Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
breakdown of authoritarian government in the 1970s and 1980s, especially in
countries such as Argentina and Chile, has led not just back to the family, but
also forward to the growth of a variety of institutions, usually labelled non-
governmental organizations (NGOS), to fill the vacuum left by the state (Reilly
1995).
In much of the developed world, there has been freedom for many other social
organizations, which represent economic groupings such as firms, institutions
such as universities, and those with ethnic differences or long cultural histories
expressed through a distinct language. These are structures that give the
opportunity for the interaction and expression of social coherence, separate from
the economic, and often very disparate between themselves.
At the highest level, these cultural distinctions are expressed through a
political unit, and many subnational political divisions represent an early
economic, social and cultural break. Politically based differences between regions
form a solid basis for regional differentiation and regional planning. Within
Britain, for example, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales do form logical units
for regional planning, and to a lesser extent, and at a lower scale, so do the
counties within each country. The UK in fact provides an example of demands
for separate organization of life, including development policies—demands that
are articulated at the level of the historical nationalities of Scotland, Ireland and
Wales.
Environmental concerns
In between the physical distinctiveness arguments and those for human
organization summarized above, there are a number of points that are currently
rated as important, connecting humankind and environment. A central concern is
for “sustainable development”, a term that has been defined in various ways, but
which is most frequently understood in the manner of the Brundtland Report
(World Commission on Environment and Development 1987) as “development
that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs…”. To achieve this kind of
development, or rather the conscience that will control the levels and rate of use
of resources, requires a measure of local initiative and power to administer
programmes (Taylor, in Taylor & Mackenzie 1992:214-58). Taylor also reports
the lack of national concern for managing the environment in Africa, so that the
only hope must be with local bodies. Another related point is that given the great
diversity of environments, and the long history of their use by locals, it is
necessary to rely on local and indigenous knowledge systems to husband the
local resources. Scientific knowledge has often been proved to be inadequate for
the management of, for example, the forestry sector in tropical countries, and has
worked in ignorance of the effects of some of its proposals.
Another kind of “environmental” view justifying the local, has been
that regarding “territory”. It may be accepted that for most people there is an
