The Road From Rio: Sustainable Development and the Nongovernmental Movement in the Third World

by Julie Fisher

Overview

Fisher expertly describes and analyzes the growing non-governmental movement throughout the Third World in relation to the global issue of sustainable development, highlighted by the recent Rio Conference. An estimated 200,000 or more indigenous NGOs (non-governmental organizations) at both the grassroots and intermediary levels help fill the void created by the failure of governments to adequately address the escalating, intertwined crises of poverty, environmental degradation, and population. NGOs, a number of which Fisher examines in detail, address the myriad problems associated with dire poverty, environmental destruction, pervasive unemployment, and the grinding exploitation of women. The stimulus to action and group effort is typically the basic need for life's fundamentals—food, shelter, and safety. Fisher points out, however, that NGOs focusing on population have grown less rapidly than those concentrating on enterprise development and/or environmental degradation.

Fisher identifies the core abilities within and among NGOs that help them develop effective short-term strategies and also enhance their institutional sustainability in the long run. She demonstrates that this grassroots movement is a vital, growing force in the vast majority of Third World countries, with the potential to undermine the politics of repression and inequality. The international importance of NGOs is increasingly evident, given their ability to network and support one another. Fisher offers a comprehensive, insightful, and substantive assessment of what may be the most hopeful institutional resource available for the sustainable development of the Third World and, therefore, our ultimate survival as a species.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275945350
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/30/1993
Pages:	284
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

JULIE FISHER is a Scholar in Residence, Program on Non-profit Organizations, Yale University. She has been a consultant to UNICEF, Save the Children, Technoserve, World Vision, the Asia Society, Lutheran World Relief, and Interaction.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Thomas Dichter
The Politics of Development
Grassroots Organizations (GROs)
GRO Networks
Grassroots Support Organizations (GRSOs)
Poverty, Environmental Degradation and Population Growth: The Role of GRSOs
GRSO Networks
What Works: Assessing the Performance of GROs and GRSOs
GRO-GRSO Linkages
Conclusions: Sustainability and Replicability
Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

An appreciative inquiry into the promise and realistic possibilities of the nongovernment organization movement to force governments to make social, economic, and environmental changes. Fisher (Non-Profit Organizations Program, Yale U.) bounces around Latin America, Africa, and Asia to argue that the movement is worldwide and remarkable similar in very different cultures and environments. Paper edition (unseen), $19.95. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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