First published in 1994, The Wealth of Communities presents the stories of ten communities from Philippines to Poland, from Los Angeles to Zimbabwe, where they are making intelligent and sustainable use of the world around them. It brings case studies of reviving depleted fisheries; finding novel ways of waste disposal; controlling industrial pollution; and replanting forests, to show how they are shaping their own destinies and meeting their own needs while at the same time protecting the environment in the face of hardship and opposition. With a Foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales, this is a book about hope and ingenuity, written in a vivid and memorable style to which the accompanying photographs lend immediacy and depth. In an age of climate crisis, these ten tales will pave the way for the success of future ventures, and they are a tonic for hard times.

The distinguished environmentalists in this collection offer an in-depth analysis and call to advocacy for community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). Their overview of this transnational movement reveals important links between environmental management and social justice agendas for sustainable use of resources by local communities. In this volume, leaders who have been instrumental in creating and shaping CBNRM describe their model programs; the countermapping movement and collective claims to land and resources; legal strategies for gaining rights to resources and territories; biodiversity conservation and land stabilization priorities; and environmental justice and minority rights. This book will be of value to instructors, practitioners and activists in anthropology, cultural geography, environmental justice, environmental policy, political ecology, indigenous rights, conservation biology, and CBNRM.

* Authored by the world's leading practitioners, applicable to any resource from forests to agricultural land to water resources and fishing* Hundreds of case studies of successful co-management from a wide variety of contexts including the UK, Europe, Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Indian Subcontinent, Latin America and AfricaThe collaborative or "co-management" of natural resources-whether between states and local communities or among and within communities themselves-is a process of collective understanding and actions by local communities and other social actors. The process brings about negotiated agreements on management roles, rights and responsibilities, making explicit the conditions and institutions of sound decentralized governance.This book is designed for professionals and people involved in collaborative management processes. It distills the wealth of experience and innovative approaches developed by people who have learned by doing. It begins by offering a variety of vistas, from broad historical and equity considerations to in-depth co-management examples. Illustrated in detail is the understanding accumulated in recent decades on starting points for co-management, prerequisites for successful negotiations as well as rules, methods and conditions for the negotiations. Methods and tools, such as practical checklists distilled from different situations and contexts, are offered throughout and examples of specifics agreements and pluralist management organizations are discussed.