| dc.description.abstract |
"Defining and enforcing appropriate property rights for common-pool resources presents
an enduring conundrum. The problem is particularly difficult when multiple stakeholders
assert rights, the resource base is threatened by incursions, and property rights are
disputed. The Montaña Camapara Reserve in Honduras exists within these challenges
to property rights and sustainable management. The reserve was formed in 2001 by
three municipalities that share communal rights to the mountain; they have fought over
their boundaries for more than a century. In 1995, one of the municipalities obtained a
national land title that included most of the mountain, despite objections from its
neighbors. The mountain’s springs provide water for nearly two dozen villages. Its land
is coveted by coffee growers and farmers, who began clearing the mountain during the
1990s. In this context, people in surrounding villages became concerned for their water
supply, and formed a grassroots movement to protect the mountain. The movement’s
supporters pressured municipal authorities to create a reserve and remove landholders.
Over the course of nearly a decade, about 20 farmers agreed to relocation, residents
cooperated to fence the reserve, and the three municipal governments reached an
accord to defend the mountain from further incursions. Recently, forest cover has been
regenerating where farmers abandoned land, but the national government has not
recognized the reserve and formal property rights remain in dispute. Drawing on
ethnographic fieldwork, satellite images, and archival research, this study explores how
the watershed reserve developed collaboratively and why it has endured despite
ongoing tensions. The analysis points to the importance of transparent negotiations,
participation of all disputing factions, building of shared understanding, and the
widespread conviction that the reserve serves the common good. Unexpectedly, the
reserve’s creation occurred without state support, contradicting the dominant notion that
successful, strictly protected reserves require state involvement." |
en_US |