac-cess of CREMA members, protection of natural resources and benefits, and indemnity clauses, among others.

• Group the volunteers and provide them with opportunity to read the constitution and bye laws and to interpret the pro-visions thereof in the local languages that may be used for the dissemination. (Figure 2)

• Invite and discuss any challenges that any of the volunteers may be having with interpreting any of the provisions

• Challenge other volunteers to address the difficulties of their colleagues and fine tune where necessary.

Step 5 Ways to Disseminate the Constitution and Bye laws in the Communities • Discuss the mode and methods of transmission of the pro-

visions of the constitution and bye laws. Suggested meth-ods of dissemination are as follows.1. During church service on Sundays, seek the permis-

sion of the church authorities to explain the constitution and bye laws to the congregation at a suitable time.

2. Community radio/information centres. Use community radio/information centres where applicable on regular basis to do the dissemination.

3. During community gatherings such as funerals, com-munity meetings, durbars etc.

4. During communal labour and at recreational centres. 5. During harvesting of cocoa. 6. At the Mosque.

Step 6 Discuss all logistical issues and time lines for de-ployment of the volunteer groups.

ACTIVITY 2. INITIAL VISITS BY A THIRD PARTY, POSSIBLY AN NGO OR CBO TO ALL THE COMMUNITIES TO INTRODUCE THE 3-5-MEMBER VOLUNTEER GROUPS TO THEIR RESPECTIVE COMMUNITIES WITHIN CREMA

Step 1 Formally introduce the 3-5 member volunteer groups to their respective communities • Contact the leadership of the constituent communities,

entreat and support them to arrange simple community durbars to introduce the volunteers to their constituents. This is to enhance their prominence as well as to encour-age cooperation from the constituents and seek their con-sent for the dissemination process.

• Encourage the community members to register as core CREMA members and support the volunteers to embark on a CREMA membership drive to get CREMA members registered,as well as collect the requisite fees based on the provisions of the CREMA constitution.

Step 2 Monitor the work of the volunteers• Visit the communities to monitor and assess the extent to

which the constituent communities have understood and accepted the contents of the constitution and bye laws of the CREMA.

• Assess also, the extent to which the volunteers have been able to mobilize the community members to register as core CREMA members, collection of registration fees and monthly dues from the members, and whether a bank ac-count has been opened, into which monies accruing to the CRMC have been lodged as required by the constitution. These are prerequisites for revamping the CRMC.

Figure 2: Group work by Participants at Training (Source: Codesult Network, 2017)

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ACTIVITY 3 ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE CRMCS THAT MAY FORM THE GOVERNANCE FOUNDATION OF THE CREMA

CRMCs formed at the constituent local community levels are the basic foundation of the CREMA governance structure. The CRMCs comprise community members such as chiefs, farm-ers, and other informal community groupings elected by their members and approved by the general community. The CRMC can also be constituted through nominations in general commu-nity meetings. A CEC on the other hand, is the overarching body that governs the CREMA as a single resource management unit. A fully functional CREMA needs these two governance struc-tures to be strong and active in its operation.

A CREMA constitution may indicate the conditions under which a community member qualifies to be elected as a member of a CRMC. In many cases, only registered members who have paid up their registration fees and monthly dues may qualify for elec-tion. The constitution may also stipulate the absolute number or the lower and upper limits of the membership of the CRMC. In all material cases, the membership is an odd number and may not exceed 15 persons depending on the number of com-munities that form the CREMA. The male to female ratios are also documented in the constitution. In many cases, the ratio is 3:1 but this may vary from one CRMC to another. A CRMC may include more females depending on the traditional decision making structures of the communities concerned. In situations where for example, the communities agree on a membership of five (5), the male: female ratio could be 3:2. Where for example,

the agreed membership is seven but the communities are three and the participants prefer equal representation from each of the three communities, that will mean two representatives from each community making it a total of six. Thus,there would be four males and two females. To achieve the membership of seven, participants are entreated to decide whether the seventh person should be a male or female.

In electing the agreed number of persons and taking into con-sideration the male: female ratio, it is important that all segments or groups of qualified members are represented on the CRMC and hence the CEC. The following steps may be followed.

Step 1 Invite all the registered members or all who qualify to be elected as CRMC members as well as other promi-nent members of the relevant communities that form the CRMC to an agreed location (community).

Step 2 Name and confirm the number of communities that form the CRMC• Where the CRMC is formed by only one large communi-

ty, check whether the community has divisions or named sections and list the names of those sections as the case may be.

