Community Development

La mangue sauvage, le rotin ou encore le gnetum (communément appelé Okok, Eru), sont des ressources forestières exploitées au Cameroun et dans la plupart des pays d’Afrique centrale. Ils sont récoltés, pour subvenir à des besoins vitaux variés, dans les forêts près desquelles vivent des populations qui en sont fortement dépendantes. Le régime juridique des forêts camerounaises prévoit des dispositions qui encadrent l’exploitation des produits forestiers non ligneux. Il s’agit dans cet article d’apprécier l’influence de cet encadrement juridique sur le développement des localités près desquelles ces ressources sont prélevées. L’analyse permet d’affirmer que le cadre juridique de l’exploitation des produits forestiers non ligneux présente des mesures favorables à un développement durable des localités riveraines des forêts exploitées. Toutefois, si l’on considère le postulat du développement durable qui exige la prise en compte des aspects économiques, sociologiques et écologiques, on fait face à des incomplétudes qui amenuisent leur effectivité. D’où la nécessité de renforcer la législation en matière d’exploitation des produits
forestiers non ligneux.

The article inquires into the role of the institutional context in explaining the governance of community co-operatives. These organizations do not solely focus on a member’s advantage but act on behalf of some collective identity. To enhance our understanding of the nature of co-operative governance on the neighborhood level, we draw on theoretical concepts that are context-sensitive, helping us to catch the institutional conditions in a specific place which are enabling individuals and groups to act and organize collectively. Thus, we enrich the abstract concept of governance put forward by New Institutional Economics. Based on a systematic analysis of case studies, the paper shows that the governance of community co-operatives is based on place-bound values. However, the encounter of divergent imaginations of the neighborhood results in different co-operative practices: e.g., either a government-directed practice to ‘‘discipline’’ the community or a community-initiated practice of self-organization.

Festivals and events in the post-industrial city continue to offer outlets to citizens who want to abstain from individualism and mass culture. They strengthen the sense of place and the trends for a gradual re-appropriation of public space by citizens; contributing to community-building and to the constant redefinition of distinctiveness and image place-making of the City and its communities.

In this broad context, the investigation of their structure and organization can provide a practical approach to various models and tools that ensure not only their sustainability, but also their social footprint: The “next day” and the potential changes in social attitudes and perceptions are not simply an indicator of success or failure, but a critical factor in community-building.

In this Thesis a community festival and two events have been studied in order to analyse the strategies of the organisers. Their perceptions have been analysed when it comes to the branding they want to attach to their organization in order to obtain useful conclusions on whether their impact is evident throughout the year. I identified various practices in the financial management process in relation to an active or passive participation of the community within the planning process: the influence of commercialization in shaping a collective social consciousness is crucial.

Thereafter, through Stakeholder qualitative interviews, data emerged regarding community proactivity and participation, for an entire range of relations between organizers and participants. This created the right conditions to analyse the intensity of liminality in any event, constituting this a key factor in the awakening and participation of community members, but also to a constant development of community values. The aim of the Thesis is to explore the tension between the marketing of community festivals and events as representations of place and the challenges local communities are facing within the context of the contemporary post-industrial city. In particular, through three case studies, I attempt to answer the question as to whether the liminal inversion of rules constitute an alternative form of self-organization and pluralist local governance or whether they are simply a way of channelling opposition propping up the status quo.

The data indicates some fundamental differences between community festivals and events, since the first in my research is viewed as top-down approach organised by an hegemonic elite community group, while the latter constitute a bottom-up character that can be transformed into a creative “oasis” due to a growing synergy among community members, especially in neighbourhoods which present a high degree of scientific interdisciplinary composition, whether they are in decline or under a process of gentrification. It is argued that the reversal of rules may gradually result in the “Eventful City”, thus establishing a higher level of communication, social trust and autonomous community governance.

Indigenous Peoples and Community Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs) possibly cover as much or more of the earth than do official protected areas. They are already contributing, and can contribute further, to the achievement of the Strategic Plan of Action of the Biodiversity Convention (including the Aichi Targets), with appropriate recognition and support. The 32 page Policy Brief gives examples of how ICCAs are relevant to each of the 20 Aichi Targets.

