RESPONDING TO PRESSURE ON LOCAL NATURAL-RESOURCES - THE STORY OF 3 VILLAGES IN SOUTH-EASTERN NIGERIA

There has been a recent move by development professionals away from fo rmal ''scientific'' attempts to address problems caused by changing en vironmental conditions, towards a greater reliance on the innovative a bility and indigenous knowledge of local people. This has necessitated a greater understanding of the way in which communities respond to en vironmental and socio-economic change. Using a model that predicts com munity responses to pressure on local natural resources, and data coll ected in three villages in south-eastern Nigeria, an attempt is made t o document the way in which people react and adapt to change. It is co ncluded that with sufficient time communities will usually develop new resource management and agricultural systems. However, where change i s occurring rapidly, a facilitator is required to encourage and accele rate local innovation so that farming and natural resource management systems can be appropriately adjusted before severe environmental degr adation takes place. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.