• Where there are no such divisions or sections, discuss with the participants to find some landmarks such as roads,

Step 3 Receive and write the names of all registered members or those who qualify to be elected as members of the CRMC (the participants) on a flip chart separating the males from the females. Write the names clearly per community or sections of larger community. (Table 1)

Table 1: Registered Members Who May Be Nominated as CRMC Members

MALES FEMALES MALES FEMALES

Kwame AhubleyA.A. AcheampongK. S. AttobrahNana GyasiPeter AsareSampson LarreStephen ArthurElder AmpiawStephen DonkorKwaku OwusuChristian AhubleyBismark Coffie

Florence BoaduGeorgina AmpongAugustina FrimpongEsi EyisahAvoka DorcasPaulina SamMonica AndohGrace DonkorComfort AttobrahMadam Yaa AkomahFaustina Okyere

Patrick OppongApam AnafoKwame OkyereAbdul MalikErnest AppiahAnthony BogyaKwadwo AframMohammed Arhin

Cecilia Apam Faustina OppongMariam MohammedHannah Appiah

BOGYAKROMATTOBRAKOM

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Step 4 Summarise and write the total number of the qual-ified persons per community or section on a flip chart to show at a glance, the number of qualified males and fe-males per community or section (Figure 3)

Step 5 Engage the participants to agree on the number of persons to be elected to form the CRMC.

munity or section B. The nominations may be seconded either by an individual or by consensus.

Step 6 Get the participants (only the eligible members as stipulated by the CREMA constitution) to agree on the to-tal membership of the CRMC and the male: female ratio.

Step 7 Given the summaries in step 3, decide on the num-ber of members to be elected from each of the qualified communities or sections and write them clearly against their respective communities or sections on a flip chart. Some communities may not qualify by reason of not satisfying the constitutional provisions regarding membership of a CRMC. For example, if no member of that community has registered as a key or core member of the CREMA.

Step 8 Using the decisions in step 6, decide on the male: female ratio per community or section taking into consid-erations the agreed ratio in the CREMA constitution and as explained in the second paragraph of activity 3.

Step 9 Use the product of step 2 and ask for nominations by gender• Invite nominations from the participants by taking the prod-

uct of step 6 into account. For example, take nominations for say community or section A and carry out the process to elect the person(s) before taking the nominations for com-

Step 10 Elect the nominees• There are no hard rules about the election process. Hence,

the election can be done by consensus, votes cast, or by consultations among the prospective nominees.

• Where for example, the number of male nominees is three and only two are needed, engage the participants to select the most preferred nominee by consensus. This can be done by asking the question- if you were to select only one person out of the three who would it be?. (In all cases, the participants are able to suggest such a nominee without much difficulty). Votes should be cast on the two others to select the second most preferred nominee.

• Where the participants find it difficult to come up with the most preferred nominee among the three and the atmo-sphere appears tense due to uncertainty about who to “eliminate”, the three nominees can be tasked to consult among themselves and come up with the two required. This strategy also works well in many cases, particularly among female nominees.

Step 11 Write the names of all the elected nominees against their respective communities or sections • This is done to confirm or raise objections to any of the

nominations that have been made.• Encourage the nominees to nominate one member to rep-

resent them at the CEC level.

Figure 3: Statistics of Registered Members per Community or Area

Figure 4: Nomination Exercise in a CREMA Community (Source: Codesult Network, 2017)

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ACTIVITY 4. ORGANISE A TWO-DAY WORKSHOP TO TRAIN THE NEWLY ELECTED CRMC MEMBERS AND INAUGURATE THE CRMCS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Step 1 Invite all the elected members of the of the CRMC to a workshop• Use various methods of communication and teaching and

learning such as audio visuals, brain storming, presenta-tions, group work and reporting back, and sharing of ex-periences and lessons by the participants etc to build the knowledge and skills of the members.

• Include in the areas of teaching and learning, team building and group dynamics, leadership, time management, inter cultural skills etc. These are to help improve governance and management skills of the members.

• Conduct specialist training in book keeping, accounting and other technical areas as and when necessary.

• At a point during the workshop, discuss and schedule the inauguration of the CRMCs at the respective communities.

• Charge the participants to go and organise for the inaugural ceremonies as scheduled.

• Monitor the organisation of the inaugural ceremonies to avoid disappointments and disruptions of schedule.

Step 2 Carry out the inauguration at agreed locations within the local communities• Outdoor the CRMC members at organised community

meetings or mini durbars by calling out the names of the members of the CRMC to assemble in front of the larger community to be acknowledged and recognised by the whole community. (Figure 6)

• Solicit support from the leadership of the community to congratulate the members and provide them with pieces of advise.

