What can we learn from an engagement between communitybased and indigenous enterprise, and commons literatures? That is what we set out to consider in this paper. Commons literature has tended to focus on the administration and use of the commons by individuals and households and less so on collective enterprises that extract, transform and market what they harvest from the commons. In the commons literature it has been cases of community forestry from Mexico which initiated an interest in understanding the linkages between commons and enterprises.In this paper, we consider a well known case in the community forestry and commons literature from Mexico. It provides an interesting case as the indigenous members that hold the rights for the commons are also the members of the enterprise that transforms and markets goods from the commons. We argue that the impetus for such a strategy is one way to confront internal and external pressures on a commons.We draw upon the transcripts of 40 interviews undertaken during 2006 which are analyzed using a framework developed from the social, community-based and indigenous enterprise literature. The framework we developed by reviewing this literature was used to understand what was known regarding the factors that increased chances of success for community enterprises. Our goal was to utilize this framework to analyze the San Juan Forest Enterprise and understand its emergence and formation as a long-standing community-based enterprise that intersects with a commons. In analyzing interview transcripts would we find that people involved in the enterprise reflected what enterprise scholars had found Community-based enterprises and the commons to be conditions that increased the chances of success of community-based enterprises?We found that by starting from the enterprise literature it was possible to consider the enterprise from the perspective of a regulatory framework rather than the poles of dependency and modernization theories in which much commons work has been based. Enterprise and commons intersect when both are guided by core cultural values and the enterprise can become a new site for the creation of social and cultural cohesion. We also found that there were a number of necessary conditions for commons-based community-enterprises to retain internal and external legitimacy, namely: (1) leadership representative of the broad social mission rooted in the customary institutions, values and norms of the community; (2) accountability of enterprise leaders to the memberships they represent; and (3) a close adherence to the political goals of the community as a whole.We conclude by noting that in the Americas there is a steady increase in the lands and waters being managed by Indigenous Peoples. An engagement between commons and community-based enterprise scholars could provide needed support for the emergence of community-based enterprises that sustainably manage commons and provide the means to relieve systemic poverty of indigenous communities.

What can we learn from an engagement between communitybased and indigenous enterprise, and commons literatures? That is what we set out to consider in this paper. Commons literature has tended to focus on the administration and use of the commons by individuals and households and less so on collective enterprises that extract, transform and market what they harvest from the commons. In the commons literature it has been cases of community forestry from Mexico which initiated an interest in understanding the linkages between commons and enterprises.In this paper, we consider a well known case in the community forestry and commons literature from Mexico. It provides an interesting case as the indigenous members that hold the rights for the commons are also the members of the enterprise that transforms and markets goods from the commons. We argue that the impetus for such a strategy is one way to confront internal and external pressures on a commons.We draw upon the transcripts of 40 interviews undertaken during 2006 which are analyzed using a framework developed from the social, community-based and indigenous enterprise literature. The framework we developed by reviewing this literature was used to understand what was known regarding the factors that increased chances of success for community enterprises. Our goal was to utilize this framework to analyze the San Juan Forest Enterprise and understand its emergence and formation as a long-standing community-based enterprise that intersects with a commons. In analyzing interview transcripts would we find that people involved in the enterprise reflected what enterprise scholars had found Community-based enterprises and the commons to be conditions that increased the chances of success of community-based enterprises?We found that by starting from the enterprise literature it was possible to consider the enterprise from the perspective of a regulatory framework rather than the poles of dependency and modernization theories in which much commons work has been based. Enterprise and commons intersect when both are guided by core cultural values and the enterprise can become a new site for the creation of social and cultural cohesion. We also found that there were a number of necessary conditions for commons-based community-enterprises to retain internal and external legitimacy, namely: (1) leadership representative of the broad social mission rooted in the customary institutions, values and norms of the community; (2) accountability of enterprise leaders to the memberships they represent; and (3) a close adherence to the political goals of the community as a whole.We conclude by noting that in the Americas there is a steady increase in the lands and waters being managed by Indigenous Peoples. An engagement between commons and community-based enterprise scholars could provide needed support for the emergence of community-based enterprises that sustainably manage commons and provide the means to relieve systemic poverty of indigenous communities.