Trees, Plants and a Rural Community in the Southern Sudan

Abstract

"Interdisciplinary planning, community forestry, people's participation, the importance of women in forestry, multipurpose tree species - all of these are pivotal concepts in the new emphasis upon 'forestry for development'. In this article, the importance of these concepts is indirectly but strikingly conveyed in a graphic portrait of a Mödö village in the southern Sudan where trees are an essential element in daily survival. The author, a linguist and a skilled observer, gives us just enough information of a sociological and anthropological nature to indicate how evocative in-depth, forestry-related studies by professionals in these fields might be - and how relevant they could be for planning future forestry activities. As life in this Mödö village is described, we come to appreciate - implicitly - the relevance of community forestry, the value of people's participation in planning and decision-making, and the extent of women's involvement in forestry activities. Finally, it is noteworthy how many examples there are of the many potential uses for a single species of tree."