REGIMES IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD
Synthesis of 41 Case Studies on Common
Property Regimes from Africa, Asia, Europe
and Latin America.
- PREFACE
- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- INTRODUCTION
- ACCESS TO RESOURCES VIA COMMON PROPERTY REGIMES
- TENURE SECURITY UNDER COMMON PROPERTY REGIMES
- THREATS TO COMMON PROPERTY REGIMES
- Markets
- Demographic Factors
- Legal and Governance
Frameworks
- Conflicts and Conflict
Management - EXAMPLES OF REFORM AND INNOVATION
- CONCLUSIONS
- REFERENCES
- ANNEX A: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CASE STUDIES
- ANNEX B: CASE STUDY FRAMEWORK
- ABBREVIATIONS
- Other Useful Resources on Common Property
ANNEX A: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CASE STUDIES
» Africa
Land tenure systems and pastoral resources management in Chabe community, Benin , 2005
The case addresses pastoral resource management within complex land tenure systems of Chabe community, an ethnic group in Benin , which has made use of their local organizations and institutions for the conservation of their natural resources. The case analyses various interpretations of property rights, competitive natural resources exploitation, conflicts and negotiation processes among different users (landowners, migrant farmers, herders, etc.). ( GRAZING)
• Benin - R. Mongbo, P. Tohinlo & A. Floquet, CEBEDES / Université d´Abomey-Calavi
Le Complexe fluvio - lacustre d'Agonvè : un ´success story´ de propriété commune sous gestion endogène au Bénin , 2005
The study describes the common management regime of a fluviolacustrine ecosystem in which people alternate between fishing and growing vegetables and other species. The production rhythm is well aligned with the rhythm of the ecosystem leaving it time to rest and recover. The basis of the functioning of this system is a divine order, which is integrated in people's daily lives. (FISHERIES, WETLANDS)
• Botswana - Michael Taylor, Indigenous Vegetation Project
Review of shifts in tenure systems over Botswana's common rangelands, and the policies that have encouraged these shifts , 2005
This paper examines the shift in tenure systems over Botswana 's common rangelands and the policies that have encouraged such shifts, as well as current trajectories in and feasibility of community-based management of rangeland resources. (GRAZING)
• Cameroon - Victor Deffo, IRAD
Problemes D'Utilisation des Patuages Communautaires dans la Region de L'Adamaoua Camerounais , 2005
Attempts to organize farmers' groups, and manage use of common rangelands between pastoralists and farmers, face challenges from lack of common rules that control access, use and management of natural resources. (LAND, GRAZING)
• Cameroon - W. Mala, V. Robiglio & M. Diaw, CIFOR / IITA
Management of common land and resources in Southern Cameroon : examination of the context and developmental implications at the forest margins . 2005
Examines the livelihood and land-use changes taking place in agro-forestry settings, and the resilience capacity of the tenure system, particularly with respect to lineage-based rights to land. (FORESTS)
• Cameroon - Sylvie Mbog, ODECO
Reflexion sur la propriété rurale commune dans une perspective de développement et de modernisation: le cas du Cameroun , 2005
The study examines the land tenure practices in Southern Cameroonian villages, focusing on the interplay between statutory and customary law and the resulting confusion and uncertainty as to the rules of access and management for land and forests. While most land and forests are exploited according to the customary rules and regulations, statutory rules allow some users to refer to the rules that are more convenient to back up their claims. (LAND, FORESTS)
• Ethiopia - Dejene Aredo, Addis Ababa University
Fuzzy Access Rights in Pastoral Economies: Case Studies from Southern Ethiopia , 2005
Documents the management of pastoral resources through two basic tenure regimes: common property in permanent settlements, and "fuzzy access rights" (FAR) in temporary/shifting settlements, with the latter characterized by flexibility and hierarchy of use and access rights. (GRAZING, WATER)
• Ethiopia - Dejene Aredo, Univ. Addis Ababa
Property rights, customary institutions, and conflict: the case of the southern pastoral areas of Ethiopia , 2005
This paper summarizes a study of common lands and conflict in the pastoral areas of southern Ethiopia , where conflicts have remained widespread and worrying. The purpose of this study is to analyze the causes, nature and impacts of conflict in the southern pastoral areas and to investigate the role of customary institutions and stakeholders in preventing and resolving conflicts. (GRAZING, WATER)
• Ethiopia - Jon Unruh, McGill University
Common property and conflict in Ethiopia: the case of the Afar, Somali, and Karamojong cluster pastoralists , 2005
Three cases of armed confrontation over pastoral commons in Ethiopia , and developments which have led to significant opportunities for conflict resolution and rule-making. (GRAZING)