• Supply them with copies of the constitution and bye laws where necessary.

NB: T- shirts or badges may be produced to decorate the mem-bers during the inaugural ceremonies.

Figure 5: Poster of Elected CRMC Members Published at Vantage points within the Relevant Communities (Source: Codesult Network, 2017)

Step 12 Take passport sized photos of each of the nomi-nees for publicationThe CREMA constitution may stipulate that the members of the CRMC should be elected by registered members who have met certain requirements. However, once elected, the members represent the whole community. Therefore, the endorsement of the larger community needs to be obtained. In view of this, • Publish the photos and names of the nominees and the

communities they represent on a single poster. The person who will be nominated in step 11 to represent the CRMC on the CEC should also be shown on the poster.

• Indicate on the poster, the names and contact numbers of the persons to whom objections can be directed.

• State the deadline for submission of objections on the post-er.

• Print the posters and post them at vantage points in all the communities that form the CRMC, to give the general com-munity the opportunity to endorse or raise objections to any of the nominations. (figure 5)

• Where there are issues, appropriate steps should be taken to investigate them for resolution.

Figure 6: Inaugural Ceremony of a CRMC (Source: Codesult Network, 2017)

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ACTIVITY 5: SUPPORT INAUGURATION OF THE CEC

• The CREMA constitution would prescribe the number of persons that should constitute the core membership of the CEC. In some cases, the constitution may require that the CEC invite other community members who are not originally members of any of the CRMCs into the membership of the CEC.

Enhancing Women’s Representation On The CECIt is recommeded that provisions are made in CREMA consti-tutions to ensure equity in gender representation on the CEC.

NB: The provision in the CREMA constitution is in most cas-es, to ensure equity in gender representation on the CEC. For example, the constitution of the ASP CREMA stipulates that the maximum membership of the CEC should be 17 but the CRMCs are 11. Thus, when each CRMC nominates a member to the CEC (and these nominees are often mostly males) the

CEC leadership is expected to consult widely and nominate some more females (up to six 6) into the membership of the CEC. The integration of affirmative action (quota systems) into constitutional provisions of CREMAs is therefore very useful in bridging gender inequalities by supporting women’s participa-tion in decision making.

• Facilitate the reconstitution or the completion of the forma-tion of the CEC.

• Train the CEC members in leadership skills, group dymat-nics and team building etc.

CONCLUSION

This brochure provides guidelines to revamping or establishing community-based governance structures at the local level. The guidelines are not cast in marble and hence, may be adapted in different situations to strengthen and/or establish governance structures based on the local ways of representation. It is there-fore important to have a good understanding of the local situa-tion in order to achieve the purpose of the revamping exercise.

REFERENCES

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2. Buizer, M., Arts, B., & Kok, K. (2011). Governance, scale and the environment: the importance of recognising knowledge claims in transdisciplinary arenas. Resilience Alliance, Ecology and Society, XX(YY), ZZ

3. Dietz, T., Ostrom, E., & Stern, P. C. (2003). The struggle to govern the commons. Science, 302(5652), 1907. doi:10.1126/sci-ence.1091015

4. IUCN 2017 Brief on Upscaling Community Resource Management Areas as a Mechanism for REDD+ Implementation in Ghana.5. McGinnis, M. D. (2005). Costs and challenges of polycentric governance. Unpublished paper prepared for workshop on Analyzing

Problems of Polycentric Governance in the Growing EU, Humboldt University, Berlin, June (pp. 1-27). 6. Ostrom, E., & Nagendra, H. (2006). Insights on linking forests, trees, and people from the air, on the ground, and in the laboratory.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103(51), 19224 -19231. doi:10.1073/pnas.0607962103. 7. Plummer, R., & FitzGibbon, J. (2006). People matter: The importance of social capital in the co-management of natural resources.

Natural Resources Forum, 30(1), 51-62. doi:10.1111/j.1477-8947.2006.00157.x. 8. IUCN. (2017) Report on Multi Stakeholder Processes Towards Revamping Community Resource Management Committees (CRMCs)

and the CREMA Executive Committee (CEC) of the Achichire-Sureso-Pabaseman (ASP) CREMA in the Wassa Amenfi Landscape

Wildlife DivisionP. O. Box M239 Accra-Ghana+233 302 401210, 401227, 401216,+233 302 7010031 / 3 / 4+233 302 401249 (fax)info.wd@fcghana.org

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE (IUCN)GHANA PROJECT OFFICE

P. O. BOX GP 527 ACCRA- GHANA Tel +233 55 663 8763, +233 54 156 6408

www.iucn.org