The Communal Management of the Radi Forest on Icaria Island, Greece

Abstract

"This paper is a part of an ongoing research, and examines the present and past systems of the management of a common property resource, the Radi forest. Icarian forest history is replete with the participatory management of the forest. It reviews the evolution of this common, from ancient years till present. The rights to forest resources belong to no one, but the state controls the forest through the forest service. This is because forests and other natural resources belong to the state as a part of the process of national building. For the state the Radi forest is an open-access resource, for the community near the forest the forest is 'its-own resource' according to its history. This long-standing history serves as an illuminative case of how common property resources work and achieve sustainability. This survey tries to identify the ways in which the history and the experience of these villagers serve as the base for the establishment of the resilience between community, forest service, and state."