• Kenya - Joseph Karangathi, Mau Community Forest Association
A Case Study on Common Property Tenure System . 2005
Discussion of social organization within customary tenure in Mau Forest area, change processes taking place, and the legal and policy context governing the commons, including prospects for reform in this arena. (FORESTS)
• Mali - Mahalmoudou Hamadoun, Université Mandé Bukari
La propriété rurale commune dans la Zone Nord du Mali (Région de GAO) , 2005
A mix of customary and statutory rules govern access, use and management of land; customary rules seem to prevail within communities, but the arrival of many new occupants has weakened those rules considerably. (PASTURES, LAND)
• Niger - A. Bachir, G. Vogt & K. Vogt, CRAC-GRN / SOS-Sahel
Cooking Stones to Extract the Juice: 5 years of Autonomous Common Property Resources Management at Takiéta , 2005
This paper describes an on-going practical example of local stakeholders working together towards shared management of a strategic 'common' resource. It gives a practical as well as theoretical view of the autonomous evolution of this local management structure and its management over a five-year period, focusing on the need to create an enabling environment in which effective, decentralized and equitable local management can take place, and to invest in the long-term viability of collaborative 'local' management through inclusive processes and appropriate social communication strategies. (FORESTS)
• South Africa - Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA)
Securing tenure at Ekuthuleni , 2005
Considers the challenges facing one community in securing rights to collective land through the recently passed Communal Land Rights Act, which provides a framework for the transfer of land to a juristic person representing a community, as well as the registration of deeds of land tenure rights to members of the community. (LAND)
• Tanzania - Claire H. Quinn*, Meg Huby, Hilda Kiwasila and Jon Lovett, University of York
Perceptions of risks to livelihoods differ between men and women in semi-arid Tanzania , 2003
This paper examines the major concerns and risks to livelihoods faced by rural communities in semi-arid Tanzania, with the aim to identify factors influencing local perceptions of problems and to test the feasibility of 'risk mapping'. (GRAZING, WATER)
• Uganda - Rose Mwebaza, Uganda Land Alliance
Land Rights of the Karamajong Pastoral Minority in Uganda , 2005
Examines systems of herder mobility among pastoralists and conflicts that emerge when these intersect with state policies concerning protected areas. (LAND, GRAZING)
• Uganda - E. Obaikol, H. Kamusiime & M. Rugadya, Associates for Development
Rural Common Property Resources Management in Uganda: A Case Study of Community Forest Management in Budongo - Masindi District , 2005
Examination of community organization to manage collective forest resources, in the context of policy, legal and institutional changes that allow for the establishment of community-based resource management. (LAND, FORESTS)
• Uganda - Esther Obaikol, Associates for Development
Common Property Resource Management in Uganda : The Legal and Institutional Framework , 2005
Review of legal and policy framework related to management of customary land and the commons, including interaction between different sets of laws and policies, and their relation to social and commercial trends taking place in the country. (LAND, FORESTS, WATER)
• Zimbabwe - Zvidzai Chidhakwa, SAFIRE
Local management of indigenous fruit trees as common property in Northeast Zimbabwe , 2005
This paper discusses traditional and formal practices of tree management in northeastern Zimbabwe , focusing on three indigenous fruit tree species, within a context of growing pressure from migration, commercialization and non-recognition of communal land practices by the state. (LAND, TREES)
• Zimbabwe - Abby Taka Mgugu, Platform for Women's Land and Water Rights in Southern Africa (WLWRSA )
Rural Common Property in a Perspective of Development and Modernisation: Case from Zimbabwe , 2005
Analyzes the collective management of resources at community level, including organizations within communities, the tenure regimes that govern these resources; organizations within communities, and relevant changes that are taking place. The case focuses on Zimbabwe but refers to other countries in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), considering commonalities in resource management, policy and legal frameworks, and experiences with forms of land and agrarian reform. (LAND)
» Asia
Community Forestry in Transition: Sixty Years of Experience in the Indian Central Himalayas , 2005
This study presents experiences in commons management from Kumaun in northern India , where formal local institutions of community forestry ( van panchayats ) were established in the 1940s. It examines transitions in community forestry and other informal institutions of commons management, as these are influenced by changing socio-economic contexts on the one hand and changing state policies on the other. ( FOREST )
