Triangulation in participation: Dynamic approaches for science-practice interaction in land-use decision making in rural China

Abstract

A B S T R A C TLand use decision making requires knowledge integration from a wide range of stakeholders across science and practice. Many participatory methods and instruments aiming at such science-practice interaction have been developed during the last decades. However, there are methodological challenges, and little evidence neither about the methodological applicability and practicability under diverse socio-political conditions nor about their dynamics. The objective of this paper is to offer some insights on the design and implementation of reasonable science-practice interaction. The Chinese-German project SURUMER (Sustainable rubber cultivation in the Mekong region) served as a case study with the aim of developing sustainable land use strategies for rubber cultivation in southwest China. A triangulation of methods tailor-made for every specific stakeholder group allows the gradual deepening and broadening of participation in problem definition, knowledge generation, development of applicable solutions and implementation. The composition of methods should be reflected on and adjusted to the communication demands of specific stakeholder groups during project phases. It is important to invest in trust-building and allow time and space for the adaptation of approaches, especially in communities where participation is not a tradition.

Holistic competence orientation in sustainability-related study programmes: lessons from implementing transdisciplinary student team research in Colombia, China, Mexico and Nicaragua

“…Since the local knowledge represents one of the most important ways of knowing in systems of small-scale agriculture (Munyua and Stilwell 2013), it is relevant to highlight farmers´ participation; nevertheless, they decided for themselves how intensively they may participate (Wang et al 2018). Most importantly, they need to be able and willing to engage in the joint formulation of the problem, objective and expected results of the study (Elzinga 2008).…”

“…Whatever the decision of practitioner partners regarding the level of their participation, the research team needs to respect their readiness to do so. This resulted in diverse models of collaboration that in any case need to consider the capacities of local actors and users of the results (Wang et al 2018). The latter, in turn, needed to accept that the study project has a second-educational-purpose, too, as stipulated by Fiege (2012).…”

Communication processes in intercultural transdisciplinary research: framework from a group perspective

“…Participants say things that are "politically correct" in an official setting such as a workshop, whereas interviews seem more private and personal. Under such circumstances triangulation of information is important (Wang et al 2018). The regular facilitated discussions between researchers and practitioners proved to be a strong tool that allowed both sides to fully express their opinions and promoted exchange, thereby enhancing mutual understanding and learning.…”

Assessing Hydrological Ecosystem Services in a Rubber-Dominated Watershed under Scenarios of Land Use and Climate Change

“…Erosion and water quantity were among the most relevant topics for the stakeholders in the SURUMER project [68]. We used InVEST (Version 3.3.3, The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA, [12]) to model water yield and sediment export under the land use and climate change scenarios outlined in the previous sections.…”