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify and describe the pervasiveness and importance of various types of institutional and organizational interactions across multiple levels for the management of a community forest enterprise.Design/methodology/approachThe paper analyzes a long‐standing case in Michoacán, Mexico, the San Juan Nuevo (SJN) enterprise, a community‐based system with a multiplicity of actors, objectives, and partners. Information was collected through 100 semi‐structured interviews. By presenting and discussing the main community‐based development strategy within the overall socio‐political context and achievements of the case, the authors attempt to understand the complexity of cross‐scale institutional and organizational linkages and their role in sustainable resource management.FindingsSJN enterprise had linkages with some 22 major partners over the years across four levels of organization: local, state, federal, and international. Cross‐scale partnerships were not merely important, but essential for the overall success of the enterprise in the face of uncertainty over resource ownership and lack of legal jurisdiction. These diverse partnerships and interactions enabled robust institutional structures, making possible the development of linkages to help conserve the resource base and create grassroots socio‐economic development for the comuneros.Research limitations/implicationsFurther understanding of the importance of partnerships and linkages for the development and maintenance of community‐based initiatives will require the analysis of, and comparison between, several long‐standing case studies.Practical implicationsThere is the need to recognize the multiple roles of partnerships, from business networking to research and training, thus unpacking different kinds of capacity building. Actors at various levels can influence management practices in diverse ways, helping to find a balance between local livelihoods and larger conservation needs.Originality/valueThe paper brings a new approach to analyze how indigenous and other rural communities are “opting‐in” to the global economy, through a diversity of partnerships and a complexity of interactions across organizational levels.

Proclaimed as the "most important conservation success story", protected areas have become the preferred method among state signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity for addressing conservation challenges. However, state-governed protected areas have been criticized for their failure to achieve ecological and social goals. Reaching a consensus on wildlife conservation strategies has not translated into widespread acceptance of state-governed protected areas by local communities. Critics debate whether the state is sincere and efficient when exerting spatial control. This article analyses state-based conservation in the Saadani landscape in Tanzania, exploring the nature of spatial reorganization and institutional approaches guiding the establishment of protected areas. Spatial reorganization and the actions of conservation organizations have led to the disenfranchisement of the very people whose efforts had enabled biodiversity to be conserved. This is despite an apparent shift in the nature of Tanzania's conservation policies towards more participatory approaches. Through detailing mechanisms used by the state for exerting spatial control in Saadani, we highlight how the approach has been counterproductive for satisfying the country's commitment to the Aichi framework on biodiversity targets and has undermined grassroots backing for conservation. In the context of strong support from the international conservation organizations for Tanzania's conservation efforts, this suggests the need for reassessing global conservation policies and identifying urgent measures and effective mechanisms to protect rights to territory and ancestral tenure in places targeted for conservation. Keywords: conservation, Convention on Biological Diversity, protected areas, spatial reorganization, actions of the state, Saadani, TANAPA, Tanzania. Uvinje RésuméProclamée «la plus importante réussite en matière de conservation», les aires protégées sont devenues la méthode privilégiée par les pays signataires de la Convention sur la diversité biologique pour relever les défis de la conservation. Cependant, les aires protégées régies par l'État ont été critiquées pour leur incapacité à atteindre leurs objectifs écologiques et sociaux. L'atteinte d'un consensus sur les stratégies de conservation de la faune ne s'est pas traduite par une acceptation généralisée des aires protégées régies par l'État par les communautés locales. Les critiques débattent pour savoir si l'État est sincère et efficace lorsqu'il exerce un contrôle spatial. Cet article analyse la conservation étatique dans le paysage Saadani en Tanzanie, en explorant la nature de la réorganisation spatiale et les approches institutionnelles guidant la création d'aires protégées. La réorganisation spatiale et les actions des organisations de conservation ont conduit à la privation 1 Dr. Alejandra Orozco-Quintero, P.O. Box 15605-00509 Langata-Nairobi, Kenya. Email: Aleja "at" uvic.ca. Prof. Leslie King, Canadian Centre for Environmental Education and School of Envir...