Sustainable Development at the Village Community Level: A Third World Perspective

Abstract

World statistics indicate that almost half of the inhabitants of the planet are agricultural people. Of these, about 95% are inhabitants of Third World countries, the majority of which operate as households belonging to village communities. Examples of these community-based systems of resource management are particularly prevalent in rural areas of Mexico, India, and China and are found throughout the developing world. This chapter is devoted to examining the new paradigm of sustainable development at the village community level. First, a political‐ecological definition of sustainable community development is given. Then, nine ethno-ecological principles for sustainable community development are proposed and discussed. The chapter finishes by reviewing the aforementioned concepts in the light of grassroots experiences of sustainable development among peasant communities in rural Mexico.