Determinants of Community Consensus in Small Scale Hydropower Development Project.pptx by Rajendra Ojha
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This study investigates community consensus in small-scale hydropower development, focusing on the Bhujung community in Nepal. It outlines the principles of consensus decision-making and highlights the importance of including diverse community voices while addressing various socio-economic issues. The research aims to uncover the role of consensus in navigating multi-ethnic dynamics and providing sustainable solutions to community challenges, with recommendations for fostering participatory planning in development projects.
Determinants of Community Consensus in Small Scale Hydropower Development Project.pptx by Rajendra Ojha
- 1. DETERMINANTS OF COMMUNITY CONSENSUS IN SMALL SCALE HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (A CASE STUDY OF BHUJUNG HYDROPOWER PROJECT) RAJENDRA OJHA ASSOCIATE COORDINATOR GLOBAL COLLEGE INTERNATIONAL 2022
- 2. BACKGROUND • Community consensus can be explained as an engagement of people living within that particular community commonly trying to solve their own development related problems. (In short it is to the people, by the people and for the people of that community) • Strong community consensus and participation can only be possible through training and mobilizing awareness in need of community participation. • Community Consensus adopts certain principles of consensus decision-making like: seeking agreement, inclusiveness, cooperation, and participatory approaches etc. • Consensus decision-making is based on the idea that citizens should have complete but reasonable control over their own lives
- 3. DEFINITIONS BY DIFFERENT SCHOLARS • Consensus is an individual instrument to express their core differences - Jack Redd (REDD, 2001) • Consensus is only possible to execute within a group of people who have faced common problems at the same time and same situation. however any problems or ideas discussed within that community should be trustworthy, impartial as well as non- intentional (panday, 2011).
- 4. MAJOR STEPS OF COMMUNITY CONSENSUS There are four major steps that should be followed in order to create a win-win situation in the early stage of community consensus. these steps are given below: ● Understand and find out the major grass root problem of the community. ● Guide both the groups (people of that community and your project partner) to create a good environment in the community for the development of consensus. ● Be neutral towards people following any culture, ethics, races, caste, class, ideology and political parties. ● Know the key role player of that community before projecting the developmental solution or any kinds of entrepreneurial activities.
- 5. PROBLEMS OF THE STUDY 1. What are the common community problems in any project development? 2. What are the motivational factors to go through the process of consensus? 3. Is there any relevance in resolving the disputes between traditional indigenous mechanisms to community consensus or not? 4. How does community consensus function in the community where there exists multi-ethnicity?
- 6. Objective of the study Overall objective of this study is to discover the position and role of community consensus within individuals of different ideologies, classes, castes and genders in a region where there are abundant developmental problems and the catch of government is week to solve those problems. However specific objectives of this review study are as follows: 1. To study the need of community consensus according to the national laws, policies and practices in Nepal. 2. To sketch out the components of community consensus in the development projects including Hydropower in Nepal. 3. To analyze the determinants of community consensus in small hydropower projects.
- 7. RATIONAL OF THE STUDY • Although consensus is mostly concluded with positive constructive decisions, sometimes it may end with some destructive decision. • No matter how it ends the main motive is that almost all (if not at least 90 %) the population living within that community should agree and benefit from that rational decision made within the community by people of that community. • However, consensus should be truly democratic but not based on dogmatic socio-political ideologies and actions. • As ideas are made through consensus, nobody in that society is left behind to get both good as well as bad fruits of those development activities that they have conducted through consensus.
- 8. LIMITATION OF STUDY • Although the subject matter of this research is too comprehensive, it was carried out perfectly within a limited time frame and resources. Due to limited time not much study is done regarding historical background of community consensus of Bhujung community. With the change in the political scenario of Nepal, this research is only focused after the period of 2007, after getting the identity of a secular nation by Nepal and Nepalese people.
- 10. LITERATURE REVIEW • Methodology Used: Qualitative and Descriptive form • Literature analysis of this study was done focusing on theoretical analyses of all the existing social phenomena that has link with community consensus. • Review was done looking at the three macro-factors where consensus decision-making is dependent to. 1. Situation of participation and decision making 2. Opinion based consensus 3. National policies (Note: These factors are independent variables, where as consensus decision- making is dependent variable.)
- 11. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Social system theory of Talcott Parsons: Social System is a network of interactions between actors. This theory supports the collective action the certain group of people interact with each other for the collective benefits in making consensus decision (S.Turner, 2005). Motivation Theory: Focuses on physiological needs that are usually taken as the starting point for motivation theory are the so-called physiological drives. The safety needs one individual seeks the safety either creating shelter or developing the self-defense skills. There are at least five sets of goals, which we may call basic needs. These are briefly physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization. System theory and management: Managers are needed to convert the disorganized resources of men, machines, and money into a useful and effective enterprise. management is the process whereby these interrelated resources are integrated into a total system for objective accomplishment. In group work scattered human, social, economic capital are united together and invested for the attainment of the shared benefit.
- 12. CONTINUE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Group Development Theory: A collective, interdependent organism is the final outcome of the process of group development. During this stage the leader can take a less active role and allow the group considerable autonomy. Member’s interdependence, flexible approaches to task accomplishment, commitment to self-assessment and appropriate adjustment or adaptation readily occurs (Tuckman, 1965).
