he Andean regions of Latin America encompass a vast mountainous zone of alternating high peaks, hillsides and relatively narrow valleys; rivers and ravines form a large number of basins in this area inhabited by scattered population groups which exert heavy pressure on the fragile renewable resources to be found there. In order to live in this environment, the inhabitants of the Andes must have the organization and know-how necessary not only to meet their own food production needs through proper management of natural resources-mainly water and the soil-but also to promote the conservation of those resources. In the opinion of the authors, history demon strates that the pre-hispanic inhabitants considered three elements as being essential for proper manage ment of the basins in general and of water in partic ular: (a) the organization and coordinated participa tion of the community in the work; (b) the use of technologies and working methods adapted to the zone; and (c) control over a sufficiently large vertical and horizontal area to allow various ecological levels to be managed simultaneously. At present there are still only a few govern ment-sponsored programmes and projects in Latin America which take the above considerations into account and devote their efforts to providing technical assistance to the peasants for integral management of basins or hillsides on the basis of appropriate tech nologies. The study emphasizes, however, that the programmes in operation which cover these aspects, although few in number, indicate that there is a vast potential for the exchange of know-how through appropriate horizontal cooperation machinery. Such cooperation would primarily take place among the countries of the Andean region, but could be expanded to include all of the region's mountainous areas, thus benefiting the rural population of moun tainous areas throughout Latin America.
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