Elements of success: Sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa

In recent years, Africa's farmers and herders, its soils and forests, have been chasing each other down a vicious spiral of environmental degradation and deepening poverty. Conventional development efforts by donors and governments have largely failed to halt the spiral, indeed in some cases have aggravated it. The need to find solutions is urgent. Africa not only must increase its energy and found output in line with rapidly expanding populations, but must do so in a way that preserves the resource base and enhances the welfare and income of the majority. Despite the general landscape of failure, a growing number of projects and programs -- governmental, intergovernmental, and nongovernmental -- have succeeded. This chapter examines some of those "success stories" and attempts to draw some more general lessons that can point to a "recipe for success" in sub-Saharan Africa.