A cooperative approach to collecting information on conservation practices from an initially uncooperative population
Excerpt
The cooperation of stakeholders is crucial in watershed evaluations where the necessary and accurate data for scientific analysis are obtainable only through voluntary participation. Furthermore, voluntary stakeholder participation is required for successful post-study adoption of scientific recommendations. To achieve this goal, a collaborative approach must be used, and the mechanism that serves as the intermediary between the stakeholders and the scientists must be efficient, conducive to the smooth exchange of information, and above all properly in place. Although such a collaborative approach may be very time consuming for all involved, it is often necessary to build trust for successful project completion (Sabatier et al. 2005).
This article summarizes the process used and successes achieved by the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service (UACES) in establishing stakeholder participation and collaborative information exchange as part of a Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) team effort in the Lincoln Lake watershed, Arkansas, a watershed where stakeholders were often leery of participating and sharing information. Such an effort was required for the success of the ongoing evaluation of best management practice (BMP) effectiveness in improving water quality, as well as for factors that influence the adoption of BMPs by farmers.
The multidisciplinary…
Footnotes
John H. Pennington, Michele A. Steele, and Katie A. Teague are county extension agents and Berni Kurz is county staff chair, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Ed Gbur is a professor at the Agricultural Statistics Laboratory, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Jennie Popp is an associate professor and Germán Rodríguez is a program technician in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness of Arkansas, University of Arkansas. Fayetteville, Arkansas. Indrajeet Chaubey is an associate professor and Margaret Gitau is a research associate, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. Mark A. Nelson is associate director, Arkansas Water Resources Center, Fayetteville, Arkanasas.
- © 2008 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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