Ecosystem Rehabilitation of the Rural Landscape in South and Central Asia: An Analysis of Issues

Authors:
Ramakrishnan, P.S., J. Campbell, L. Demierre, A. Gyi, K.C. Malhotra, S. Mehndiratta, S.N. Rai and E.M. Sashidharan

Publication Date:
1994

Abstract/Summary:
Ecosystem rehabilitation and sustainable development, more specifically the sustainable management of natural resources, are closely interlinked with each other, one leading to the other. The interplay of ecology, sociology, economics, anthropology and culture needs to be tied together in order to constitute a meaningful rehabilitation strategy. Indeed, the guiding principles for sustainable development cut across these very disciplinary realms, with obvious trade-offs between and among them. Resources in a rural ecosystem are of three types: Private, Common and Public. Common resources are owned by the community as a whole, whereas Public resources could be either exclusively under the control of the government, or just possibly concern ill-defined ownership rights between the government and the community. Whilst a landscape may be an appropriate spatial unit for rehabilitation, the nature of access to resources by different sections of the community may be crucial in designing strategies for rehabilitation. In a landscape, these interacting components might each demand a set of specific strategies, under a generalized framework. In this document, case studies on rehabilitating rural landscapes across land management types are discussed.

Resource Type:
Technical Document

Source:
UNESCO

Link:
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0009/000978/097852eo.pdf