Same Platform, Different Train: The Politics of Participation

Abstract

"This article is an analysis of the limited success of participatory efforts in forest management with a focus on India. What divides is often as important, if not more so, than that which is held in common. Even words and concepts whose meaning is often assumed by their users to be 'self-evident' may convey different meanings to different people at different times and in different places. For instance. forests' is a seemingly uncontroversial word used to describe a land cover category but its meaning is interpreted differently by different interest groups, thus resulting in heated discussions of what forests are and what they should be used for."