Environnement et développement rural

Abstract

Management of natural resources and preservation of ecological balance are perceived today as essential elements of rural development. The recently multiplying environmental ministries in developing countries are intended not only to correct the damages resulting from uncontrolled urbanization and industrialization, but to address ecosystemic degradation in the countryside. The aptitude demonstrated by numerous peasant societies for exploiting their environments over the long term while preserving their potential should be recognized and their specific, detailed knowledge incorporated into environmental protection projects. It is a mistake to conclude that peasants do not care about environmental problems; they often lack the resources to take needed action. Active participation of impoverished rural dwellers requires that measures taken do not reduce their incomes or resources in the short term. Rural development projects must assure protection of the environment while taking into account the interests of diverse categories of rural dwellers, such as farmers, herders, or wood cutters. There has been considerable progress in the past 2 decades in understanding the functioning of cultivated and pasture ecosystems and in developing techniques to limit damage to them. A vast effort is now needed to understand the economic, social, and cultural functions of customs and practices of different social groups involved in agricultural development and territorial management in order to prioritize problems and arrive at a consensus of all those affected concerning environmental protection. Social science research is needed into marketing of agricultural products, circulation of cooking fuels, village-town relations, and migration in order to determine the effects of these phenomena on management and conservation of natural resources in rural areas. Experimental research should be directed toward finding practical solutions to problems encountered by rural cultivators. Different research organizations should coordinate their programs to avoid duplication of effort, and developing countries should be furnished access to new techniques resulting from research conducted by developed countries. Local populations must be involved in reforestation, water conservation, and other projects at every stage from preliminary planning to execution, if such plans are to succeed. Local populations themselves should be able to care for equipment and infrastructure involved in these efforts. Improved techniques of environmental protection must also be developed at the micro level of individual farms and pastures. National governments must redefine their role so that they become facilitators of local action without coercively imposing programs from above.