Sustainable and equitable development will not be achieved by just a few, working in isolation. It requires everyone's participation. And it must be forged in the real world where economic, social, and political factors converge with geography, climate, and other natural phenomenon.

The determining element between success and failure is people: researchers, decision-makers, policymakers. But more important, local people who best understand the dynamics of their environment, are best placed to influence them, and are most likely to work to create lasting change. After all, they have the most at stake. As Chapter 23 of Agenda 21 states: "Critical to the effective implementation of the objectives, policies, and mechanisms agreed to by governments in all programme areas of Agenda 21 will be the commitment and genuine involvement of all social groups."

From plant breeding to information and communication technologies, IDRC emphasizes a participatory approach to research — one that involves local people in defining problems and finding solutions. By bringing community members, men and women from all walks of life, into the research process, IDRC aims to forge genuine social partnerships for sustainable development.

Business e-Tips for Rural African Women

"To assess, review, revise and implement, where appropriate, curricula and other educational material, with a view to promoting the dissemination to both men and women of gender relevant knowledge ...." Agenda 21, Chapter 24: Women in Sustainable Development (1992)

"Learning Systems for Change supports research into new learning systems aimed at strengthening sustainable and equitable development and human resource development ...." Meeting the Global Challenge: Themes and Programs of the International Development Research Centre (1993)

"Research must take into account the differing impact of change on the lives of men and women. Gender considerations are a key element in pursuing a goal of social and economic equity." Corporate Strategy and Program Framework, 2000–2005 (2000)

"How can I make more money?" This is a question that poor, rural women in Nakaseke, Uganda had on their mind. They are finding the answer by using a computer.

In 1998, IDRC supported the establishment of a multipurpose community telecentre in Nakaseke — a place where people can go to use telephones or computers, access the Internet, or send email. It proved popular with the community, but not with rural women who thought of computers as a tool only for people with schooling.

To bridge this digital divide, IDRC supported a project by the International Women's Tribune Centre to develop content relevant to women's needs. Through group discussions, the researchers learned that one of rural women's pressing problems was finding ways to generate additional income for themselves and their families. The tool that would provide this information had to be simple, and had speak to them in their own language. The result was a CD-ROM, Rural Women in Africa: Ideas for Earning Money, featuring stories from other women in the region who had successfully started small businesses, as well as practical business information.

The "computer book," as the women call the CD-ROM, is narrated in Luganda, bypassing the need for reading skills. The program runs on basic computer systems and is very easy to use: sound, images, and drawings coach users on how to point and click their way through the program. It has proven so popular — and so relevant to the women's lives — that women now line-up at the telecentre to use the computers. As Anastasia, a 70-year-old farmer who was one of the first users explains: "The computer book shows us how to use what you have [to make money]." Moreover, the women have decided to form an association, the Nakaseke Women's Development Association, and are setting up a Web site to sell handicrafts over the Internet.

The CD-ROM, which has also been translated into English, was launched at a demonstration event in New York in October 2001. Other language versions are planned.

Youth Test the Waters

"The involvement of today's youth in environment and development decision-making and in the implementation of programmes is critical to the long-term success of Agenda 21." Agenda 21: Chapter 25. Children and Youth in Sustainable Development (1992)

"IDRC will focus on the impact of air and water pollution including ... the empowerment of indigenous communities to test their own water using simple, sustainable, and affordable tests." Meeting the Global Challenge: Themes and Programs of the International Development Research Centre (1993)

"By supporting academic study and offering opportunities for hands-on experience, we are helping promote understanding of development issues with a new generation." Corporate Strategy and Program Framework, 2000–2005 (2000)

In Mexico, students in the State of Morelos have provided farmers with the proof they need to lobby tanneries and authorities about pollution of the Cuautla and Ayala rivers, used for irrigation. Simple and inexpensive water-quality tests, performed by the students in collaboration with the Mexican Institute of Water Technology (IMTA), have shown that an upstream tannery and factory are indeed contaminating water. Based on the test results, students, IMTA scientists, and farmers are now lobbying the factories to improve their practices, and State authorities to enforce existing regulations.

The Mexican students are one of more than 90 teams from schools in Canada, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe who have learned how to use a series of simple and inexpensive water-quality tests to detect chemical and microbial pollution in local water samples. All are participating in AQUAtox 2000, a program launched by IDRC in 1998 to help school children understand the importance of protecting water resources in their communities and in the world.

The tests, which require only basic equipment and readily available supplies, were originally standardized and validated for use in the developing world by Watertox. This international network of water quality laboratories, also funded by IDRC, worked in close collaboration with scientists from Environment Canada. The tests comprise four bioassays — experiments that involve exposing small, living organisms (for example, lettuce seeds or onion bulbs) to water samples. The results are easily visible and unambiguous.

By providing people with the tools to measure water quality, AQUAtox is raising international awareness of the hazards of contaminated water, and enabling citizens to make more informed decisions about their health. IDRC is now working to extend the popular program's reach. For example, in September 2001, Environment Canada's Biosphere, in Montreal, officially became the coordinating body for all AQUAtox activities related to Canadian schools.

