Forest resources share attributes with many other resource systems that make difficult their governance and management in a sustainable, efficient and equitable manner. Destruction or degradation of forest resources is most likely to occur in open-access forests where those involved, or external authorities, have not established effective governance. Conventional theories applied to forest resources presumed that forest users themselves were incapable of organizing to overcome the temptations to overharvest.

Water scarcity became a common phenomenon in Ethiopia with drought frequency of at least once in three years while the country owns a large irrigation potential that should be exploited sustainably. Various national and international institutions are currently engaged in developing small scale irrigation (SSI) schemes for poverty alleviation.

Jin Jokwi Simon, the provincial chief for water and sanitation in North West Cameroon, explaining that irrigated agriculture may soon raise the issue of water rights in the province.

This booklet is designed to help people interested in working with small groups (usually communities or groups within communities) to reach their goals. It has been written, building first on the global literature on community based management of forests and other natural resources; secondly, on a base of experience catalyzing collective action within communities in more than 30 communities in 11 countries, using the approach called “Adaptive Collaborative Management” (ACM); and thirdly, through experience trying to catalyze collective action in two communities in Sumatra.