2001 Annual Report - Ford Foundation

Land, Trees, Air, Water—and People
Melvin L. Oliver,Vice President, Asset Building and Community Development
28
Much of the world’s population depends on livelihoods
derived from natural resources: land, forest,
water and the air we breathe. The continued
degradation and diminution of these resources
threaten the economic and social security of individuals,
communities and countries, as well as the
intricate web of ecological, social, economic and
cultural relations that binds the global community.
As farmers lose the ability to produce crops and
raise livestock due to environmental degradation
and insecure land tenure, as communities dependent
on forests see them destroyed, as drought
parches previously productive areas, urban centers
swell with millions of destitute migrants who join
the growing ranks of the underemployed. All
too often, these urban centers become unhealthy
receptacles of human and industrial toxic waste
while the poor and disenfranchised become likely
targets for ideologies of hate and violence. When
mobilized they can, as we have tragically seen
in recent months, threaten national and global
security. The challenge is to transform natural
resources into assets that sustain global economic
viability and provide a healthy environment for
future generations. That happens only as the poor
and disenfranchised become true “stakeholders”
in their societies.
At the “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro 10 years
ago, governments pledged to support a comprehensive
plan of action to improve the quality of life
for all the world’s people in ways that preserve the
ecosystems on which life depends. Transforming
natural resources into assets depends on individuals
or communities securing access to them, whether
individually or collectively. Rights and responsibilities
must be clear and of significant duration.
To be productive, a resource must be properly
managed, enriched and harvested responsibly. It
should also be the kind of resource to which
production processes can add value. And it should
be passed along in an ecologically resilient and
productive condition to ensure its viability for
the next generation.
A striking large-scale example is in place in the
state of Acre in western Brazil. There, the deep
and productive bond between residents and
the Amazon rainforest is being restored after
decades of rainforest destruction to make room
for cattle and other agricultural investments.
In January 1999, the 600,000 citizens of Acre,
including 40 indigenous groups, voted into power
a government committed to stewardship of the
rainforest and its communities. This “Government
of the Forest,” emerged as a result of a powerful
social justice movement; it nurtures the region’s
resources as valuable assets to be tended for
common benefit.