Negotiating the Commons: Land Use, Property Rights and Pastoralists of the Western Indian Himalayas

Abstract

"This practicum presents the results of ten weeks of fieldwork in the Kulu Valley of the State of Himachal Pradesh, India, undertaken during the summer of 1994, as part of the team project on 'Sustainable Development of Mountain Environments in India and Canada'. The general purpose of this research is to document the ability of a local collective (village) to influence the management of a Kulu Valley commons within the framework of state law. The specific objectives are to: identify the property rights regimes; identify the users of specific common property resources, describe the collective management of the grazing commons; identify interactions among collectives and between collectives and the state; and, derive recommendations for sustainable resource management."