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Gender is often a key determinant of people's abilities to participate in collective action, yet there has been relatively little research on the links between gender and collective action. This article, and the ones that follow in this special issue, explore the intersection of these two fields. We present three entry points for a gendered analysis of collective action: motivations to engage in collective action; effectiveness of collective action (as defined by group objectives and the process by which the group works to meet those objectives); and impact of collective action on gender equity. We discuss each of these themes by highlighting key issues presented in the articles in this special issue. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Many ecosystems, such as rangelands, are defined by multiple users pursuing different livelihoods and production strategies; flexible tenure arrangements can accommodate this diversity In many semi-arid and arid regions where livestock is the predominant production activity, the ability to move livestock to different pastures is a key strategy for mitigating exposure to erratic rainfall. Reliance on access to a wide range of pasture resources has long been essential to the viability and sustainability of such systems, as is the case in Jordan, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia, where rangelands receiving low and erratic rainfall comprise a large proportion of land. In these contexts, the institutional arrangements that underpin land access and management include state-based and herder-driven cooperatives, community-or tribally based land titling, individually held land titles, and joint state-and community-owned land holdings. In assessing the effects of these range-management mechanisms on the welfare of herders and on range productivity, IFPRI researchers found that community and herder-driven arrangements perform better than arrangements involving either government ownership or government sponsorship. It is important to note, however, that community-driven arrangements are complex and thus not unproblematic. In Morocco, for example, a large proportion of recorded disputes are on common pastures, most concerning cropping or encroachment of cultivation into pastoral zones. In Niger, all recorded disputes concern similar competition for pastoral resources. Thus, even in seemingly homogeneous landscapes, interests and production systems are heterogeneous. Flexible frameworks that provide more options for access to different users-such as agreements for grazing on crop fallows, along with improved mechanisms for local conflict resolution-can help deal with this heterogeneity. Policies that aim either to increase tenure security or improve resource management must also incorporate potential tradeoffs between flexible access and pasture management incentives. On the whole, evidence of "overgrazing" across East Africa is scant; such problems tend to arise in more settled areas, where INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE