Building social infrastructure for sustainable development
Moore, K.M.; Cisse, S.; Toure, A.
Conflict, social capital and managing natural resources a West African case study: 89-100
2005
Document Number: 260700
This chapter describes the establishment and operation of an institutional innovation in the socio-political organization of a rural Sahelian population. This institutional innovation, the Natural Resource Management Advisory Committee (NRMAC), is an inter-village and pluri-ethnic civil society organization in Madiama, Mali. The discussion highlights the significance of the organization's legitimacy, based as much in customary practice as in modern legal formalities. It is also shown that associational life is not only a matter of gathering people together but also requires the development of individual capacities in order for them to assume active roles in the development of their commune and to support the development of extra-communal relations.