Rural people Participation for Local Sustainable Development and Environment Protection: Concepts and Approaches

Abstract

A healthy community is a form of living democracy: people working together to address what matters to them. Area-based rural development structures are seen to foster civic participation. It is based upon the assumption that sustainable development (SD) can be achieved only through the involvement of all stakeholders. Public participation became a statutory requirement in the preparation of development plans. The motivation of the people for their development is halfway there. One of the common vehicles for community development includes voluntary community organizations such as local groups, youth groups, sporting clubs, and local resident associations. These organizations have certain characteristics that include: a resident’s commitment to their area, voluntary participation of members, and locally initiated groups that address critical community issues. A determining factor for the success of local SD is the ability to contextualize it, which can be achieved through the involvement of local actors. Stakeholder participation can aid in the design of policies, plans, or projects that better respond to the needs of local actors and is therefore useful in promoting SD. Furthermore, establishing a locally specific governance strategy triggered by a prior participation process might reduce the uncertainty associated with future redevelopment and promote investment. In the SD debate, there is a shared concern about the contribution of science to the actual building of sustainable communities. A continuous articulation of different knowledge areas and the interaction and negotiation between scientists, experts, and non-scientific actors, is indicated as being important to increase the potential achievements of local SD. Understanding group participation in developing countries is crucial because in those countries groups and networks serve many of the functions that elsewhere are served by formal institutions and market mechanisms (e.g. they provide access to informal insurance, credit, and even jobs). Local partnerships are often presented as inclusive in themselves because potentially they bring a wide range of interest groups together. In addition, they are seen as best placed to address social exclusion because of their local knowledge of social problems and local people. Social capital, social inclusion, civic engagement, and participation are all seen as desirable goals and are sometimes used interchangeably. Strong social networks and civic engagement lead to economic development and improved democracy. There is a need for investments so that the people who live there feel good about it and for the visitors don’t only see the poor side, but also the positive side of that territory. Therefore, there is a need of an action plan that aggregates investments in that direction, sustained in a real strategy not sustained by a political or circumstantial strategy of a secretary of State or whatever. In this article, the author discusses and states the most important aspects of rural people participating for local SD and environment conservation and its concepts and approaches with a viewpoint toward local rural people participating in South Khorasan province.