6.1.2 There is increasing concern about the lack of relevance and effectiveness of many training courses and school curricula. It is well known that training, particularly in natural resource management, sometimes fails to meet the needs of different stakeholders and can be of poor quality, resulting in unsustainable outcomes. Participatory curriculum development is an emerging approach which builds on our experience of participation in rural development programmes and is becoming recognised more widely as a critical element in the success of education and training.