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RESEARCH ARTICLE: Co-Management of Natural Resources: Opportunities for and Barriers to Working with Citizen Volunteers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2006

Ryan Plummer  and
Susan M. Arai
Ryan Plummer
Affiliation:
Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Susan M. Arai
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
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Abstract

Co-management is an innovative approach for managing the natural environment and providing opportunities for outdoor recreation. It combines the efforts of government agencies legally responsible for environmental quality with those of citizens and interest groups using such resources. This article documents the experiences gained from a co-management process involving the Tine River (a pseudonym) corridor in Ontario. The analysis focuses on revealing factors that fostered opportunities and presented barriers to the voluntary nature of the process. Sharing common objectives, the presence and characteristics of a network, and willingness to share information appear to create opportunities for continued involvement. Different perceptions of intent, particularly between nongovernment and government participants, and failure to fulfill commitments, appear to destroy opportunities for involvement by citizens. Implications from this study are particularly relevant to government agencies, which are identified in this particular case as being responsible for creating significant barriers to this new mode of operation through both past and current actions. Recommendations are made for environmental professionals to foster opportunities and limit barriers to working with volunteers in pursuing co-management.

Environmental Practice 7:221–234 (2005)

Type
FEATURES & REVIEWS
Information
Environmental Practice , Volume 7 , Issue 4 , December 2005 , pp. 221 - 234
Copyright
© 2005 National Association of Environmental Professionals

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