Digital Library of the Commons

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Local Institutions in Common Property Resources: A Study of Community-based Watershed Management in Northern Thailand
(1995) Wittayapak, Chusak
"The watersheds in Thailand are dejtire governed by the state-property regime. Watershed management has been left entirely to government administration, mainly through the Royal Forestry Department (RED). This is because until recently these areas were extensively forested. However, under this governance the forest area has declined dramatically, from 53 percent of the country area in 1961, to 29 percent in 1986. Forests and watershed resources have de facto become an open-access resource which are susceptible to unlimited exploitation. "Initiatives to privatize forest resources have so far failed to stop deforestation. Moreover, in many cases they may even have accelerated forest depletion. Furthermore, privatization often tends to concentrate wealth in the hands of the few, at the expense of equity. In fact, private reforestation by means of a large-scale commercial forestry does not alleviate poverty since it fails to distribute benefits to the local people. Nor does it recognize traditional rights or any interest or capability in local communities to manage the forest resource around them."
History of the Irrigation, the Constitution of Water Rights and the Role of the State and Peasants' Communities in Ecuadorean Andes
(1995) Ruf, Thierry; Gilot, Luc
"The subject of the paper is the constitution of water rights in the Ecuadorian Andes mountains, looking at all the history of water conflicts from colonial times to now, when the state begin to privatize the old systems of irrigation."
Current Forest and Water Policies in India: Some Facts and Appraisal
(1995) Sengupta, Nirmal
"By now common property relations are considered not only viable, but also a desirable form of property for natural resource management. This has led to many development efforts. The emerging common property institutions are far different from the traditional local formations and have wider economic}, even global relevance's. Newer issues have come up, in the area of control and ownership, in mode of participation, in fairness criteria in distribution etc. On the one hand there is the question of perpetuating the traditional rights. On the other, there is the possibility of more widespread distribution of the benefits of common property resources and of improving the quality of rural life over a wider area. The choice is not merely ethical but also of management ; the suitable alternative forms must be viable and sustainable, probably also productively efficient."
Community-based Watershed Planning and Management on the Island of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia
(1995) Dahl, Christopher
"Pohnpei is a volcanic island located in the Western tropical Pacific (land area 129 sq. mi.). The island is surrounded by an extensive barrier reef and coastal areas are bordered by mangrove forest. The mountainous interior is heavily forested with the main overstorey trees being Campnosperma brevipetiolata and Eleocarpus carolinensis. Large almost pure stands of the endemic palm Clinostigma ponapensis are also found at higher elevations. In 1987 the Pohnpei state government designated a watershed reserve covering 5,100 ha. of upland forest and 5,525 ha. of mangrove. Early on there was considerable resistance by communities and resources users to state 'enclosure' of upland areas as reserve where access and use of resources would be regulated. This led to the formation in 1990 of an inter-agency Watershed Steering Committee which began developing a community based approach. With some external assistance the Committee initiated a community based education program that visited all villages on the island and worked with traditional leaders to develop consensus for the need for forest resource conservation. Some community based organizations, watershed area management committees, were formed during this process and the formation of additional organizations to cover all communities on the island is being encouraged. Clearing of forest to plant kava (Piper methysticum), a traditionally important and increasingly commercial crop, emerged as a major issue in terms of forest loss. As of 1994, with substantial assistance from the Asian Development Bank and the U.S. based private non-profit organization The Nature Conservancy, a program of community-based watershed management planning is being initiated. A team from the State Division of Forestry will work with Watershed Area Management Committees to develop management plans for local watersheds using a participatory planning approach. It is expected that local Committees will also be substantially involved in management and enforcement once the planning phase is complete. This paper reports on the progress and results of this process to date."
Chaos on the Commons: Considering the Implications of Nonequilibrium Theory for Common Property Research
(1995) Morgan, Betty
"The rapidly emerging 'new science' of nonequilibrium systems theory may offer common property researchers and scholars an exciting alternative ontology from which to consider the development, behavior and efficacy of common property systems. Deriving from the dynamical holism of quantum physics, nonequilibrium theory engages the spontaneity, chaos, interrelatedness and interconnectedness of complex natural systems, such as common property regimes, and considers these system behaviors temporally. Viewing system evolution, or iteration, in this way permits researchers to assess the entire range of system behavior from episodes of equilibrium to episodes of chaotic or unpredictable behavior which suggest that the system is self-organizing and adapting to environmental stimuli. This study explores the connections between common property scholarship and the recent theoretical developments in nonequilibrium analysis. Using the Navaho Indian Irrigation Project as a case study, this paper explores the aspects of nonequilibrium theory which may be instructive in an expanded vision of common property research. Nonequilibrium theory holds that the behavior of all natural systems, of which human systems such as common property regimes are clearly a part, can be understood differently, and more completely when the tools and concepts of nonequilibrium theory are employed. After presenting the theoretical elements of nonequilibrium theory, the paper turns to an examination of the developmental history of the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project from a nonequilibrium perspective. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of nonequilibrium theory for common property research scholarship."
