Overview

Supra-village natural resource management (NRM) issues and conflicts identified during the PLLA (February 1999) and the decentralization of NRM decision-making responsibilities to the Commune-level require that the skills and infrastructure to deal with them are available in the community. Such a decision-making structure has not previously existed in contemporary Mali. SANREM WA has sought to fill this void by facilitating the creation and developing support for a prototype commune-level NRM advisory committee. Creation of a representative commune-level committee serves as an effective communications and advisory bridge between SANREM program activities and the present and future decision-makers at the supravillage level, as well as a forum for discussing and planning for NRM and resolving supra-village conflicts involving

NRM. A Natural Resource Management Advisory Committee (NRMAC) constituted of representatives from the ten villages in the Commune of Madiama (NRM user groups and committees, and World Bank NRM Project village committees) was established on 10 October 1999. The underlying foundations to ensure that this committee can become a viable media for transmitting science-based information on NRM and NRM conflict management are being established: (1) four Holistic Management and Conflict Resolution

workshops have been conducted for SANREM CRSP-West Africa collaborating partners (IER, regional NGOs, deconcentrated government service providers, and NRMAC representatives); (2) NRM technologies have been tested in collaboration with village NRM user groups (WAF 99-07); and (3) benchmark biophysical and economic data are being adapted for use in decision-maker models (WAF 99-03, -04, -07). The baseline Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) questionnaire and household sampling framework were finalized in August 1999. Survey interviewers were trained and the questionnaire pretested in October 1999. Data collection was completed by December 1999 and a report submitted in February 2000. In April 2000, a half-time CARE/Djenne agent was hired and assigned to facilitate the institutional training and development of the NRMAC.