Realizing Community Futures: A Practical Guide to Harnessing Natural Resources

Description

This revolutionary book is a practical guide for helping communities in any location or context - from a fishing community in England to a logging town in Canada to a farming village in India - to develop a collective vision of a prosperous and sustainable future and a road-map for mobilizing and managing their natural resources to realize that future. It explains in a step-by-step manner how to use a process of 'participatory modelling' to structure people's learning, their understanding of the natural systems they depend upon and how this can lead to better social and environmental outcomes. The book is for communities and professional natural resources managers who want to use this powerful tool to help people share visions of the future they want and to take appropriate, immediate action to turn them into reality. It introduces both the theory and practice of participatory modelling using everyday language and a variety of accessible and successful examples. The result is a practical, useful and accessible guide for practicing real, successful community-based natural resource management anywhere, in any circumstances, for community prosperity.

Jerry Vanclay is Professor of Sustainable Forestry, Southern Cross University, Australia. Ravi Prabhu is Senior Scientist, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Zimbabwe. Fergus Sinclair is Director of Research at the School of the Environment and Natural Resources, University of Wales, Bangor, UK and Visiting Professor at the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Costa Rica, and Editor-in-Chief of Agroforestry Systems.

...this book is an excellent attempt to provide practical guidelines for 'sustainable resource use'.' Forest Policy and Economics 'Overall the book, which is based on the outcome of DfID-funded projects in Asia and Africa, will be useful to anyone interested in participatory modelling, adaptive collaborative management and action research.' Forest Policy and Economics 'The book will be valuable to non-academics, communities and practitioners involved in natural resources management. It is easy to follow and accessible to all kinds of readers yet well informed and fully referenced. The authors illustrate their arguments with a multiplicity of case studies, frequent use of day-to-day simple stories, popular quotes and extracts of poems.' Forest Policy and Economics '...with the list of useful references, links to internet resources, examples and further information on modelling software along with an accompanying book website (www.cifor.cgiar.org/RealizingFutures), practitioners interested in community participation will find this study a useful resource.' Forest Policy and Economics 'The authors bring a wealth of knowledge and know-how borne of extensive practical experience of resource management in industrial and developing countries to bear on the challenge of how to enable ordinary people to participate effectively in the planning and decision making necessary for their own developmental futures. The book also provides a much-needed source of proven methodology for professional development assistance practicioners who, despite oceans of goodwill towards those they are trying to help, often lack sufficient skills and the tools necessary. This is a book for everyone concerned with natural resources development for people, by people.' Ian Bevege, Principal Advisor ACIAR (retired); advisor to international development and research agencies including CGIAR This book is an excellent attempt to provide practical guidelines for 'sustainable resource use'. The ideas and experiences gained can be used in many cases of community natural resource management. It is easy to follow and accessible to all kinds of readers yet well informed and fully referenced. Valuable to non-academics, communities and practitioners involved in natural resources management. FOREST POLICY AND ECONOMICS 'Overall the book, which is based on the outcome of DfID-funded projects in Asia and Africa, will be useful to anyone interested in participatory modelling, adaptive collaborative management and action research.' Forest Policy and Economics 'The book will be valuable to non-academics, communities and practitioners involved in natural resources management. It is easy to follow and accessible to all kinds of readers yet well informed and fully referenced. The authors illustrate their arguments with a multiplicity of case studies, frequent use of day-to-day simple stories, popular quotes and extracts of poems.' Forest Policy and Economics