Management of Multiple-use Commons: Focusing on Land Use for Forestry and Reindeer Husbandry in Northern Sweden

Abstract

"This thesis addresses an example of multiple-use commons problems: the case of land use for forestry and reindeer husbandry. Forestry use land for industrial purposes while reindeer husbandry (practiced by the indigenous people, the Sami) use the same land for reindeer grazing. The land use rights are shared between the two sectors: forestry owns the forest resource while reindeer husbandry has usufructuary rights. Among other things, the parallel land use and property rights situation are the reasons why land use is problematic. An institutional arrangement, consultations, was installed to ease the conflicts over land use. However, consultations have shortcomings since conflicts over land use still occur. The institutional and development (IAD) framework is used to analyze consultations. To analyze the nature of the problem, the individuals and the institutions involved is studied by using the ladder of participation, design principles, social planner’s model, and transaction cost theory. The intent is to, by using interdisciplinary theories and methods, discuss the economic aspects of natural resource management in general, and the forestry-reindeer husbandry land use problems in particular. The results show that the current institutional arrangement does not lead to a stable outcome. One reason for this instability is the uneven power relation within consultations. Additionally, there is unevenness between the sectors in economic terms. To overcome the shortcomings of the institutional arrangement, the thesis identifies possible improvements to the consultation process, applicable within the present legal framework. The thesis provides valuable contributions to the knowledge of the forestry reindeer husbandry land use management, and to the theoretical understanding of multiple-use commons."