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Traditional Institution and Institutional Choice: Two CPR Self-Governing Cases of Atayal Indigenous Tribe in Taiwan
(2004) Yen, Ai-Ching; Kuan, Da-Wei
"The sovereignty of land and natural resources of Taiwan indigenous people have been seriously challenged by the expansion of state power and capitalistic market economy since 19th century. Consequently, many indigenous communities have made efforts to adjust to and negotiate with modern institutions. This article analyses the logic of the lapse of indigenes land tenure, and examines two common pool resource (CPR) self- governing cases, which Atayal communities seek to manage by collective action for collective interest. Furthermore, drawing from neo-institutional economic perspective, this article discusses both how the internal institution affects the solidarity of communities and the derivation of Gaga, a traditional institution of Atayal tribe. In spite of the fact that the formal organization of Gaga no longer exists, its Meta rule leads to the formation of social constraints then affects the institutional choice. In the end, this article suggests that the reform of land tenure institution support CPR self-governing in indigenous areas, which will diminish the conflicts emerging from the interaction between state power and capitalistic market economy."
Marine Turtles: Whose Property? Whose Rights?
(2004) Frazier, Jack
"Marine turtles migrate and disperse over vast distances, so an individual may be exposed to numerous human activities in diverse environments, living within the jurisdictions of several sovereign states, as well as on the high seas. These reptiles are charismatic 'flagship species' so they attract a large, supportive clientele. Additionally, humans have been interacting with these animals-- particularly through direct exploitation-- for millennia; and there are a wide diversity of customs and traditions for exploitation and use of turtles. Many populations of marine turtles have declined so these animals are categorized as endangered, and both national legislation and international instruments afford them protection from exploitation, incidental capture, and other human activities. These are shared resources, and are routinely treated as common property, particularly because marine turtles live in the 'global commons', the high seas. This results in divergent claims for rights to interact -- or to limit the interactions of other stakeholders -- with turtles, especially when consumptive exploitation is involved. Discourses to limit impacts and develop conservation programmes for these reptiles include arguments about protecting ecological roles and ecosystem services, concepts that are often juxtaposed to concerns for supporting marginalized communities, recuperating traditional practices, and asserting cultural/ religious rights. The resulting conflicts and debates raise basic questions not only about who has rights to shared resources and what social process should be involved in addressing the debate (e.g., representation and democracy), but in fact what constitutes property. In other words, does the 'property' that is being divvied up by various players have rights that transcend the individual and summed rights of the players, perhaps even having rights of its own?"
Resource Entitlements and Conflict Management in Common Grazing Lands: The Case of Yerer and Daketa Valleys, Eastern Ethiopia
(2004) Bogale, Ayalneh; Hagedorn, Konrad; Korf, Benedikt
"The livelihoods of both livestock-keeping pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in eastern Ethiopian lowlands largely depend on livestock production based on property right systems originated from communal ownership for grazing lands and with exclusive rights of the household to crop lands. Even though these systems served well during low population and livestock density, the debate over common property regimes among development and resource economists is progressively more lively. "Since Hardin's prediction that all commonly managed resources would inevitably end in tragedy, many studies have challenged the overall acceptability of his theory (See for instance: Ostrom, 1990, Bromely, 1992, Swallow and Bromley, 1995, White and Runge, 1995). These studies shed light to the institutions-resource entitlement relationships in ever changing environment and shift in policies in pursuit of new strategies. The notion of entitlement which was first introduced by Amartya Sen to explain how it is that people can starve in the midst of food plenty in the early 1980s and adapted to capture spatial and temporal variability and dynamic processes inherent in environmental goods by Leach et al. (1999) is helpful in clarifying this shift in emphasis. Leach et al. (1999) shows how access to and control over natural resources is mediated by a set of interacting and overlapping institutions, both formal and informal, which are embedded in social life of rural communities. "The management of rangelands in Yerer and Daketa valleys depends on a complex body of rules established by local groups-rules established over time to resolve how best to regulate access to grazing lands. The definition of these rules, their supervision and adjustment depend on local organizations acting under the authority of traditional institutions. These organizations rarely act without having obtained widespread support for the decisions that need to be taken, by seeking the advice of tribal headmen and various local interests. In order to reinforce local management capacities, one needs to think it very important to strengthen these consensual decision-making systems. "Therefore, this study will sensitise policy makers, contribute to the policy debate and to the development of actions, which enhance sustainable pastoral and agro-pastoral livelihoods and to help households to cope during conditions of particular scarcity. The research study investigates how conflicting interests to multiple resource use and users are managed and how increasing pressure for resource access affects different communities as soon as pressure on resources increases. The research assesses local institutions, including social networks that mediate resource entitlements and how these institutions (1) are able to resolve conflicts and disputes on resources use and (2) how they mediate distributional issues over resources. We understand institutions as emerging sites of social interaction, negotiation and contestation comprising heterogeneous actors having diverse goals. Given the ecological uncertainties and the variation of resource users over space and time, institutional arrangements for resource governance may be ad hoc, ambiguous and overlapping. "Although limited in scope/coverage, it is expected that this study will identify significant variables in the resource entitlement conflict management linkage. It focuses on institutional arrangements that prevail in the study area which facilitate mobility of pastoralists for mutual benefits."
