Group Size and Successful Collective Action: A Case Study of Forest Management Institutions in the Indian Himalayas

Abstract

"Recognizing the significance of local communities and institutions in global environmental outcomes, this study focuses on village van panchayats (forest management councils) in Almora district in the Middle Indian Himalayas. Three objectives motivate the paper: to examine the relationship between state initiatives on resource policy-making and local level outcomes; to provide some first indications of the multiple configurations of user behavior, institutional rules and resource management outcomes at the local level; and, to address a puzzling finding of the research -- why should relatively larger villages find it easier to create and maintain local forest management institutions, and achieve better protection of their forests than smaller villages in the same administrative-ecological setting."