Conflicts and Disturbance - A Reason to Change: Lessons from Community Based Natural Resource Management Institutions in Orissa, India

Abstract

"The paper tries to relate Ostrom's principle of "Graduated Sanctions" to the principles of rule making in the village institutions mainly associated with the management of natural resources, mainly forests and water. This paper is based on the case studies from Orissa, India to examine the conditions of change in village institutions due to conflicts and disturbances.

"The paper analyses the conflicts in two broad levels to build up issues to discuss on sustainibility of institutions as well as the commons that are threatened because of conflicts between thoughts, expectations and practice. The commons in India are mainly the 'assumed commons' and not commons in reality, the tenurial arrangements over such lands often lie with the Government meant / controlled for various purposes. These lands are used by the communities as commons with their set of rules and regulations, till the lands remain unattended to by the departments concerned. Such insecurity of tenure brings in conflict between the managers (government departments) and the communities and doubts over the sustainability of the resources and the institutions managing the same."