• India - Purnamita Dasgupta - Institute of Economic Growth at University of Dehli Enclave
Common Pool Resources as Development Drivers? A study of NTFPs in Himachal Pradesh , India , 2005
This study investigates the role and implications of common-pool resources as a source of sustainable rural incomes in the context of opportunities created by the development process, and with emphasis on the household decision-making process regarding protecting and planting trees. (LAND, TREES)
A Community case study: Self-initiated forest management in Saigata , 2005
The case focuses on organizing within a heterogeneous community to manage forest areas, as a response to deforestation and resource degradation in the 1970s. (FORESTS)
• India - Hemant Kumar Gupta, Forest Survey of India
An analysis of policy, legal and institutional framework of Common Property Management in the Himachal Himalayas, India : a case study, 2005
The rural economy of Himachal Pradesh is mainly dependent on common property resources (CPRs) and their use, availability and sustainability is the prime concern of the people living in the state. This case discusses how encroachment, privatization and government appropriation have been the main processes taking resources out of communal control and use, and analyzes the policy, legal and institutional framework being practiced in Himachal Pradesh state. (LAND, WATER, FORESTS)
• India - C. Kumar & K. Nongkynrih, CIFOR / North Eastern Hill University
Customary Tenurial Forest Practices and the Poor in Khasi - Jaintia Society of Meghalaya , 2005
This paper focuses on the customary forest tenure practices in Khasi-Jaintia society of Meghalaya state, located in the northeastern part of India . Empirical observations from the field show a trend by which the poor, as one of the constituent users of forests for livelihood, are becoming more and more vulnerable. ( FOREST )
• India - Devendra Prasad, Chitrakoot Seva Ashram (CSA)
Management of Common Property through Land Rights , 2005
Case study community empowerment activities designed such that people in Manikpur Block of Chitrakoot district, Uttar Pradesh state, can better protect their land rights. While the area of the Manikpur Block is declared to be in the Ranipur Sanctuary of Forest Department, the forest is depleted and the villages are no longer allowed to be dependent on forest products, creating both land tenure and livelihoods challenges. (LAND, FORESTS)
• India - Subrata Singh, Foundation for Ecological Security
Common Property Resource Management in Transitional Villages , 2005
This paper identifies potential vulnerable areas in the management of common property resources in the transitional villages, in the context of changing social and economic institutions, gradual loss of common interests and group identity, and growing integration into market-oriented economies. It examines the characteristics of the CPR institutions in the changing scenarios and the need for support mechanisms for effective governance of the commons. (INSTITUTIONS)
Conflicts and Disturbance - A Reason to Change: Lessons from Community based Natural Resource Management Institutions in Orissa, India , 2005
This paper is based on the case studies from Orissa , India to examine the conditions of change in village institutions due to conflicts and disturbances. It analyses the conflicts in two broad levels, to discuss on sustainability of institutions as well as the commons that are threatened because of conflicts between thoughts, expectations and practice. (LAND, FORESTS)
• Indonesia - Indonesian Institute for Forest and Environment (RMI)
Community, Halimun Area and Common Property, 2005
Discusses the institutional and social history that has generated conflict between communities which manage forest resources and national park authorities, with attention to the impact of state policies oriented toward commercial exploitation of natural resources. (LAND, FORESTS)
• Indonesia - Gamma Galudra, ICRAF
Land Tenure Conflicts in Halimun Area: What are the Alternative Resolutions for Land Tenure Conflicts? 2005
Analyses land tenure conflict between local communities who manage the forest land for livelihood needs and national park authorities which, supported by state law, seek to maintain forest area for conservation. (FORESTS)
• Japan - Ashutosh Sarker, University of Queensland
Land Improvement Districts as Irrigation Common-Pool Resources in Japan , 2005
Discusses the different types of self-governance and participatory structures that exist in Japan , and the way the Japanese government encourages natural resource users to self-govern common irrigation resources through Land Improvement Districts, with an enhanced importance attached to self-governance and participation within the economic, political, legal, and institutional structure. ( IRRIGATION)
• Nepal - Bhim Adikari and Jon Lovett, University of York
Transaction costs of community forest management in Nepal , 2005.
