An independent investigation into the use of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methods. PRA has been hailed as a methodological revolution in people-centred research. Yet, surprisingly, its virtues have more often been asserted than demonstrated. This book presents an independent investigation of the use of the methods, and analyses the extent to which PRA’s ambitious claims are borne out in testing field conditions. The analysis is based on four detailed case studies: the community development programme of ActionAid The Gambia; the community forestry programme undertaken in the joint GoTG/German Government-sponsored the Gambian-German Forestry Project; the ‘Support for Decentralised Rural Development’ programme of the GoTG and the European Commission; and the Sesame Growers’ Associations sponsored by CRS/The Gambia and the National Association of Women Farmers of The Gambia.

Its findings are particularly pertinent at a time when growing international concern with issues of public governance is increasing interest in participatory processes both at the national (in relation to poverty reduction strategies) and local (in relation to decentralised government) levels.

Aimed at development practitioners in international and bilateral agencies, and in NGOs, as well as at students of development studies, the study emphasises the need for caution in the application of innovative research ideas to the complex realities of the developing world.

Published by the Overseas Development Institute
£19.95 + P & P
288pp Paperback ISBN 0 85003 598
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Commercialization of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has been widely promoted as an approach to rural development in tropical forest areas. However, donor investments in the development of NTFP resources have often failed to deliver the expected benefits in terms of poverty alleviation and improved conservation of natural resources. In order to ensure that NTFPs fulfil their potential contribution to sustainable development, it is important to understand the reasons for success and failure, and the conditions under which NTFP commercialization can make a positive contribution to the livelihoods of the poor.

This publication presents the findings of the CEPFOR project (Commercialization of non-timber forest products in Mexico and Bolivia: factors influencing success), a multidisciplinary research initiative involving partners drawn from the UK, Mexico and Bolivia. The research team critically examined the factors influencing successful NTFP commercialization and tested and further developed theory relating to the commercialization of NTFPs and rural development. Socioeconomic and market research examined the impact of different NTFP commercialization networks (value chains) on poverty reduction, women’s livelihoods, natural resources and rights and access of the poor, in eight communities in Bolivia and 10 in Mexico. The structure and function of 16 NTFP value chains were analysed, enabling identification of the attributes that make a chain successful.

Published by UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre
136pp Paperback ISBN ISBN 92-807-2677-3
Download in English or in Spanish. Also available from www.unep-wcmc.org/forest/ntfp

120pp 1992 £10.95 ISBN 0 85003 342 X paper
Reprinted with an Index 1998
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An overview chapter which discusses the political and institutional context of forestry policy is followed by four case studies which examine institutional constraints on forestry policy and woodland management in Mali, urban-rural conflict over wood fuel-use in Nigeria and the 'reality of the commons' in Somalia.

72pp 1992 £8.95 ISBN 0 85003 191 5 paper
Reprinted 1995
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