Wetlands and Biodiversity: A Case Study of Common Property Resources in Bangladesh
(1995) Rahman, Mukhleshur
"Bangladesh, a deltaic flood plain formed by the three major rivers of the world is endowed with vast wetland resources which include 1.03 million hectares of rivers, canals and estuaries, 114,161 hectares of reservoirs, 2.8 million hectares of seasonal floodlands and 87,300 hectares of brackish water aquafirms. These wetlands support biological diversity of flora and fauna. Wetlands and their biodiversity have been contributing substantially to the socio-economic life of the millions of people of rural Bangladesh by providing opportunities of employment, food and nutrition, fuel, fodder, transportation, irrigation, etc. Men, women and children are engaged in harvesting diverse resources of wetlands. The paper highlights different management patterns of wetlands. It also covers the use and access rights in harvesting wetland-based natural resources and relates these to social stratification and wetland types (including location and seasonality). The paper discusses issues related to conversion of wetlands to croplands and depletion of wetland-based biodiversity. It cites some instances of gradual transformation of common property rights regimes on wetland resources into private property rights. One of the aims of this paper has been to focus on the importance of conducting detailed studies on the existing status of wetland-based common property resources and rights in Bangladesh and to come up with specific recommendations toward building institutions in the country for conserving and protecting biological and cultural diversity of wetlands on a sustainable basis so that the common people are benefitted."
Common Property, Ethnicity, and Social Exploitation in the Ziz Valley, Southeast Morocco
(1995) Ilahiane, Hsain
"Contrary to much of the accumulated scholarship on indigenous resource management institutions in various parts of the developing world, this paper argues that common resources or property management in the small-scale irrigation communities of the Ziz Valley paints a complex historical situation where ethnicity, power, and religious ideology are employed to exploit the lower social classes. One of the essential claims of this paper is that sustainable and robust long enduring common property institutions can also exist in conflict-ridden and exploitation based communities and that just rules or the concept of law as understood in the West can not be applied to understand some components of common property management in the developing world."
Management of Drinking Water in Arid Region: Community Action in Rural Rajasthan
(1995) Menaria, Rajendra
"Community management of natural resources has been an essential part of life pattern in arid region of Rajasthan. Scattered population in small hamlets, dhanles and majras renders it difficult for the Government to provide drinking water in every locality. The village community has successfully managed to survive and cope with scanty, erratic rainfall and low ground water table. However, the recent trend of increasing population pressure and depleting common property resources necessitates active involvement and cooperation between local community and the Government. In isolation it will not be able to survive because of population pressure and resource depletion. In the desert region, drinking of water is available through rainfall (average annual rainfall being as low as 5 mm) or through ground water resources. The rain water is stored and conserved in common ponds and reservoirs. These are maintained by the villagers, each family contributes in pre-monsoon cleaning and repairing tasks of water channels, ponds and reservoirs. This water is sufficient for two, three months in post-monsoon season. For the remaining months, villagers depend on village wells for drinking water. Such wells are very few and far between. In recent years, management of water from such sources has been done by the village community. Water supply schemes have not been launched in such remote villages. The village community renovate, repair and maintain such wells by group participation. As water table has gone deeper, water cannot be manually drawn. Thus, the village elders have given a contract to Diesel Pump owner, who operates the pump daily for specified hours. Families take water from the pump side tank. Animals also drink from a separate point. Each family contributes water charges proportionally to pay the contractor. The initiative to manage own water supply by villagers and readiness to share the cost must be extended to Government operated water supply schemes so as to make the same viable and sustainable."
Managing Common Groundwater Resources: The Case of the Netherlands
(1995) Glasbergen, Pieter; Verbeeten, Tanja
"This article explores the loss of biodiversity in terms of human interventions. We highlight how this process is related to human activities that affect the water table. At the same tune, we suggest ways to approach this problem and perhaps to solve it. "We perceive the problem as one of 'common pool resources' (CPR). This perspective seems appropriate, since groundwater can be classified as a renewable common natural resource. In view of its limited capacity for regeneration, groundwater is a natural resource for which the exploitation should be regulated. "The capacity for regeneration of this resource has been stretched to its limits for decades. The natural recharge of groundwater in the Netherlands is smaller than the amount used. This does not pose an immediate problem to the active interests such as the water supply companies, industry, and agriculture. For these users, the shortage is not acute. "We are dealing with a special CPR problem. It is special hi the sense that exploitation of this resource is considered detrimental to the passive interests. In other words, the problem lies in the negative impact on nature. "In order to preserve and restore biodiversity, a policy has been formulated with reference to the CPR groundwater. Groundwater is considered to be a scarce commodity because of its critical role in conservation. Recognition of this passive, immaterial interest prompts the active interests to adapt their behavior."
Decision-making Processes in the Management of Coastal Commons: Case Studies from the Caribbean
(1995) Thebaud, Olivier; Renard, Yves
"The paper focuses on Coastal Zone Management issues in the small Caribbean islands of Martinique and Saint-Lucia, and underlines the importance of understanding decision-making processes in the implementation of collective measures to regulate the access to and use of coastal resources. The two islands appear to face similar problems linked to the increase and diversification of the demand for these resources. Multiple activities, particularly tourism and leisure activities, have developed in recent years, both on land and at sea, together with growing urbanization and the concentration of communication infrastructures in the sea shore. Despite new and strengthened public regulations, there appears to be an increase in the number of conflictual situations, and a growing need for more efficient collective management of the coastal areas. "Reference is made to a study led in Martinique in 1993 under an IFREMER (Institut Francais de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer) research programme concerning coastal conflicts analysis, and to the work done by CANARI (Caribbean Natural Resources Institute) in both the analysis of conflicts and the provision of assistance in the definition of a regional management program for the district of Soufriere in Saint-Lucia. In the case of Martinique, the study showed that effective management of coastal areas as public property on the island did not result of integrated decision making, more or less efficiently implemented through a single decision-maker's actions, but rather of simultaneous interactions between different actors involved in coastal use. This has led to situations of free access and conflicts, which are managed through locally devised, collective regulation systems, following general public land management principles. The case of Soufriere, where a specific institutions integrating local activities into a collective regulation system was created, gives an illustration of the negotiation process and problems encountered in the tackling the establishment of practical rules of access to and use of coastal resources."

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