The WaterBlog

Formal or functional? Can committees work?

By Esmee Mulder (MetaMeta) Formal or functional? Can committees work? Reflecting on community-based natural resource management in Northern Kenya Committees and structured groups form a major part of community-based development approaches and decentralized governance systems. In the water sector there are Water Resource User Associations (WRUAs), in natural resources there are Natural Resource Management Committees (NRMCs), in pastoral landscapes there are Grazing Committees (GCs), and in women-enterprises there are organized women groups with at least the position of a chair, secretary, and treasurer. The rational is that if there is a well identified entity in a community with clear roles, it is easier to work together with such groups to implement projects and govern at local scale. These groups are often the “beneficiaries” to NGO projects and receive capacity building trainings, or participate in workshops. It helps with the gender quota too, ensuring there is: (1) an equal gender balance in newly formed groups, (2) that at least X-amount of… Continued