Grassroots Environmental Action: People's Participation in Sustainable Development

Focusing on areas where local people are vigorous participators in the determination of their own future,Grassroots Environmental Actionuses case studies of communities in Latin America, Asia and Africa to emphasizes the potential of local environmental initiatives. International contributors analyze 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 oppposition. Managing resources sustainably on the local level is essential for achieving the global goal of sustainable development.Grassroots Environmental Actionexamines the combined impact of the small-scale activities--either constructive or destructive--undertaken by vast numbers of individuals on the fate of many resources and ecosystems,particularly in the Third World. Contributors: Maurice Strong, Michael Redclift, Jessica M. Vivian, Charles Lane, Ruth Ammerman Yabes, Antonio Carlos S. Diegues, Julio Moguel, Enrique Velazquez, Jutta Blauert, Marta Guidi, John Kurien, Jayanta Bandyopadhyay, Michael Stahl, Philippe Egger, Jean Majeres and Charles A. Reilly.