In a country of over 1.1 billion people, the Indian Government (2007) identified that from the total population, 27.5% of citizens live below the declared ‘poverty line’, generating a per capita daily income of around $0.40 per person, or $1 per family. Prahalad (2005) hypothesised that over 4 billion people make up the hidden market of poor consumers at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP). CMU (2010:12) state that India, as the largest BoP market in the world, provides opportunities to foreign and domestic companies seeking to target the poorest citizens of the country. Those at the BoP often encounter financial insecurity with limited access to savings, have short-term work strains and insufficient financial instruments at their disposal: prey to high-interest money lenders and loan sharks (Prahalad, 2005). This report, based on the author’s experience and analysis of the issue during a Prime Minister’s Initiative 2 (PMI-2)  scheme in Andhra Pradesh, India in August 2011.

Dans ce texte, les auteurs portent attention au trouble suscité, chez les observateurs et les acteurs de la participation, par l’absence de franges entières de la population et par l’incapacité des dispositifs à s’approprier une part importante des contributions des personnes présentes. Dans un premier temps, les auteurs problématisent les limites de l’inclusion participative en restituant la diversité des traitements que leur ont accordés les principaux théoriciens de l’espace public démocratique. Pour faciliter l’appréhension de cette question dans de futures enquêtes, les auteurs proposent ensuite un équipement empirico-conceptuel centré sur la notion de seuil. Espace-limite, celui-ci représente également un espace critique de prédilection pour les recherches sur la participation.

Violence and conflict still continue all over the globe. Much of this violence stem from ethnic, religious and other “mental fences” that people have been educated from childhood. These boundaries and loyalties divide people in the planet. The third of the four pillars of education in the 21st century recommended by the UNESCO Delors Commission is “learning to live together” or “learning to relate.” Clearly, there is a need to come to a global consensus on what concrete actions we need to consider in overcoming these harmful and tragic boundaries. This paper explores several options towards a global action agenda in transboundary learning and innovation. Transboundary learning covers learning processes that occurs across boundaries, whether political, ethnic, geographical, religious, corporate or administrative. Transboundary innovation is innovation that redefines or transcends such mental fences, boundaries and affiliations.

Three avenues of transboundary learning and innovation are explored and concrete actions are proposed under each avenue: (1) developing and application of Third Delors Technologies, (2) developing dialogue practices between religions, and (3) establishing programs to disseminate enterprise innovations. “Third Delors Technologies” is the new term proposed for those tools for helping people to “learn to live together” such as generative dialogue, training in bridging leadership and educational programs on glocality. Glocality is “thinking globally and acting locally”; it is acting locally while being informed with a broad planetary perspective. Social hostilities and physical conflicts arising from religion is increasing over the last few years. Conflict between Abrahamic religions continue to claim lives in various places in the world and even places a grave threat of nuclear war in the Middle East. The second avenue is collecting, developing and learning effective dialogue practices between religions. The enterprise is the major engine of growth in the world but its gaps and weaknesses lead to sub-optimal wealth creation and sometimes to massive wealth destruction as we had seen in the 2008 global financial crisis. The third avenue is transboundary innovation to bridge gaps in the manner that enterprises are defined and practiced.

The proposed actions are offered as contributions to what can become a global action agenda to directly address the root causes of so much violence and warfare, as well as economic losses taking place around the world today.

Sustainable regional development policies aim to increase prosperity without eroding social well-being and natural resources, or jeopardising the environment for present or future generations.
In Victoria, numerous state and local government agencies have responsibility for aspects of sustainable regional development. However, at present organisations have limited ways of knowing if either individually or collectively they are contributing sufficiently to the achievement of sustainability goals. It is conceivable that each agency may be meeting its individual goals, while economic prospects and/or important aspects of social or environmental quality are declining.
More coordinated regional approaches are required for gathering and reporting on information relevant to sustainability - sustainability monitoring. Sustainability monitoring requires the tracking and reporting of important economic, social and environmental trends. Sustainability indicators can be used for monitoring trends such as changes in the condition of the natural resources, the productivity and dynamism of regional economic processes, education, health and other aspects of community and social wellbeing.