Grassroots environmental action

de Dharam P. Ghai, Jessica M. Vivian

Managing resources sustainably on the local level is essential for achieving the global goal of sustainable development. The combined impact of the small-scale activities - either constructive or destructive - undertaken by vast numbers of individuals will determine the fate of many resources and ecosystems, particularly in the Third World. The importance of people's participation for sustainable development has recently become increasingly acknowledged, yet there is little understanding of the multiple dimensions that such participation involves. While historically attention has largely focused on ways to persuade local communities to participate in externally initiated environmental projects, experience has demonstrated the significance of many other types of local-level environmental management. Grassroots Environmental Action emphasizes the potential of local environmental initiatives. The book analyses the social dynamics of local-level resource use both in situations where encouragement and support is supplied from external agents, such as the state or international organizations, and where local communities are forced to formulate their own plans and activities in spite of neglect, resistance or even active external opposition. The case studies of communities in Latin America, Asia and Africa focus on areas where local people are vigorous participators in the determination of their own future and that of their environment.