Local Politics of Forest Governance: Why NGO Support Can Reduce Local Government Responsiveness

Abstract

Concerned with the challenges of sustainable development, policy makers and scholars often urge nongovernmental organizations to increase their efforts to support governance of natural resources in developing countries. How does funding from external NGOs influence the responsiveness of local government policy to the sector-specific needs and policy preferences of local citizens? Using a unique longitudinal dataset from surveys of local governance actors in 200 municipalities in Bolivia and Guatemala from 2001 to 2007, we explore these questions in the context of local natural resource policy. We find preliminary support for the hypothesis that external NGOs gain disproportionate influence over local policy processes in forestry by donating to local governments, and that this influence "crowds out" the influence of local grassroots actors, leading to less responsive local governance as rated by councils of local citizens. However, political pressure on local government officials from organized local groups in the forestry sector counteracts this negative relationship. Although NGOs can contribute to technical capacity for local governments and are generally seen as supportive of decentralized and participatory governance, our findings suggest that NGOs exert political pressure on local governments in pursuit of their own policy goals, and that NGO support may sometimes steer local governments away from responding to the specific livelihood needs of local resource users. More generally, our findings underscore the importance of local political contexts in moderating the effects of NGO interventions.

Network Analysis of Actors and Policy Keywords for Sustainable Environmental Governance: Focusing on Chinese Environmental Policy

“…Among the components of civil society, environmental organizations that exercise the most significant influence on environmental issues mobilize the public with low awareness of the need for environmental protection as groups to support the reinforcement of environmental regulations [58][59][60]. Those actions apply pressure on the political system to actively solve environmental issues and perform its role as an entrepreneur of environmental regulations to repress corporate groups, the opponents of environmental policies, simultaneously.…”

Challenges and Prospects of Sustaining Donor-Funded Projects in Rural Cameroon

“…International donors channeled resources in some cases directly through local NGOs, but, in most cases, through government-specialized agencies by way of programs and projects. Donor funding therefore played an important role in this respect [3][4][5] as it was considered effective channels for development.…”

“…For more than five decades, developing countries have been the primary beneficiaries of donor-funded projects in a number of sectors including public health, agriculture, education, social and community development, and infrastructural development [5][6][7]. Despite the importance attached to donor-funded projects, a number of issues of concern have been raised in scientific and policy spheres.…”

WWF’s Green Business Model in Protected Area Conservation and Livelihoods Sustenance in Cameroon: The Need for a Shift in Approach?

“…International NGOs channeled funds through local NGOs and community groups in a bid to positively influence the conservation process. NGO funding therefore played an important role in the conservation of protected areas (Cooka et al, 2017). Consequently, both local and international NGOs gained recognition as important sources of funding and actors for nature conservation in developing nations.…”