RURAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

A do-it-yourself course and training programme

H. Techniques for research and monitoring

H1. Research: the scientific method
H2. Research and monitoring instruments and techniques: Rainfall, Temperature, Turbidity, Coral reef and fish monitoring, Forest monitoring, Soil analyses, Censusing and sampling
H3. Recording and analyzing data

I. Assessment of development projects

I1. Dealing with developers
I2. Principles of project assessment and monitoring
I3. Mining impacts
I4. Forestry impacts
I5. Agricultural impacts
I6. Fisheries industry impacts
I7. Tourism impacts

J. Communicating knowledge to others: Giving a simple talk, Teaching by example, Writing reports

K. Use as a training programme

EXPLANATION

RURAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COURSE AND TRAINING PROGRAMME

Prepared by Arthur Lyon Dahl

This set of materials on rural environmental management aims to help people who live in rural areas to manage their own environment and to plan their own sustainable development. It is designed to be either a self-teaching course or to be used in local training programmes. Each unit therefore includes questions that can be used for group discussion. In training programmes it can be supplemented by audio-visual materials and local examples.

Much of this material was first developed for the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme in 1983 as a set of training materials in rural environmental management for small island communities. With the need to help rural communities around the world to address their environmental problems and become more sustainable, it has seemed appropriate to update the units and to generalize them to all rural situations, particularly in less developed and more tropical countries. However there is still some bias in the approaches and examples towards the Pacific Island situation.

The wider availability of this approach should inspire many people to take on their own responsibility for their local environment, and increase the involvement of major groups such as women, children and youth, farmers, local government officials, business people and workers, religious leaders and ordinary people. While the approach in these units is basically scientific, there is no reason why everyone cannot learn and apply the scientific method using their own often profound knowledge of their environment. Too often we become dependent on government or outside experts for things that were frequently done quite well by earlier generations of villagers. But governments are limited in their resources and there are far too few experts to meet all the needs. These materials should help people to take back the responsibility and to become masters of their own future.

The original units included illustrations and supporting audiovisual materials that could not be converted for use on the Web with the resources available. Some illustrations will eventually be added if resources permit.

Users are encouraged to duplicate and adapt these materials for local non-commercial use. Any other use requires written permission. Comments and feedback on the usefulness of these materials, and suggested modifications, should be sent to:

Arthur Lyon Dahl
International Environment Forum
12B Chemin de Maisonneuve
CH-1219 Chatelaine, Geneva, Switzerland
e-mail:

Updated 3 July 2008

RURAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

A do-it-yourself course and training programme

CONTENTS

B. Sensitization to environmental problems

C. Basic resources

D. Principles of ecology and resource management

E. Traditional environmental management

F. The human habitat

G. Managing the local environment

H. Techniques for research and monitoring

I. Assessment of development projects

EXPLANATION

RURAL ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COURSE AND TRAINING PROGRAMME