Managing the Commons: A Conceptual Framework for Natural Resource Governance in Development Projects
(2004) Fischer, Anke; Petersen, Lorenz
"Many problems of unsustainable management of natural resources worldwide are due to a limited number of basic governance shortcomings such as lack of property rights definitions leading to open access, or insufficient enforcement of existing rules. Often however, researchers and to an even greater extent practitioners in development cooperation focus on one single natural resource and tend to ignore the analogy of problems in related fields. This practice is also endemic in the German Agency for Development Cooperation (GTZ). As a consequence, many insights gained in one field, e. g., with regard to irrigation or community forestry, are not shared with experts from related areas or discussed within a wider scope. "In this paper, a conceptual framework for analysing the governance problems behind unsustainable management of natural resources is proposed. It is applicable to all kinds of natural resources, regardless of their physical properties. The framework serves as a common theoretical background on which to analyse management problems, their causes, and possible interventions. The core of the framework draws on the Institutional Analysis and Design (IAD; e. g., Ostrom 1990, Thomson 1992). In addition, the proposed framework accounts for the peculiarities of development cooperation projects. Several modules are integrated which proved useful (i) to capture multi-actor relationships in resource management and (ii) to design and describe actual GTZ activities, interventions and the implementation of measures. Thus, a basis is provided to compare development cooperation projects and to draw conclusions on explicit and implicit goals of development policy and its shortcomings. "The second, empirical part of the paper illustrates the potential and the application of the framework and presents a survey of case studies on resource management in developing countries. Based on this analysis, actual interventions and consulting activities with regard to common property issues are compared to the overarching objectives of development policy."
Migration and Demographic Change in the Context of Commons Management in Bangladesh
(2004) Rahman, Aminur
"Migration both internal and external has created imbalances in the management of natural resources in general and common pool resources in particular in many parts of the world including Bangladesh. Migration has always been a historical phenomenon. However, the recent speed of globalization has given new dimension to it. It has affected the participation rate at the rural level in the context of common pool resources management. "The entire process has unleashed a whole spectrum of interactions among the local people, migrant and common pool resources. Since the management of these types of resources usually comes spontaneously and principally from the young who are at the same time the potential migrants, the scope for negligence to these is also quite high in case of migration. In this paper attempt has been made to look into the following issues taking into account the management of a wetland in Bangladesh. The study centers on the impact of religion, demographic change and valuation on a wetland resources (common property resource) in North Eastern Bangladesh. Indigenous people specially the fisherman who belong to minority community (Hindu community) are usually the principle agent in maintaining the wetland resources in a sustainable manner (as fish is one of the most valuable renewable resource in this wetland). However, the infiltration of Muslim community through internal migration is systematically wiping out the indigenous people. The indigenous people also become reluctant and frustrated to take care of the resource properly as their stake is threatened and chances of migration to neighboring India or other countries become feasible and vibrant. Those who moved to the area slowly grasped the resource with no intention of maintaining it thereby destabilizing the prevalent common management practice. The paper uses survey population of 350 fishermen families to explore the actual situation. It looks into the loss of fish crop due to negligence by using Dose Response 2 Function, contemporaneous and intergenerational externalities. Ultimately the paper suggests some solutions in conflict resolution and awareness creation in creating more value to the resource and its proper management."
Local Institutional Changes and Collective Forest Management in Taohua Village of Lijiang, Yunnan, China
(2004) Su, Yufang
"This paper is an extension of a previous study on collective forest management in Taohua village, Lijiang County, Yunnan Province, China. The original paper explored local adaptations in village rules for forest management, and the degree to which multi-ethnic village communities in China can sustainably manage forest resources. This update investigates in greater depth changes in the village's institutional landscape since the implementation of China's logging ban in 1998. While the original research illustrated ways in which multi-ethnic village communities can sustainably manage forest resources as common property, more recent fieldwork indicates that the logging ban is overwhelming the Taohua village community's power to adapt and enforce rules. As a result, an initiative designed to promote conservation is, in this instance, ironically leading to increased forest degradation as village rules for protecting the forest give way to an open access regime. Additionally, without the considerable share of income that villagers formerly received from forestry, many villagers in Taohua have returned to poverty. This more recent evidence reinforces the overarching conclusion of the original paper -- future forest polices in China should indeed involve general guidelines for forestry management and development, but at the same time leave some flexibility for local government and village communities to adjust guidelines to their specific local situations. Nurturing a better policy environment by allowing for greater participation in decision-making comprises an essential step in this process."
