The role of consensus building and conflict resolution in development has undergone several key changes over the last three decades but remains closely associated with natural resource management (NRM). As development stakeholders become better aware of the complexity of NRM and its relationship to poverty, the purpose and approach of consensus building and participatory planning has evolved to reflect new knowledge and changing objectives.

Recent approaches to consensus building for NRM utilise the joint-identification of development opportunities and attempt to develop social and institutional relationships that might outlive projects and external facilitation.

Participatory Action Plan Development (PAPD) draws together several contemporary approaches to livelihoods and local development - in particular issues relating to heterogeneity and the meaning of 'community' and notions of social and political capital.

PAPD helps design local initiatives that cross-cut the interests of all stakeholders and joint-planning means that local stakeholders actively engage with technical partners and political representatives, making the process legitimate to the public. Planning is framed in relation to social, technical, economic, political and sustainability (STEPS) criteria and viability at all stages.

Since 2001, PAPD has been applied in the context of disaster risk reduction and emergency preparedness (Bangladesh), food security and conflict (North Darfur, Sudan), land rights (Peru) and sustainable environmental management for biodiversity (Bangladesh). There are three basic scenarios where the approach has particular relevance:

Remote areas often lack political capital or sufficient access to formal institutions for support. PAPD first identifies legitimate, pre-existing, informal institutions and develops new partnerships and plans with technical service providers and government stakeholders.

Peri-urban settings represent a complex range of competing and often powerful interests and stakeholders but it is possible to apply PAPD principles to negotiate and plan actions that cross-cut interests.

Conflict associated with NRM must be considered in relation to historic and socio-political factors but PAPD has been modified to relieve immediate development constraints and develop dialogue between distinct livelihoods groups.

We provide a range of support to facilitators of consensus building and participatory planning including advice on design, monitoring and documentation.