Bayelsa State - Community Selection

LENF carried out extensive research for its selection of communities in Bayelsa and Cross River States. Essentially, communities were selected according to the following criteria:

• Community cluster containing not more than five settlements

• Linguistic, ethnic and political cohesion

• Significant natural resources

• Functioning community organisations

• Limited previous exposure to community development programmes

Various techniques were used in the selection process. Desk research involved the compilation of existing information on Bayelsa and Cross River States from written sources and from people with previous experience of working in the regions. The areas of focus were:

• Participatory Techniques

• Significant natural resources relevant to the livelihood of the people

• The level of biodiversity (plants, animals, birds)

• Presence of endangered and threatened species

• Traditional conservation methods

• Functioning community organisations

• Linguistic and ethnic cohesion

• Accessibility

• Appraisal techniques within the communities

• Stakeholder meetings

Stakeholder meetings were important as they involved the many groups of people and individuals with an interest in the community. The co-operation of other NGOs, Local Government Areas (LGAs), private companies, social and political organisations has been invaluable.

Participatory techniques were vital to gaining historical and social information about the villages. Diaries, village stories and newspapers provided a fundamental insight into the community itself. LENF's research involved all the significant groups that made up each community, for example women, children, youths, hunters and fishermen. Meetings with the various groups have enabled the Living Earth team to obtain more information about the communities and to interact within them, giving the programme staff a greater awareness of the tasks that lie ahead.