Knowledge of the Land: Land Resources Information and Its Use in Rural Development

This unique book focuses on rural and land use planning in developing countries. It explores the conventional, mainly top-down, approaches of the past, showing why they have largely failed; and describes the opportunities offered by more recent, participatory approaches, examining the key role of natural resource information in planning. There are numerous examples and up-to-date references.
Planners and decision-makers need to be in command of a broader range of tools and information than ever before. This text aims to show what is available in the way of natural resources information, and how it has been used (or not used) in planning and policy making. For both methods and applications, the authors have tried to provide enough detail for the reader to judge what data, skills and procedures are required to meet their particular needs, and references give guidance on where to find further information There has been a notable shift in planning and rural development over the 1990s. Technocratic, top-down approaches are still very much in evidence, but there has been an explosion of projects experimenting with participatory planning and action. Many institutions cling to sectoral thinking, but there is a growing recognition that urgent environmental problems transcend any one sector or discipline. These demand interdisciplinary approaches such as environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment. This same interdisciplinary approach should be employed in putting sustainable development into practice Both the old ways and the new bring insights cruc