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Monitoring local well-being in environmental interventions: a consideration of practical trade-offs

Palmer Fry, Benjamin N., Agarwala, Matthew, Atkinson, Giles ORCID: 0000-0001-6736-3074, Clements, Tom, Homewood, Katherine, Mourato, Susana ORCID: 0000-0002-9361-9990, Rowcliffe, J. Marcus, Wallace, Graham and Milner-Gulland, Eleanor Jane (2017) Monitoring local well-being in environmental interventions: a consideration of practical trade-offs. Oryx, 51 (1). pp. 68-76. ISSN 0030-6053

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Identification Number: 10.1017/S003060531500112X

Abstract

Within the field of environmental management and conservation, the concept of well-being is starting to gain traction in monitoring the socio-economic and cultural impact of interventions on local people. Here we consider the practical trade-offs policy makers and practitioners must navigate when utilizing the concept of well-being in environmental interventions. We first review current concepts of well-being before considering the need to balance the complexity and practical applicability of the definition used and to consider both positive and negative components of well-being. A key determinant of how well-being is operationalized is the identity of the organization wishing to monitor it. We describe the trade-offs around the external and internal validity of different approaches to measuring well-being and the relative contributions of qualitative and quantitative information to understanding well-being. We explore how these trade-offs may be decided as a result of a power struggle between stakeholders. Well-being is a complex, multi-dimensional, dynamic concept that cannot be easily defined and measured. Local perspectives are often missed during the project design process as a result of the more powerful voices of national governments and international NGOs, so for equity and local relevance it is important to ensure these perspectives are represented at a high level in project design and implementation.

Item Type: Article
Official URL: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJourna...
Additional Information: © 2015 Fauna & Flora International, © CC BY 4.0
Divisions: Geography & Environment
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences
Date Deposited: 15 Dec 2015 12:53
Last Modified: 17 Mar 2024 05:39
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/64708

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