Human settlements and resource system analysis

The project focuses on three subject areas - human settlements, rural-urban exchange, and natural resource management. The evaluation covered the period 7/84-12/87. Overall project performance has been very good. Research conducted by Clark University and the Institute for Development Anthropology has been of high quality and useful to A.I.D./W, the Missions, and the development community. In some subject areas, the work has been outstanding. For example, research on the African river basins is the first to focus on the institutions controlling the water resource rather than on the physical structures such as dams and barrages. The Panama research helped untangle and rationalize a complex urban project. The project has had two major deficiencies. Firstly, the geographic and anthropological perspectives have not been integrated to the degree anticipated. Secondly, field research activities have been at times uncoordinated and unrelated due to the lack of a clear and integrated long-term strategy. The problem of integration is largely the result of efforts to be as responsive as possible to Mission requests. It is recommended that a follow-on project be developed.