Project Title
"Tracking Social Capital Outcomes and Sustainability of Local Policies in Natural Resources Management"

Project Goal
Improved governance of natural resources and reduced natural resource conflict resulting from the strengthening of community skills and knowledge, leadership capacity, and motivation to formulate and implement community by-laws for improved natural resource management (NRM).

Project Purpose
Performance and conditions for improved environmental governance (social capital, natural resource by-laws and local policy institutions) and its impact on technology adoption and NRM innovations are understood through action-based learning.

Project Rationale
Social capital is an important asset upon which poor people draw in pursuit of their livelihood objectives for increasing economic opportunities, adopting and managing technologies, improving natural resources management NRM and enabling successful policy interventions. Social capital has the characteristic of a public good, with potential impact on natural resource governance and policy if recognized and strengthened. Its reinforcement and continued deployment enables improved and more equitable management of natural resources. Based on the realization that social capital can be created and strengthened by stimulating an interactive process of identification of alternatives, discussion, contestation and decision-making, this project was conceived to strengthen the role of social capital in improving natural resources management through participatory learning processes and policy formulation. The project was implemented in Kabale District, in the southwestern highlands of Uganda.

Project Nature
Non CGS project

Participating Countries and Institutions
Uganda: CIAT, Kabale District Local Government, NARO, NRI (UK)

Duration and Status
Three years (completed)

Source of Funding
DfID