The influence of group maturity on community-based environmental management in Kenya

Decentralized environmental management is a widespread conservation strategy in Africa, yet a better understanding of how community-based programs evolve is critical to success. We conducted 10 focus groups to assess how stakeholder groups in community-based conservancies mature with time, comparing two older, more established conservancies with three younger ones. We tested a Group Maturity Model to determine how conservancy age relates to group characteristics, including worldview, internal processes, external links, and lifespan. Conservancies changed over time, with older programs having higher maturity scores than younger programs. Stakeholder maturity scores within groups did not differ, yet qualitative differences among conservancies revealed important developmental elements for community-based programs. Our results suggest ways to use the Group Maturity Model to facilitate environmental management evaluation. Community-based environmental management projects can use group maturity evaluation to identify potential interventions for enhancing program efficacy.