Staking a Claim in Cambodia

"National and international efforts to implement environmentally sound and sustainable development should recognize, accommodate, promote and strengthen the role of indigenous people and their communities." Agenda 21: Chapter 26. Strengthening the Role of Indigenous Peoples (1992)

"IDRC will increase the sustainable use of natural resources by local communities, through the application of indigenous knowledge, appropriate technologies, and management practices for biodiversity conservation." Meeting the Global Challenge: Themes and Programs of the International Development Research Centre (1993)

"IDRC will support research to improve the lives of poor and marginalized groups .... Research will look at better ways to manage the fragile resource base and to solve disputes over resource use." Corporate Strategy and Program Framework, 2000–2005 (2000)

In the secluded forests of Ratanakiri province in northeast Cambodia, local indigenous peoples, known as Highlanders, have lived a traditional and sustainable lifestyle for centuries — relying on the forest for sources of food, fuel, medicine, building materials, and more. However, over the past 15 years, their livelihood — and the resources that support it — have come under threat as settlers, loggers, and entrepreneurs have started clearing the forest.

In 1997, IDRC, in collaboration with the Cambodia Area Rehabilitation and Regeneration Project funded by the United Nations Development Programme, supported a Cambodian research team that worked with Highlanders to map forest resources and document traditional knowledge. The research proved that traditions surrounding villagers' livelihoods were founded on sound environmental principles. For example, Highlanders refused to cut any trees in areas they identified as "spirit forests" — parts of the forest, researchers discovered, that would not regenerate if cut.

The research team also worked with Highlanders to develop a new, community-based plan for managing Yeak Lom lake, a jewel-like lake surrounded by 300 hectares of protected forest. The management plan was so successful at reversing environmental degradation that the provincial government granted the Highlanders an unprecedented 25-year communal land lease in 1998. This lease means the land is theirs to manage according to their rules and regulations. The project's results have also had an impact on national policy, helping to reverse the government's decision to allow a palm oil company the right to clear 20 000 hectares of forest in Ratanakiri. The results are also helping to shape new laws which recognize traditional forms of forest tenure.

Farmers as Researchers

"A farmer-centred approach is key to the attainment of sustainability in both developed and developing countries." Agenda 21: Chapter 32. Strengthening the Role of Farmers (1992)

"IDRC will fund projects which highlight the role of nontraditional partners such as small local NGOs and vulnerable groups in the decision-making process." Meeting the Global Challenge: Themes and Programs of the International Development Research Centre (1993)

"The complexity of environment and natural resource management demands research to help achieve ... local management and control of biodiversity." Corporate Strategy and Program Framework, 2000–2005 (2000)

In Nepal, a farmer succeeded in crossing a variety of wild rice (Oryza rufipogon) with a popular upland variety — something scientists in Nepal had been unable to do. She had received training in plant-breeding techniques from her husband, who, in turn had been trained as part of an IDRC- supported project. Field trials of her new variety by researchers and local farmers look promising: the plant is growing well, produces viable seed, and is very well adapted to local conditions. This result has boosted the confidence of farmers in their knowledge and skills. They are now working on breeding sponge gourd and wheat varieties.

In Oaxaca, Mexico, researchers and farmers have joined forces to conserve the biodiversity of maize grown in the region: Oaxaca is home to more than 150 varieties of corn. Farmers traditionally plant many local varieties to take advantage of different traits, such as drought resistance or higher yields. Men and women also prefer different varieties, for different reasons — cooking qualities, for instance, or ease of preparation. Both agree, however, that local varieties have numerous advantages compared to introduced cultivars. To help farmers conserve and improve local varieties, researchers from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) have been training them in plant breeding and seed-management techniques — and bringing the results back to the laboratory and experimental plots.

Both these IDRC-supported projects are examples of participatory plant breeding, led by farmers and led by researchers. They share a goal: to help poor, small-scale farmers achieve better results with crops they rely on for food and income generation, and conserve biodiversity. They are also based on the understanding that farmers — men and women — should have a leadership role in technology development. The approach is now also making headway into the international agricultural research system through such large programs as the Systemwide Programme on Participatory Research and Gender Analysis for Technology Development and Institutional Innovation of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, supported by IDRC and a consortium of donors.

The Role of Canadian Researchers

A geography professor from Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario, is finding himself in the unexpected role of ambassador for mangrove forests in Mexico. Mangroves had been little studied when John Kovacs began his research in 1997, despite the rapid loss of the trees throughout the world. Kovac's interest in the forest in the Nayarit region is matched by that of coastal Mexican communities in Kovac's work, which shows the unfortunate, unanticipated effects a canal has had on the local ecosystem. Kovacs initiated the work while completing a PhD at the University of Western Ontario: an IDRC research award allowed him to undertake extended field work in the region.

Since 1971, IDRC awards have enabled hundreds of Canadian graduate students to further their research in developing countries — and make valuable contacts. The goal of the program, through which several types of awards are offered, is to promote the growth of Canadian capacity in research on sustainable and equitable development from an international perspective.

While the awards cover the full range of IDRC's research interests, some are more narrowly focused on Agenda 21 priorities. The Bentley Fellowship — Forage Crops in Sustainably Managed Agroecosytems, for instance, enables Canadian graduate students to experiment directly in farmers' fields in developing countries. The John G. Bene Fellowship in Community Forestry focuses on the relationship between communities and forest resources. As Gail Hochachka, 2000 Bene fellow, reported after her study of a mangrove forest in El Salvador: "The skills I have gained through such research are timely and necessary in a world that is conscientiously inquiring into how we can curb the current ecological crisis."

IDRC also offers a number of awards to developing-country scholars. The full list is available on IDRC's Web site.

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