- 13. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This research has adopted a case study method and followers both descriptive as well as explorative (analytical) design. Rather than using sampling patterns to test a small number of variables, this study involves comprehensive inspection of a consensus- building of the bhujung community. People of this community were also asked about major culture and religion of this community as cultures and religions of the community also have indirect impact on the way of making decisions which directly impacts the collective decision-making processes and strategy of that community. Primary data: FGD, KII, household survey, environment analysis and personal interviews Secondary data: existing literature review
- 14. RESEARCH STUDY SITE ANALYSIS • As this research is based on case study, white energy (hydropower) is taken as a major component of this research study, considering it as best entrepreneurial sector in Nepal to boost up its economy. • Site location: the upper midim khola hydropower project is located at kwholasorhar rural municipality of lamjung district of Gandaki province. • Economic activities: agriculture is the main occupation of the people living in this community. About 55.6 % (23 hhs) are dependent on agricultural sources, while remaining households (HH) are dependent on other sources like foreign employment (5 hhs, 11.1%). Similarly about (9 hhs) 22.2% of the population are engaged in both seasonal agricultural activities as well as manual labor work activities like carrying heavy bags of different necessary material, constructions and so on. (Field survey results, 2018)
- 15. CONTINUE… • According to the survey carried out, it is found that most of the people living in this community are farmers or are engaged in any kinds of agricultural activities in one or other way. It is likely that about 90% of consensus decision-making is done by these people focusing economic activities that revolve around agricultural activities. • So, although the entrepreneurs has some ideas to generate clean energy, they cannot execute the project without having the knowledge of sustainable agricultural ideas to give them alternative offers as a custody. • They should have best backup plans for agriculture too in this area.
- 16. COMMUNITY ISSUES AND DEMANDS Even though group discussion in this community was focused more on production of white energy (hydropower), different issues were aroused regarding other development sectors that are directly or indirectly concerned with productions of hydropower electricity. Most of the issues like education, health facilities along with agricultural entrepreneurship were regarded as major issues by every people of the community during the discussion. So it is worthy to state that any organization engaged in these kinds of planning and project developmental works can benefit socio-economically by creating any project keeping the following issues in their development agendas pre-hand so that they should not have to invest extra time, budget and resources as these would already be part of their main project.
- 17. IMPACT ANALYSIS • Long-term Positive Impact: The positive impact of this primary research study is that this study has come up with the idea that each and every development agency should come up with a secondary mini- project of development fields matching the working areas of their major project that is focused on the socio-cultural needs of that community. • Weakness: However, this study may not be applicable for those communities in the long run who focus more on politically biased agendas while creating consensus as it may not give practical sustainable outputs both for the project holders as well as people of that community.
- 18. CONCLUSION • The best strategy to execute community consensus in the society by any development or project based organizations is to look after basic community needs as well as factors influencing the path of community consensus while undertaking any project based developmental activities. • At the time of community consensus factors like: participation and decision making along with opinion based (focused) consensus strategy should be focused more relating it with current national policies that the specific project associated country possesses at the period of the project execution. • In the case of Nepal; community hospitals (Community Health Care Organizations) and community forestry have been set as the best examples of projects executed under community though consensus decision-making processes to some extent. However very low inducements have been taken in the field of community consensus regarding health issues compared to forestry. • Although consensus is the alternative module of up-down planning strategy many nations with bureaucracy and weak government like Nepal have failed to create an open environment for the process of consensus decision- making.
- 19. RECOMMENDATIONS The following recommendation are made on the basis of the research: ● The study recommends to conduct a pilot survey of the community demographic structure, Cultures, traditions, religions, and socio-political structure through a dummy project that acts like a way to get information and situations of that community and local people’s attitude about the Project. Even though the pilot survey through execution initial of a dummy project consumes Some budget, however it reduces the future risk of real project failure due to local community obstacles. ● The study suggests that the saga mechanism system should be followed up to monitor and control common problems of the community until and unless the common problem is nullified properly. ● Social, anthropological and psychological study of the indigenous cultures as well as religions of that specific community should be done before the execution of any new entrepreneurial or development based projects in that community. Sometimes even if the project is technically and financially feasible the local people may not give positive consensus decisions if that project goes against their indigenous cultures, tradition and religion.
- 20. ● It is suggested to allocate budget for local community beneficiary development activities to address issues that would likely arise at the time of focus group discussion, community negotiation and the local issues settlement. ● This study suggests to be flexible in dealing with local community stakeholders, to change working strategy and leave some scope to modify the executive ideas of the project accordingly. The project moving strategies as well as execution modalities of the project may be changed after the negotiation settlement. ● It is suggested to the project holders to provide training related to work safety, work ethics, criminal law, labor law, and concerned acts to the workers who are engaged in the project of national or international investors. This also helps the community to gain some ideas to create and make consensus decisions based on the current legal scenario of the nation as well as projects, more relevantly if it is based on private entrepreneurship. ● It is necessary to know the indigenous cultural history and religious ideology of the people living in that community where our business project is going to start and make a certain change in flavor and working strategy of our project as sometimes our settled project may go against their cultural or religious ethics. In this condition they may give negative consensus decisions for us and our projects.
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