Community-Based Natural Resource Management Network (CBNRM Net): Resources, Dictionaries, Dictionaries background

CBNRM Net

The Community-Based Natural Resource Management Network

This Page contains background information on the Category Dictionaries and its constituent Groups, that is, the various languages that this Category contains.

CBNRM is an evolving field, its practitioners are separated by means of various barriers, and it is a field at the crossroads of several intellectual, scientific and practical approaches and pursuits to managing local natural resources in developing and transition economies. It follows that the CBNRM terminology to a large extent is borrowed, and that different people and groups - even those sharing the same mother tongue - are prone to using different terms that are more or less overlapping. CBNRM Net aims to present this evolving terminology, and contribute to arrive at consistency in terms and usage, especially across regions and languages. Thus, the definitions given are not cast in stone, and comments and suggestions are welcome.

The intention is to reach a certain degree of coherence in the case of key terms. At the same time, as several terms are borrowed from other intellectual and developmental contexts, pursuits and endeavors, we will, in several instances, perhaps be best served by definitions that are more open and flexible. This balancing approach to defining key terms supports a basic principle behind CBNRM Net, namely to create an open forum or space for dialogue between people engaged in very different aspects of CBNRM, using and producing the experiences, approaches and knowledge that, taken together, constitutes the broad CBNRM tapestry of knowledge that engages the CBNRM community of practice.

CBNRM is closely associated with English, and English is to a large extent the lingua franca of CBNRM. Other languages, both former colonial languages as well as local and indigenous languages, are developing CBNRM terminologies that reflect and embody the special cultural, historical and intellectual traditions that these languages are embedded in (while their cultures at the same time increasingly are becoming opened up to diffusion from English). Perhaps the best examples of this is French in parts of Africa, Portuguese in parts of Africa and South America, and Spanish in Latin America. The relevant CBNRM terminology in any one language is often very difficult to translate into another language, and as a result such translation is often an exercise in approximation (see Category Dictionaries). There are on-line tools that translate texts between a number of languages (see Page Help) with more or less success.

Realizing this, this Category deals with the issue of terminology and languages in the following way: Notes will try to make clear the relationship with one or more relevant English terms. Likewise, these English terms will include notes on the relationship with one or more relevant terms in other languages.

Translating terminology into other languages is often extremely difficult. This is, to a large extent, a result of the fact that terminology develops in specific cultural contexts and evolves over time. The translation of the term "community-based natural resource management" into French is a good example. There are basically two possibilities: (1) use an existing term and give it a new content, or (2) construct, as it were, a new term. Neither represent a perfect choice.

In the first case, the existing term(s) will often contain different meanings and ideas that one would like to disassociate oneself from (often the whole point of introducing a new piece of terminology is to coin a new approach or way of thinking about old issues). To take an example, the term "gestion des terroirs" is sometimes used as an equivalent of CBNRM. Although its meaning is rather different, some people have argued that this term should be retained as its use is so pervasive, for example in West Africa, and instead give it a new content. In an effort to give it a content that is closer to the meaning of "community-based natural resource management", the construction "Gestion communautaire des terroirs" has been proposed. This version may possibly simply confuse matters. This to a large extent has to do with "terroir" being a controversial notion.

In the second case, this can be done in two ways: either a term that tries to retain the basic sense of the content of the original term, or as a literal translation of the original term. Combinations of these two approaches are also possible. The fundamental risk in both cases is that the term may not be accepted: it may take a long time before the new term is accepted, and the new construct will often be longer and more complex than the original.

In the case of translating "community-based natural resource management" into French, the chosen approach involves constructing a new term that tries to retain the content of the original English term, while using elements of an existing French term. The result is, admittedly, a somewhat cumbersome French term.

In the case of dictionaries of languages like English, French, Portuguese and Spanish, a lot of the content has been provided by people that live and work in countries that formerly were colonies or otherwise under the domain of England, France, Portugal and Spanish. It is possible, indeed likely, that the colonial languages as practiced today in these places are evolving differently than in the 'home countries'. This should be taken into consideration when using these dictionaries.

In the case of some of the world's large languages, not necessarily in demographic as much as in geographic terms, including English, French, Portuguese and Spanish, there are special reasons why they are covered in these dictionaries. English is used throughout Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and is a special case, as it is fast becoming a standard across the world in inter-cultural communication. The development cooperation sector, including natural resource management and CBNRM, is a prime example (witness the fact that CBNRM Net is using English). Thus, it makes sense that a relatively large number of dictionaries include English. As for French, Portuguese and Spanish, they take on special importance given their role in colonial history. Today they are the first and/or second language for citizens in many countries that formerly were English, Portuguese and Spanish colonies, or otherwise administered by these countries (witness the role of French in West Africa, Portuguese in parts of Southern Africa and in Brazil, and Spanish in Latin America).

(1) all words are given in the singular, (2) all words are listed in small letters (but see point 3), (3) for terms that have acronyms the first letter in each abbreviated word is capitalized, and (4) the variable 'population' refer to numbers of first language speakers, if nothing else is mentioned.