Common Property Resources and the Dynamics of Rural Poverty in India's Dry Regions

Abstract

"Despite a rapid decline in their area and productivity, common property resources constitute an important component of community assets in the dry areas of India (Bromley and Cernea, 1989; Magrath, 1986; Ostrom, 1988) and are one of the community's responses to the scarcities and stresses created by agroclimatic conditions. They are sources of a range of physical products, offer employment and income generation opportunities and provide broader social and ecological benefits.

"This article first, presents village-level evidence regarding the dependence of poor households on common property resources, a second section comments on their decline and the causal factors, while the final section examines public interventions involving the rural poor and common property resources."