ABSTRACT
Over the past three decades, participatory natural resource management has undergone a significant transformation. Originally conceived as an innovative, groundbreaking philosophy and methodology (Chambers 1997), it has more recently been subject to accusations of tyrannizing those it is supposed to empower (Cooke and Kothari 2001), despite being mainstreamed in the world of international development. Indeed, no well-intentioned development project today would be given the green light without having some participatory component in its programming (Cornwall and Brook 2005). In situations where natural resource management is a key aspect of project activities, this rise to institutionalization has also taken place in parallel with genuine policy changes in resource governance at global, national and local levels.
