Beschreibung
Within the field of management of natural resources, this
book focuses on the various approaches of policy formulation
and implementation. The question central to this book is how
to co-operate with people, the various categories of
residents as well as non-residents, in the rural areas: in a
top-down, a participatory or a contractual (co-management)
way. On the basis of a comparative analysis of 12 case
studies in the book, these three approaches are thoroughly
discussed and their internal and external constraints
examined.
The book starts with an editorial chapter, discussing the
recent administrative and political developments in Africa
as well as the new opportunities, which they offer for
policies in the field of environment, and development. The
question is brought up whether the recent processes of
decentralization, democratization, and empowerment of local
organizations have indeed created new opportunities or that
they have only superficially changed the political culture
of the countries concerned.
In the concluding chapter of the book, the approaches are
contrasted to each other as logical models, each with its
own potentiality and limitations. Conclusions are formulated
why the top down approach must result in improvization to
escape from failure, and why the participatory approach
risks to end up into a mixed balance. Special attention is
given to the conditions and the prospects for the
contractual or co-management approach, which has been
introduced into Africa only recently. Under certain
conditions, this approach seems rather promising.
Bernhard Venema is lecturer
at the Department of Cultural Anthropology/Sociology of Development,
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Hans van den Breemer is lecturer
at the Faculty of
Social and Behavioural Sciences at Leiden University.
