In the 1980s and early 1990s, I had the opportunity to observe a number of development projects in the Amazon region of Brazil. Some of the projects were designed to improve the life of colonists in the region, while others were focused on management of natural resources. All the projects were “top down” in the sense that project design and direction were carried out by high-level corporate or government sponsors at headquarters far removed from the affected areas. There was little or no input from people who actually lived in the area, people who had first-hand knowledge of the social and environmental problems in the areas to be.
