Lands of the Poor: Local Environmental Governance and the Decentralized Management of Natural Resources

This book focuses on local environmental governance and decentralized natural resource management. Environmental issues are analyzed against the backdrop of new approaches to local development. Particularly important is the concept of ‘local environmental governance’: the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of environmental stewardship led by local administrations, its transparency and accountability, and the manner in which environmental powers and authority are exercised at the local level. The book highlights a new environmental approach aimed at integrating relevant technical measures into broader institutional frameworks and regulatory measures. It does this by linking local development concerns to broader democratic processes, and by transforming local populations from mere beneficiaries or users of natural resources (or, worse, ‘targets’) into citizens endowed with basic civil rights.