SECURING COMMON PROPERTY
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

THREATS TO COMMON PROPERTY REGIMES

This paper has argued the importance of common property to the poor especially women in pursuing their livelihoods and serving as safety nets. Almost all case studies show, however, that the existence or at least the functioning of common property regimes is threatened.

In this section, the paper discusses threats common property regimes are facing and that are identified in the case studies. Threats mentioned in the cases can be categorized as follows:

• market-related threats linked to agricultural expansion and related individualization of the commons, and a trend towards commercialization and increasing external investment;
• demographic factors such as migration and population shifts, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic;
• inadequacies in legal and governance frameworks, including: weakening customary institutions and elite capture; state support for privatization; ambiguous national-level policies; and the states' role in managing national parks
• the role of conflicts and conflict management in changing the way common property is managed.

In some examples, these pressures have threatened or are threatening the viability of common property systems, contributing to greater tenure insecurity. In other instances, as will be discussed further in Section 5, common property regimes are changing or adapting to address new challenges, such that tenure security can be maintained or even improved.

The case studies identified a range of threats to common property systems. Some of these may be considered as either "internal", i.e., coming from within a community of CPR users, or "external" i.e., rooted in processes or institutions outside the control of local CPR users. In other instances, the challenges seen - such as environmental degradation or actions to privatize the commons - are a combination of both internal and external factors. Finally, pressures may not generate only challenges, but also opportunities to empower poorer households to enjoy more secure access to common property resources - as will be discussed in the final section of this paper.