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The paper presents a modified Venn diagram aimed at local communities who can use it to conduct simple basic minimum needs (BMN) assessments. The Venn diagram is used with a range of other PRA techniques. It enables villagers to identify perceived basic minimum needs, and assess their relative importance, as the first stage in priority setting. Symbols are collected or drawn to represent each identified need, with an additional symbol to represent the village. The symbols are placed by participants in relation to the village in order of importance. The further away the symbol is from the village, the less important it is. This diagram then generates discussion. The paper offers some of the authors' experiences and lessons learned through the use of the diagram. One lesson is that communities are not homogenous units, so different groups have different needs.

This issue of Natural Resource Perspectives from ODI (Overseas Development Institute) considers the role of æconflict management assessment in community-based natural resource projects. The importance of conducting an assessment of the potential for conflict and its management in relation to a project intervention is stressed, and an assessment framework described. Within this framework the advantages of managing conflict through a consensual æwin-winÆ process of stakeholder negotiation are discussed. The following policy conclusions are made. Interventions to assist in the management of conflict within community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) should be preceded by a æconflict management assessment (CMA). This assessment should consider: (a) whether the conflict is likely to overwhelm the existing customary, institutional and legal approaches to conflict management, and if so whether it is appropriate to try to strengthen these; (b) whether, if the conflict is left alone, new conflict management mechanisms will organically materialise within an acceptable time-frame; and (c) whether the long-term benefits of allowing the conflict to transform itself into a positive force for social reform are outweighed by the short-term costs. Interventions for improved conflict management should be guided by an overall strategy which considers the full range of management options. Capacity building is a critical component of effective conflict management and a process of stakeholder negotiations is where the most creative and durable solutions will be found. Two factors support consensual æwin-winÆ negotiations as an effective strategy for managing conflicts in CBNRM: (a) the multi-stakeholder nature of such conflicts; and (b) the common ground that exists for sustaining renewable natural resources. Implementation of an overall strategy of conflict management will need to be periodically monitored to ensure that new external forces are neutral to the conflict, and that either a ædo-nothingÆ strategy is having the expected impact, or that the commitments embodied in a negotiated agreement are implemented in full and are effective.

Exploratory participatory rapid appraisal (PRA) was undertaken with communities and ethnic groups living close to Waza National Park (Waza NP), Cameroon in order to assess the depth of the level of conflict between livestock and wild predators. Information generated concerned local ecological knowledge and perceptions of damages caused by predators to livestock. The authors concluded that the people-predator conflict is serious in areas around Waza NP. Local ecological knowledge varied according to the placement of the settlement, with some settlements having a detailed understanding of their immediate environment. Finally, the authors propose that repetition of the same exercise and triangulation of data are important in order to overcome the biases and contradictions found in quantitative data.

The thesis of this paper is that 'our' (professionals', scientists', outsiders') behaviour and attitudes are a key missing link for good agricultural science. Unless they are confronted and transformed, as part of a new definition of professionalism, the agriculture of small farmers will not achieve its potential, and the needs of many of the food-insecure of the world will not be met. The argument, set in the context of agricultural science and scientists, has implications also for other development professions concerned with the diversity and complexity of human lives and livelihoods.

Indigenous people and local communities (ILSs) are struggling to defend their rights over land and other resources they have traditionally used and over traditional knowledge they have developed over generations.  They experience outsiders such as mining organisations being given rights without any reference to them, and receive few benefits from the commercial use of their crops or knowledge.  Two righs-based tools – community protocols (CPs) and free, prior informed consent (FPIC) are being used to help claim indigenous rights and negotiate agreements in various biodiversity contexts.  This issue of PLA draws on a range of experiences of using these tools, the lessons learnt and ways to maximise the benefits of their use. Some 17 articles are divided into five parts: setting the scene – research partnerships and ABS from the perspective of communities; institutional innovations for FPIC and benefit-sharing; community protocols for genetic resources and ABS; community protocols and FPIC – mining, protected areas and forest partnerships, and tips for trainers.

This short paper reports on the use of browse ranking in southern Zimbabwe. Two types of ranking were conducted. First, a simple scoring of a list of all available trees in the area was carried out. The results showed that the livestock owners' rankings tallied closely with quality assessments based on chemical analysis. Next, a more focused matrix ranking explored a few key species against a range of criteria. In terms of overall preference, early shooting was the most important criterion, followed by the importance of dry leaves as fodder. The paper concludes that ranking exercises can provide high quality information quickly and effectively, and can therefore be useful planning tools for helping to design fodder improvement programmes with herd owners.