A Development Expert Relies on the Resilience of Villagers

“A Development Expert Relies On the Resilience of Villagers.” Yale E360, e360.yale.edu/features/a_development_expert_relies_on_the_resilience_of_villagers.

1. I already knew that climate change is an issue that affects some areas of the world more than others, especially coastal areas and sub-Saharan Africa. I also knew that carbon emissions are a major environmental threat, and that it's important to keep them low in developed countries. 
2. I learned that development isn't always the best solution to solve problems in society, because many "underdeveloped" countries have discovered methods to maintain their standard of living despite the massive environmental changes that have occurred in their area. I learned that there are no one-size-fits-all solutions to climate change, but that each community needs to be able to decide for itself the most innovative/useful way to adapt to the changing ecosystem.
3. This is relevant because it addresses the issues of what really constitutes "resilience." Resilient communities are not just the ones that have the highest GDP, or have the most energy efficient technology. Whether or not a community is "developed" matters less than whether the community is willing to adapt it's practices in a way that will benefit it in the long run, like many communities in sub-Saharan Africa that have changed their farming practices to address the issue of decreased water supply. 
4. This is a very interesting argument, but it would be interesting to see examples from other communities in different parts of the world. The author focuses primarily on Africa and the issue of drought, but there are many other areas of the world subject to different environmental threats, and it would be poor reasoning to assume that every part of the world is capable of solving environmental crisis on its own. That being said, I do agree that there are many more solutions than the ones being proposed by highly developed countries, and that it is probably more effective to let communities develop unique solutions rather than impose a specific way of life on them.