The Communication Initiative has worked to increase the profile of communication as a central element of successful development practise and to enable communication practitioners to use peer review and real time information exchange to improve their work. Through its `location' as a crossroads for a range of information about, evaluations on, and reviews of, communication projects, The Communication Initiative has facilitated discussions across theoretical approaches, gathered information on grassroots initiatives from varied cultural and geographic settings and brought together practitioners from very different backgrounds.

The two groups share an understanding of the centrality of communication for rural development and social change, and a commitment to enhance rural people's capacities in managing communication processes. FAO is interested in exploring this in the realm of natural resource management and rural development in order to strengthen the work of communication practitioners. The Communication Initiative looks for ways to profile and share the varied communication approaches and methods being used successfully in the field. Both institutions want to facilitate a process of mutual learning among different stakeholders interested in sharing experiences about communication for natural resource management.

The result of this effort is a unique and not easily categorized resource book - Communication and Natural Resource Management: experience/theory. It is not a work of theory and yet examines theoretical perspectives. It is not an account of best practises and yet provides examples of interesting and useful initiatives. It is not a training manual and yet presents exercises and learning objectives. It looks at how experience is, and can be guided by theory and how theory can be derived from understanding experience. It challenges us to reflect on our own and others' work by treating theoretical approaches as interchangeable tools within a variety of different communication and natural resource management initiatives. It encourages the readers to learn from each other.