As demonstrated by the country case studies, the self help group approach is the most appropriate rural development strategy. In view of structural adjustment policies and the general support given to liberalization, privatization and globalization processes in the region, promotion of SHOs and PDRD is more crucial and urgent than ever before. Countries in Asia and the Pacific region should strengthen their decentralized rural development policy frameworks to be fulcrums of local level capacity building institutions. This calls for mechanisms and structures to allow popular participation on a wider scale because development cannot be imposed on people. Neither can such policies and procedures be packaged and distributed like consumer products. The poor should perceive, analyze, understand their life situation and act to change the existing situation. Given the "political will", countries can promote a participatory policy framework by establishing participatory approaches, carrying out a social mobilization process, creating an enabling environment for people and CSOs to play a proactive role in poverty alleviation, food security, sustainable natural resource management and development.
At the grass-roots level, a down-to-earth strategy can be taken up to raise awareness and conscientization of the target groups. CSOs, of which NGOs are a part, can play a significant role by a) forming SHOs, b) providing social animators/facilitators, c) participatory data gathering and analyses, d) arranging interaction with advanced SHOs and e) awareness through education and training.
National governments must therefore embrace participatory decentralized rural development as a policy. The United Nations and other international agencies should advocate tor bringing about necessary changes in development strategies to bring about a radical 'paradigm shift' in development strategy for poverty alleviation and sustainable rural development.
