Securing the Commons: Annotated Bibliography

This annotated bibliography provides short summaries of key documents on Securing the Commons prepared by ILC and its members and partners. Also included are other materials relevant to securing access to common property.

ILC Publications:

Securing Common Property regimes in a Globalizing World: Synthesis of 41 Case Studies on Common Property Regimes from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America
International Land Coalition and International Food Policy Research Institute, March 2008
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Paper presents a synthesis of 41 case studies on common property written from both community and national perspectives. Global case studies examine a diversity of common resources including forest, rangelands, and fisheries. Paper highlights emerging patterns and concerns with the goal of securing access and rights to common property resources.

Land and Vulnerable People in a World of Change, CSD 16
May 2008
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This draft issue paper prepared for the 16 th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development addresses the importance of land tenure security and equitable access to land for achieving poverty reduction and sustainable development. It introduces emerging trends and anticipated future threats to equitable access and tenure security and their impacts on the poorer section of society. Case studies from Africa, Latin America, and Asia provide regional context and lessons learned.

Administering Land Rights: Alternatives to Individual Property Ownership
From the: International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development
Porte Alegre , Brazil , March 2006
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This paper was presented the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development in March 2006 . The paper presents the range of land tenure arrangements that exist and the different alternatives available for securing land access for the poor. The observations in the paper reflect contributions from over 35 case studies in 20 countries.

Member Publications:

Diagnostico de las Propiedades en Conflicto en las Organizaciones Miembros de la MAF
FENACOOP, June 2008
Latin America
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El documento cobra la tenencia de la tierra en Nicaragua y analiza los efectos que se derivan del problema de la propiedad relacionado a los aspectos jurídicos, institucionales y socio económicos.

Unmaking the Commons: Collective Action, Property Rights, and Resource Appropriation among Pastoralists in Eastern Ethiopia
International Food Policy Research Institute, June 2008
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This paper investigates current practices of collective action and changing property rights in the pastoralist economies of eastern Ethiopia. The authors describe forms of collective action in water and pasture resource management and analyze how changing property rights regimes affect incentives for collective action.

The transformation of the Afar commons in Ethiopia : State Coercion, Diversification and Property Rights Change among Pastoralists
International Food Policy Research Institute , June 2008
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This study Study reveals a situation where the traditional land-use arrangements in Afar are being transformed due to the introduction of farming. Drought in the study areas has facilitated the subdivision of communal land for the purpose of farming. Qualitative and quantitative analysis highlight the drivers of the transformation of traditional property rights of Afar pastoralists.

Beyond Group Ranch Subdivision: Collective Action for Livestock Mobility, Ecological Viability, and Livelihoods
International Food Policy Research Institute , June 2007
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This paper highlights results from two separate studies carried out across eight Kajiado group ranches and offers a unique opportunity to look at emergent pre- and post subdivision trends from an interdisciplinary framework that combines ecological, political, and human-ecological research perspectives.

Securing the Commons: What are the Common and what are They Good for?
International Food Policy Research Institute, May 2006
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This policy brief introduces the commons and the people who rely on common property for their livelihoods. Also included in the brief is a series of recommendations for creating effective policies and mechanisms that address and promote decentralization, capacity building, and local community empowerment.

Securing the Commons in an Era of Privatization: Policy and Legislative Challenges
Summary conclusions from the International Workshop of the Co-Govern Network in Kenya , October 2004
International Institute for Environment and development, 2005
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This report contains the summary conclusions from the International Workshop of the Co-Govern Network as part of a serial titled, Securing the Commons. The summary report addresses land policies, including common land policies, and the impacts of privatization.

Enhancing Access of the Poor to Land and Common Property Resources: A Resource Book
Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development and the International Land Coalition, 2006
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This resource book is the product of nearly 100 authors whose experiences are drawn from all over Asia. The book compiles ideas and options for planning and designing programs for securing access and tenure to property by the poor and marginalized. The report links access to land and common property to food security, conflict resolution, sustainable natural resource management, and urban migration.

Options for Developmental Land Administration Systems in the Context of Communal Tenure Situations and Implications for Service Delivery
Association for Rural Advancement, June 2005
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This brief indicates that South Africa ’s land administration system is not easily adapted to accommodate the large range of tenures that exist in urban and rural contexts. The brief further suggests that to meet development objectives, tenure should be placed within the context of land management and administration systems.

Using Local Practices and Records to Secure Individual Tenure Rights in Common Property Situations
Association for Rural Development, November 2001
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This paper asserts that in order to change land tenure systems in South Africa , it is important to work within existing systems rather than expect that new systems can be devised. The paper offers practical lessons based on experience with the Ekuthuleni community.

ILC Partner Publications:

More Than Socially Embedded: The Distinctive Character of ‘Communal Tenure’ Regimes in South Africa and its Implications for Land Policy
Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies
Journal of Agrarian Change, V7 No3 July 2007
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This article analyzes debates over tenure reform policy in post-apartheid South Africa , with a particular focus on the controversial Communal Land Rights Act of 2004. Key underlying principles of pre-colonial land relations are identified. The article suggests that alternative approaches to the Communal Land Rights Act are required.

Other Relevant Publications:

Nomad’s Rights to Common Property Resources: The Code Pastoral of the Islamic republic of Mauritania
This is an overview of Mauritania’s code pastoral. The article discusses Article 10, which addresses the mobility of herders to access pastoral resources, and Article 11, which guarantees access to resources and prohibits public enterprise that harms the vital interests of herders.
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Other websites and links with relevant information and documents on the Commons:

Digital Library of the Commons
International Association for the Study of the Commons

http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/view/subjects/cpr-gcom.html

Eldis, Institute of Development Studies
http://www.eldis.org/go/topics/resource-guides/agriculture/land-tenure/communal-land