370 Conference Reports

Note

A more detailed report on the 1992 Briefing is available from the World Hunger Program, Campus Box 1831, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA. The sixth annual Hunger Research Briefing and Exchange is scheduled for April 1993 at Brown University.

John Osgood Field School of Nutrition Tufts University Medford, MA 02155, USA

Conference on the Social Dimensions of Environment and Sustainable Development, Valletta, Malta, 22-25 April, 1992 Three decades of development aid have failed the world’s poor. The new goal of ’sustainable development’ has the potential to reduce the number of those who suffer, but it requires more than just technical solutions. It can only be achieved by reducing inequalities of access to resources, and recognising people’s rights to be involved in development planning and imple- mentation. For it to succeed, the rich must share more of their wealth and the powerful concede some of their power. More of us must agree to consume less and everyone must cooperate to avert the preconditions for disasters. Otherwise the poor and weak will remain vulnerable by having less than they need and, in desperation, sometimes destroying what little they have.

There has been some work done on the ways in which people can be involved more effectively in resource related development programmes, but much more needs to be understood before sustainable development is attained. According to The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), most of the work to date has tended to ignore local knowledge, culture, politics, and power structures. Informa- tion about social dynamics and macro-level structural factors which influence and constrain people’s participation in conservation and resource management remains scarce.

In response to this situation, UNRISD insti- gated a research programme on Sustainable Development through People’s Participation in Resource Management, and invited researchers, practitioners and activists to explore ways of

advancing knowledge and influencing the policies of governments and donors in this area. The first phase of the programme was the organisation of an international workshop in May 1990. A research framework was devised and four case studies were commissioned on (1) environmental movements in India; (2) local technical knowledge of forest resources in Ghana; (3) overviews of pastoral land tenure in eight selected African countries; and (4) an assessment of environmental projects in 14 Sahelian countries. In each case three inter- dependent dimensions are to be considered: traditional management of resources, popular resistance to environmentally destructive pro- jects, and grass-roots involvement to conserva- tion activities that are initiated outside the community.

In collaboration with the Foundation for International Studies of the University of Malta, UNRISD initiated the second phase of the programme with a conference on the Social Dimensions of Environmental and Sustainable Development. The purpose was to draw on the preliminary findings from the case studies with a view to: increasing awareness of the social issues involved in environmental rehabilitation; discussing relatively unexplored linkages between social institutions and environmental change; formulating policy recommendations that promote the complementary goals of foster- ing social progress and maintaining environ- mental integrity; and identlfying areas in which further research will be able to make a concrete contribution towards the resolution of the environmental and social problems facing the world today.

Sessions were held on indigenous resource management systems, grassroots environmental initiatives and movements, gender and the environment, population-environmental link- ages, development problems in Malta, urban and industrial pollution and water resources. Key research findings and policy recommendations to emerge included the following.

Social dimensions: Policy makers, development planners and researchers have given insufficient attention to the important role played by social, cultural and political factors in processes of environmental change. Participants empha- sized the extremely negative consequences of

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environmental degradation on health, nutrition, income, employment, and workloads, particu- larly for poor people and women. They also warned of the increasing danger of social conflicts and illegal activities associated with natural resource exploitation.

Women: Development programmes and projects should be more supportive of women by en- couraging their participation in both the design and implementation of schemes that involve environmental protection. Case studies from Malaysia, Kenya and Mexico showed that women often play a central role in the use and management of natural resources and, in many countries are most immediately affected by environmental degradation. For example, women of Embu district in rural Kenya have traditionally collected firewood at little or no cost. However, due to forest clearance, privatisation of common land, and population pressures, fuelwood has become a commercial commodity controlled by men. As a result of fuelwood scarcity women are also being forced to cook less nutritious foods so as to save on fuel use.

Land rights: In many countries the traditional rights of local people to land, trees and water are being undermined by inappropriate new legal and administrative frameworks. Participants cited cases from pastoral societies in Africa, tribal areas of India, and peasant communities in Costa Rica where privatisation and nationalisation of land had diminished people’s access to it. This is threatening the sustainability and adaptability of local resource management systems, obstruct- ing customary conservation mechanisms, and stifling initiatives for rehabilitation of degraded resources.

Population: It was reaffirmed that in many coun- tries population growth is a key exacerbating factor in environmental degradation. However, case studies from Pakistan and Costa Rica showed that the population-environment nexus is extremely complex and varies in different contexts. While policies for curbing family size still have a role in protecting the environment, a more comprehensive approach that empha- sizes social development and justice is required if people are to enjoy more equitable access to resources such as land.

Local resource management and grassrwts initiatives: Because of the inherent resourcefulness and wealth of knowledge of many natural resource users, participants stressed the need to transfer more responsibility for resource management to local communities. Collective action and environ- mental movements have had a crucial role in ensuring that governments and agencies direct resources in favour of poor communities and protect resources on which they depend for survival. In Brazil, for example, environmental movements have prompted a significant change in government policy which has slowed rates of deforestation. However, much more needs to be done to transfer power to local land users. Pastoral commons in Hanang district of Tanzania are being divided up into villages that could destroy the Barabaig pastoralists’ grazing rotation and deny them control over future land use.

Conservation programmes: Participants felt that the orientation of too many conservation pro- grammes has been to preserve natural resources and wildlife at the expense of local land users. This approach has proved costly and failed to protect many conservation areas from encroach- ment and poaching. To overcome this a new approach was proposed that involves local people more in planning, and provides them with greater benefits. More account needs to be taken of local people’s knowledge, their cultural perceptions, and property rights. Programmes also need to be more process-orientated, have extended time frames, greater flexibility in defining goals and methods, and place less reliance on ad hoc interventions.

A detailed report on the conference is being prepared by UNRISD and will be available on request. For more information contact Adrienne Cruz, Programme Information, UNEUSD, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.

Charles Lane International Institute for Environment and Development 3 Endsleigh Street London WClH ODD

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