Limited control of environment by local communities

There are currently few ways for local communities to decide appropriate ways of developing and conserving their natural resources. Many small towns have little influence in determining the use of surrounding lands, and feel the only land over which they have influence is limited to the small central area. The fact that surrounding resources, even if controlled from elsewhere, might still be a possible resource for the community, goes largely unnoticed, as well as the fact that resources include time as well as land.