Abstract

Vieri Tarchiani

Rural areas are still the place where many people live, despite ongoing urbanization. In Africa, most of the population is still rural and will be so for at least another generation. The development of the rural tropics is not merely a contribution to the growth of individual countries. It can be a way of reducing povertyand inequalities in access to water, health care, and education that the process of urbanization is unable to alleviate. However, it can also be a way to reduce greenhousegas emissions that drive climate change if rural development is pursued in a sustainable way. This means stopping deforestation.