The term develop sustainable development is not just about constructing infrastructure or launching social projects but also ensuring long term benefits for the communities. And the lowest effective way to achieve this is by fostering a sense of ownership among a local people because when individual and communities take responsibility for project they are more likely to maintain and protect them which lead to the lasting development. Therefore, this article explores the importance of ownership in long-term development, particularly in infrastructure and community based initiative.
UNDERSTANDING OWNERSHIP IN DEVELOPMENT
Here the ownership in development indicates every individual, communities or institutions actively participate in planning, implementing and maintaining projects. Which can take a different form
- Participation of community-people while engaging local people in decision making and project planning
- Building of capacity- By providing all the individual skills and training to sustain projects beyond external support
- Involvement of economic-By the purpose of development initiative they should be provided with creating employment and business opportunities
The time when community feel the sense of ownership they are more likely to value and sustain projects. Also reducing dependency on external organization.
THE ROLE OF OWNERSHIP IN SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE
We all human have this behavior of having sense of ownership or we always seek for it, while growing up I used to have shared room with my sister which made me somehow lazy about things going on in my surroundings or I would just wait for her to clean up the mess, I was lacking for things to hold my authority but when I went to high-school I got my own personal room which I decorated on my own and if anything’s would go wrong then immediately, I would fix it that’s how I got my insight on community development. For the economic growth of the country infrastructure project such as roads, water supply and hydropower plants are essential, however, without community involvement, due to poor maintenance and lack of accountability many projects fail. Ownership in infrastructure develop so many things which can be as follows:
- Better planning and site selection- The knowledge from the local people who live in community have the better understanding about the community who helps to identify the best location for projects, reducing risk like landslides and flooding.
- Regular maintenance and sustainability-when individuals form community starts to feel responsible for infrastructure, they take care of it ensuring a long term functionality.
- Disaster resilience- Nepal being prone to earthquakes and landslide is well known, that’s why community people have already preparedness crucial in maintaining infrastructure after disasters.
For example: road projects in rural area that involves local participation often last longer than those built without consulting the community. When local people contributes in the labor or financial resources, they are more like invested in project success.
OWNERSHIP IN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Ownership plays significance role in education, healthcare and economic growth not just only in infrastructure development. In social development community development enhances so many things such as
- Education- The schools that are established with community participation tend to have better management and student’s performance. locals also ensure that teachers are accountable and resources are well utilized.
- Health care services- health centers run by the community provide the better access to care, as locals take responsibility for managing facilities and spreading awareness.
- Entrepreneurship and job creation-when people are involved in or they have the ownership in local business or cooperatives, they contribute to economic stability and self-reliance.
For instance, community forestry in Nepal is the successful model where local group manage the forest resources. Because they have ownership, they protect forests while also generating income through sustainable use.
CHALLENGES TO OWNERSHIP AND LONG TERM DEVELOPMENT
Despite its benefits, it comes with sort of challenges
- Lack of awareness and training- even though they hold the accountability they have lack of awareness and training, knowledge and skills to manage projects independently.
- Dependency on external aid- when projects are fully funded by external agencies, locals might not feel sense of responsibility for sustaining them.
- Limited financial resources- due to economic constraints some community might fails or struggle to maintain infrastructure.
SOLUTIONS TO STRENGTHEN OWNERSHIP
To promote the ownership and also strengthen the long term development, the following strategies can be adopted:
- Empowering communities with leadership roles- By encouraging them in local decision making and governance.
- Providing training and capacity building- equipping people with skills to manage and maintain projects.
- Encouraging public-private partnership- in order to develop community for sustainable goal, engaging them with local business and organization.
CONCLUSION
Ownership is the foundation of the long term development. When community takes responsibility for the community development projects, they are more likely to maintain and sustain them. Whether in infrastructure, education, healthcare or economic development, fostering community with ownership or giving them accountability ensures that progress continues even after external supports ends. In order to sustain the sustainable development goals, government, organizations and communities must work together to create a sense of responsibility and active participation in every projects.
This article is prepared by Smritee Nepal
Member of