A review of tools for incorporating community knowledge, preferences and values into decision making in natural resources management

The authors survey and evaluate selected participatory tools that have been proven effective in natural resources management and research during our extensive experience with forest communities. They first establish a framework for analysis by identifying a set of criteria for evaluating each tool. Next the authors provide a brief description of each tool, followed by an evaluation and comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of all the tools examined and how well they can be adapted to diverse contexts. They also provide suggestions for avoiding common pitfalls. Their findings suggest..