Journal of Environmental Management (1998) 54, 291–303 Article No. ev980233 The contribution of forums to rural sustainable development: a preliminary evaluation A. J. Scott This paper assesses the contribution that forums have made in progressing sustainable land use policies and decisions within rural Wales. The examples of Cardigan Bay Forum and Wales Rural Forum are used to show how sustainability has been addressed within their overall agendas. The contemporary debate about sustainable development has provoked a new organizational response with forums visible in many activities and initiatives. The traditional adversarial approach between groups has been replaced by a more sophisticated and complex assemblage of bodies that together create the forum ideal. Consensus, partnership and mutual understanding form the language of this new discourse. However, their presence raises certain key questions as to their role, purpose, representativeness and value in rural resource management debates. These questions have not been considered in the literature, and with the increasing proliferation of forums generally, there is a need to assess whether they are bringing about real and effective change. The two examples reveal clear evidence of forums as agents of change. However, there is considerable tension within both forums, within a climate of financial and membership vulnerability, between the need for involving all legitimate interests and the need to achieve meaningful outcomes for individual members. Such tension goes to the heart of who the two forums actually represent and their resulting actions. The way that these tensions have been reconciled lie at the heart of the forum phenomenon.  1998 Academic Press Keywords: forum, sustainability, networks, participation, vulnerability, evaluation. Sustainable development in Introduction perspective This paper explores the growth of the forum phenomenon in the rural environment The latter part of the twentieth century has focusing on the nature of the organization, witnessed the progressive growth of concern its modus operandi and overall effectiveness for the rural environment, its resources and as a participant in rural resource man- management. The concept of sustainable de- agement debates. Initially, the concept of sus- velopment was established as the fragility of tainable development is reviewed, assessing the planet became exposed in a series of the nature and substance of this new dis- books, reports and conferences (Carson, 1962; course. The paper then examines the growth Meadows et al., 1972; Ward and Dubos, 1972; of forums as organizational responses to the UN Conference on the Human Environment issues raised by sustainable development, set Stockholm, 1972). Although the subject of within the complex and often very confusing debate among various writers and com- Welsh Institute of Rural assemblage of organizations and players in- mentators between the wars, it was the pub- Studies, University of volved in such matters. Finally, the paper lication of ‘Silent Spring’ by Rachael Carson Wales Aberystwyth, uses the examples of two rural Welsh forums (1962) and ‘Limits to Growth’ by Meadows et Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales, SY23 3AL, UK to evaluate the role and legitimacy of forums al. (1972) that first exposed the dangers of in addressing their stated aims towards sus- nations striving for economic supremacy at Received 13 August 1997; accepted 12 August 1998 tainable development. the expense of the environment; a philosophy 0301–4797/98/040291+13 $30.00/0  1998 Academic Press