Research Article

Diversity of Perceptions on REDD+ Implementation at the Agriculture Frontier in Panama

Table 5

Key group characteristics needed for success that were mentioned by the respondents of OCA during phase three.

Key characteristicsDetailsQuotes representing the majority of the comments

Leadership
(i) Leaders and motivators(i) “Leadership is a very important part of an association, since there is always people that need to motivate one another, organize projects, and lead the meetings” (respondent 2).

External support
(i) Multiple sources (government, NGOs, international)
(ii) Flexible, accessible, and long-term accompaniment
(iii) Capacity building and support:
 (a) Social capital
 (b) Technical
 (c) Administration and management
 (d) Legal
 (e) Financial
(i) “It is very important to learn how to work in groups” (respondent 7).
(ii) “We received a lot of support from regional NGOs, governmental programs, and funds from international organizations. Without this support, we would never have succeeded in forming a group and realizing projects” (respondent 1).
(iii) “We only had to call them for any technical or legal questions and they were coming directly” (respondent 2).

Motivation
(i) Constant motivation of members
(ii) Multiple project opportunities
(iii) Dynamism
(iv) Generate results
(i) “You always have to give a group resources and projects, with the ultimate goal to produce and motivate members” (respondent 5).

Vision
(i) Main objectives and vision for the future shared by the whole group(i) “Many people would like to join the group, but it is important that they share our vision. For example, we aim at protecting the environment, and members cannot deforest or use chemicals” (respondent 4).

Rules
(i) A system of written rules that are democratically elaborated and approved(i) “Written and internal rules are essential in a group. For example, if someone does not assist meetings, he can pay a fine or simply be expelled from the group” (respondent 1).

Administration capacity
(i) Recognition as a legal entity
(ii) Money management
(iii) Reporting
(i) “It is important to strongly manage the group and the money. At the beginning, we did not know how to report or ask for funding” (respondent 2).

Provision of benefits
(i) Individually distributed
(ii) Clear and shortterm
(i) “We have the advantage of offering rapid benefits directly on the farms of the members” (respondent 6).

Communication(i) Regular meetings
(ii) Clarity and transparency for all members on projects, finance, challenges, and opportunities
(i) “There is always a need to meet in order to share information and go forward with new projects. Communication between members makes an organization successful” (respondent 7).