Implications of Democracy in Forest Management of the Sierra Norte, Mexico
(2004) Mitchell, Ross E.
"This study examines democratic parameters within the framework of common property systems. While common property institutional rules and norms have been discussed at length in the relevant literature, democracy has not been rigorously applied to communal forest decisionmaking. Two forest-based communities of the Sierra Norte in southern Mexico were selected for comparison on key democratic features, including governance, leadership, inclusiveness, and trust. Both communities have taken different forest use paths, resulting in both positive and negative consequences. Their respective forest land-use decisions have been regulated by usos y costumbres, local practices of governance based on indigenous systems of community service. Democratic governance of community forest resources is not yet consolidated, but is well on its way for both communities. These findings bring new insight into the meaning of democracy and common property systems."
Tribal Self-Rule Law and Common Property Resources in Scheduled Areas of India: A New Paradigm Shift or Another Ineffective Sop?
(2004) Upadhyay, Sanjay
"Village-level democracy became a real prospect for India in 1992 with the 73rd amendment to the Constitution, which mandated that resources, responsibility and decision-making be devolved from central government to the lowest unit of the governance, the Gram Sabha or the Village Assembly. A three-tier structure of local self-government was envisaged under this amendment. The nationwide euphoria that greeted this about-turn in bureaucracy was seen again with the extension of the 73rd amendment to the Scheduled Areas, [through Provisions of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996] [hereinafter PESA or Central PESA or the Tribal Self Rule Law as it is variously called). Scheduled Areas are those, which are under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India where the tribal populations are predominant. It is also imperative to understand here that the founding fathers of the Constitution of India had envisaged a special scheme of administration in the scheduled areas where general laws would not be applicable unless the Governor deemed it fit to enforce such laws. It was thought that these areas are inhabited with people who have resided on the basis of their own customary practices and traditional beliefs and culture and thus general laws of the land would be inappropriate with their customary laws and ethos. However, a decade later, there is a growing feeling that while the burden of 'management' of natural resources, has been devolved, 'control' over resources and land is still in the hands of the state. This paper delves in some detail into the manner in which the States have subverted the mandate of the Central Legislation through carefully using the wordings in law to make the implementation vague and ineffective especially in the context of 'community resources' in scheduled areas. The scheduled areas, which are notified by the President of India as the Tribal dominated areas, exists in nine states of India."
Common Pool Resources as Development Drivers: A Study of NTFPs in Himachal Pradesh, India
(2004) Dasgupta, Purnamita
From Pages 1-2: "This study investigates the role of common pool resources (CPRs) as a source of sustainable rural incomes in the context of opportunities created by the development process such as improved access to markets. Development in the present context is defined as an enhancement of well-being (MEA 2003). The development process thus involves transition from conditions of ill-being to well-being. Scholars have defined human well-being in different ways (Alkire 2002). Although how well-being is expressed and experienced is context and situation-dependent, and the concept of well-being is both complex and value-laden, research in under developed countries across the world (Narayan et al. 2000) has revealed certain universal constituents and determinants of human well-being. These include the basic material needs for a good life, health, security, good social relations, freedom and choice. The MEA contributes in recognizing ecological security as another equally important aspect of well-being. The freedom and choice aspect of well-being focuses on the capability to achieve that which individuals value doing and being (MEA 2003). The present study adopts this definition of development, and focuses on the contribution of CPRs in enhancing well-being of the communities dependent on them. It seeks to throw light on the web of interactions that exist between three dimensions of well-being the necessary material for a good life, good social relations, and, freedom and choice."
Explaining the Organization of Open Source Communities with the CPR Framework
(2004) Van Wendel de Joode, Ruben
"This paper describes work-in-progress. It describes the background, research framework and some preliminary results from a PhD research on the organization of open source communities. Most open source communities are very small. However, some communities have become very popular and they connect thousands of predominantly highly skilled programmers from various parts of the world. Together these programmers create and maintain highly complex software. Wellknown examples of such communities are Apache and Linux. The software developed in open source communities has one very important characteristic: the source code of the software is open and freely available. "To many it is highly surprising that programmers in open source communities are able to create successful software. Two questions prevail, they are: a) how are open source communities able to deal with internal pressures like free-riding and cascading conflicts and b) how are they able to resist external pressures, created by parties who appropriate software through copyrights and patents? This paper addresses the question how programmers in open source communities organize and sustain themselves amidst these pressures. Ostroms (1990) eight design principles are adopted to answer this question. "The two most dominant conclusions from this research are: (a) individuals in open source communities are driven by individual choice and (b) formal mechanisms have a limited role in solving the issues addressed by the design principles. This article will analyze one design principle in more detail, namely the presence of conflict resolution mechanisms."

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