SYSTEMIC EVALUATION OF COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES

Abstract

Community environmental management (CEM) is increasingly seen as a solution to complex environmental issues facing regulatory authorities. Little is written in the literature about how CEM programmes should be evaluated given the complex relationship between community participation and environmental outcomes. CEM programmes have much potential, but the lack of evidence-base means that their role in resource management is not necessarily well understood. This paper reports on action research that developed and trialled a systemic CEM evaluation methodology that blends three evaluation paradigms: stakeholder, goal-based and organisational.