The Importance of Monitoring Rules in Local-Level Forest Management

Abstract

"We argue that despite the possible differences between individuals or the characteristics of the resource they use, the regular monitoring of rules is a necessary condition for successful resource management. This is not to say that the attributes of individuals or resources do not contribute to the creation and monitoring of rules--such research, in fact, is at the core of understanding the relationships between individuals and their environment. Our research, instead, challenges those who may think that it is only by such attributes that successful outcomes can occur; that certain sets of characteristics can bypass the regular monitoring of rules. Further, we attempt to generalize this argument by testing it with a significantly larger dataset than is usually found in this literature. Theoretical debates about what variables are significant or not to local level resource management will not be easily settled with such larger N empirical testing."