Community engagement programs can help people collaboratively address local environmental concerns. However, some community-based management programs are more successful than others. Researchers have dedicated significant effort to understanding which factors predict a community program's level of success. This is a challenging task due to the complexity of community dynamics and the specificity of local environmental issues. To contribute to our understanding of community engagement, the authors of this paper examined which predictors of success were present among three New Zealand community-based water management projects. The results provide insights into what types of community engagement are most appropriate in agricultural contexts at the watershed (or catchment) scale, making it possible to carry out more effective programs.
Increasingly, intensive agricultural practices in New Zealand have led to water quality problems and damage to freshwater ecosystems. Community-based management of catchments—land areas from which rainwater drains into a river or lake—have been a popular response to this issue. This resulted from a shift in decision-making to local governments, combined with a widespread interest in engaging communities.
In 2014, one New Zealand land trust began three projects in three separate areas, designed to help communities manage their water quality. The projects relied upon communication and education efforts to improve the degree to which farmers adopt best practices for catchment health, e.g., managing nutrients so as to protect water quality. To investigate whether these projects were effectively providing farmers enough information and resources to adopt best practices, the researchers surveyed farmers about several potential barriers to (and enablers of) the projects' success. The researchers drew these barriers and enablers from existing literature, which consisted largely of theoretical and proposed models of community-based program effectiveness. Items appearing on the survey included the availability of relevant scientific information, quality of infrastructure, accuracy of public opinion regarding farmers, and appropriateness of government policies.
The researchers surveyed a total of 89 farmers (with similar numbers coming from each catchment area). This signifies a response rate of over 90%, meaning that the results represent nearly all farmers in each of the three catchments. The researchers administered questionnaires in person, asking respondents to rate several items according to how much they agreed or disagreed with a statement, or how positively or negatively they felt toward it.
The authors concluded that the barriers and enablers addressed by the project were indeed appropriate targets for communication and education efforts. On average, farmers used a neutral rating to describe the availability of science, information, and training to help them adopt best management practices for protecting water quality. This means that although some foundational resources do currently exist, more accessible information would help. Respondents also rated their confidence in water quality regulations as neutral, as opposed to feeling significantly negative or positive toward policies. Farmers reported feeling somewhat positive, on average, about the degree to which they had developed environmentally-conscious plans for their farms, and the extent to which there were leaders in their community who could help with implementation. On the other hand, respondents reported having low trust in public opinion, on average. This suggests that farmers felt misrepresented and misunderstood by the public, which the authors believe reduced farmers' incentives to preserve water quality.
Barriers may exist beyond those examined in this context. Further research could help identify these barriers. This study took place in New Zealand, and because of potential cultural, governmental, and environmental differences, the results may not reflect the reality of other communities. However, this type of study sets an example for how other community-based efforts could approach collecting baseline data, and understanding the needs of their target audience.
In the context of these three catchments in New Zealand, the authors recommend that community engagement efforts provide education about farming to residents to improve trust and public opinion, and that they help farmers communicate more effectively about their practices. More broadly, the authors suggest that community-based management projects gather data to form a strong understanding of key actors and their needs. Additionally, the authors suggest that future research should continue to explore predictors of community engagement success in different contexts.
The Bottom Line
<p>Community engagement efforts can lead to more effective management of local environmental issues. To add to our growing understanding of which factors make these efforts likely to succeed, the authors of this article surveyed farmers in three New Zealand communities. They found that although farmers felt that current engagement efforts were on their way to meeting needs for information, leadership, and regulation, there was little trust in public opinion. This represented a significant area for improvement, and emphasized the importance of assessing the needs of key actors in a community. The authors recommend that researchers continue to explore predictors of community engagement success, and that community projects incorporate similar baseline data into their strategies.</p>
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