This paper examines the transaction costs incurred by forest users in community forestry in the mid-hills of Nepal , revealing that the average 'poor' household incurred Nepalese rupees (NRS) 1265 in transaction costs annually, while wealthier 'rich' households incurred an average of NRS 2312 per year. The results show that transaction costs represent a major component of resource management costs and vary according to the socio-economic status of resource users and characteristics of the community. (FORESTS)
• Nepal - Bhim Adikari and Jon Lovett , University of York
The role of heterogeneity in success of community forest management in Nepal , 2005.
The paper examines the relationship between local level heterogeneity and the likelihood of successful collective action in community-based forest management in Nepal . One key result is that the effects of heterogeneity can be highly variable, so that systems of governance need to be flexible to allow adaptation of management regimes to local conditions. (FORESTS)
• Nepal - Bhim Adikari, Salvatore di Falco and Jon Lovett, University of York
Household characteristics and forest dependency in common property forest management in Nepal , 2004.
This study analyzes the relationship between key household characteristics and common property resources used in order to assess whether poorer households are able to gain greater access to community forests as a result of institutional change. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses suggest that forest product collection from community forests is dependent on various socio-economic variables, from which it can be concluded that, at least for some key products, poorer households are currently facing more restricted access to community forests than 'less poor' or relatively better off households. (FORESTS)
• Nepal - Bharat Shrestha, Mobilization and Development (MODE )
Rural Common Property under Leasehold Forestry in Nepal , 2005
Review of initiative to provide 40-year leasehold rights to forest-dependent communities, particularly women and other highly vulnerable groups. (FORESTS)
• Thailand - Nitaya Kijtewachakul
Common Property and Complexity of Local Rights System in Sopsai Watershed, Nan Province , Northern Thailand , 2005
Discusses collective action and community-based initiatives as a form of adaptation to maintain local tenure systems, in the context of conservation projects. (LAND, FORESTS, WATERSHED)
» Europe
• Scotland - Erika Seki, University of Aberdeen
Community action toward buyout of land in Scotland , 2005
Discusses experience from a community movement toward buyout of collective crofting land and the process of regenerating crofting communities, in the context of implementation of the 2003 Land Reform Act. (LAND)
» Latin America
• Argentina - Fernando Kosovsky, CEPPAS
Estudio sobre propiedad comunitaria de la tierra en Argentina , 2005
Analysis of the legal frameworks, institutional to national level, related to the common property in Argentina . (LAND)
• Colombia - Laura Maria Alayòn Hurtado, Universidad Javeriana
Cangrejos Negros Con y Sin Fin: Regulaciones Externas y Apropiaciones Locales en el Manejo de un Recurso de Uso Comun en las Islas de Provedencia y Santa Catalina , 2005
Analyzes the relationship between incentives for cooperation and the management of black crabs as a common resource, as well as the relations of the users with the territory, not as common property, but as a symbolic shared dimension that determines the possibility of and extraction of the resource. (MARINE RESOURCES)
• Guatemala - Mauro Vay Ganon, CODECA
Formas de Tenencia Colectiva de la Tierra en Guatemala , 2005
Discusses the tenure systems, patterns of social organization and land-management practices found in Guatemala 's campesino communities. (LAND)
La Propiedad Colectiva de la Tierra: Las Comunidades Campesinas del Peru , 2005
Provides analysis of historical development and current trends in campesinos communities. Group rights to these lands are recognized by the state but are under threat by other recent policy and legal reforms that encourage private land ownership. (LAND, GRAZING)
Propiedad colectiva, Zonificación y Ordenamiento Territorial: Estudio de caso en Bosques Inundables de Aguaje (Mauritia flexuosa) en la Comunidad Nativa de Parinari, Loreto, Perú , 2005
The case presents a diagnosis and characterization of land rights in the Peruvian Amazon, including an evaluation of the processes taking place in common property areas, resource management problems present, and efforts to address these through the mapping and the development of locally driven territorial rules. (FORESTS)