Engaging the Local Community in Participatory Resource Management Through Learning: The Experience from Langkawi Island, Malaysia

Abstract

The role and importance of education and learning as an effective way to ensure a participatory approach in natural resource management and conservation has received considerable attention in recent years. On Langkawi Island, the formation of cooperative community resource management, Komuniti Pengurusan Sumber Perikanan (KPSP), or, formerly, fishermen economic groups, Kumpulan Ekonomi Nelayan (KEN), in 2001 is a significant attempt to emphasise the value of local involvement in natural resource management. This article aims to examine the importance of local community engagement in resource management through participation in selected fishing communities on the island. To this purpose, concepts from transformative learning theory are applied to understand how interactions among adults, through their participation in resource management, can promote learning and social change. The findings indicate a number of motivators and challenges to education, such as opportunities for dialogues, leadership and changes in behaviour, that occur at the community level. In conclusion, this study concurs that active local participation in resource management would allow members of the community to learn about natural resources and that such learning can lead to concrete actions on the ground towards sustainable solutions. Therefore, further research must focus on improving the forms of local participation in resource management to provide space for more and more effective education.