Waste lands management in India - Myths, motives and mechanisms

Public policies and programmes after independence affecting waste lands hav e by and large ignored the fact that waste lands are the common property re sources of village communities who recognise the economic and; ecological c ontributions of these lands far better than policy-makers. Only in recent y ears have waste land management programmes accorded higher priority to part icipatory approaches. This paper discusses the factors affecting participat ion and suggests possibilities for the horizontal and vertical upscaling of participation in the management of natural resources.