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I. WRITTEN TESTIMONY: The environment and sustainable development - The 

 challenge and prospects Tor Africa 



I am pleased to have been given this opportunity to discuss with the Committee 

 the prospects for sustainable development in Africa, and the U.S. Agency for 

 International Development's (USAID) role in ensuring that this development is 

 environmentally sound. 



There are two stories to tell about the rural economy in much of sub-Saharan 

 Africa. On the one hand, there is the composite, macro-level view of a continent in 

 decline with per capita production stagnant, and natural resources degradation 

 accelerating. On the other hand, there are thousands of cases where farmers, herders, 

 and woodcutters are increasing their productivity, reducing their risks, and are 

 beginning to improve their lives through better natural resources management practices. 

 For example, in Niger, community-based natural resource management, pioneered by 

 I'SAID in the 1980's, under the Forest Land-Use Planning (FLUP) Project, has expanded 

 from 500 hectares in 1987 to 55,000 in 1992. 



The question is whether Africa^ future is necessarily preordained to follow the 

 pattern of the negative trend, or does the other more promising story represent a 



