This special issue focuses on community-based planning (CBP) – planning by communities, for ther communities which links into the local and national government planning systems. The issue draws on the four country CBP project from South Africa, Uganda, Ghana and Zimbabwe and includes examples from franophone Africa, Asia and Latin America. The country studies seek to draw comparisons between the different approaches, objectives and scales used in CBP projects and highlight the need to look at them as part of an integrated planning process for an area.

Designed for both experienced and new trainers who have an interest in training others in the use of participatory methods, whether they are researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, villagers or trainers.

It is not often that a single publication sparks a storm of international controversy and debate in any field. But that is precisely what happened after members of a team from India and the UK published and distributed the report of their scenario workshop and citizen jury experiment - Prajateerpu - in Andhra Pradesh, India.

This general issue allows for articles on a wider range of themes, contexts, and countries. It starts with a ‘mini-theme’: the generation of numbers through participatory approaches - and in particular aggregrating and using those numbers beyond the community level, an area in which there is growing interest. These articles take a critical look at issues such as:· How to find ways of standardising the data;·Aggregating the numbers for higher level planning and policy purposes;·The question of ethics: whether using participatory methods in this way is necessarily ‘extractive’ or whether there can be something in it for communities;·Examines the scope for empowerment; and,·How to maintain quality, both methodologically and ethically?Other articles discuss issues such as:taking stock of PRA and its current status;·what good PRA practice is what PRA is really about or for;·the role of trainers and practitioners; and,·critical reflections from practice.PLA Notes 47 also includes the usually In Touch resources section, e-participation website reviews, and Tips for Trainers.

Many of the more progressive recent developments in animal health have been focused around participatory epidemiology. For many, livestock is a source of food and income generation, and problems surrounding lack of access to veterinary services, drugs, and information can severely impact upon the quality of the animal healthcare available.

This paper describes the consultation processes in Rufisque that have laid the foundations for a local agenda 21. These consultations have helped to establish new relationships between municipal government, community organisations and the private sector and have encouraged a range of initiatives to address local economic and environmental problems.