The studies showed that decentralization reform run the risk of empowering local authorities without sufficiently strengthening intermediate-level institutions that are necessary for sound ecosystem management –such as river basin authorities or watershed networks. Local authorities environmental management-form logging to land use planning to pollution control-must be coordinated with neighboring jurisdictions and with intermediate institutions.
Institutions for resolving environmental disputes were weak or missing across case studies suggesting that decentralization reform have failed to address adequately this critical aspect of environmental management. Many reforms simultaneously strengthened local administrations responsibility for environmental management and for resolving environmental disputes, therefore creating more conflicts of interest.
Equity : Our study did not show how institutional and policy reform changed the distribution of poverty or access to natural resources . However, the cases did show several ways in which decentralization reform can be designed to give typically marginalized groups such as women-a greater say in official planning processes.
Targeted interventions to overcome local biases were helpful. For instance, programs that earmarked places for woman on committees and offered informal education to boost woman is capacity and confidence increased woman is say in local decision-making. Woman only discussion groups also encouraged woman to express their opinions publicly. Possibly a mix of similar measures could be used to bring other demographic groups into local decision-making.