Governance of the Commons: A Role for the State?

Grafton, R. Quentin

doi:10.2307/3146949

Cited by 119 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…While most ecologists would be horrified by the thought of a simple categorization of all forests into three broad, analytically homogeneous categories, many social scientists have ignored the rich diversity of forest institutions, instead categorizing and analyzing them in three categories, of private, community, and government (see, for example, Blair 1996;Grafton 2000). Further, while governance is crucial, it is only part of a larger picture (Clark et al 2011).…”

Section: Human Impacts On Forests Is a Multilevel Phenomenamentioning

confidence: 99%

Polycentric governance of multifunctional forested landscapes

2012

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Human-induced causes of forest change occur at multiple scales. Yet, most governance mechanisms are designed at a single level -whether international, national, regional or local -and do not provide effective solutions for the overarching challenge of forest governance. Efforts to "decentralize" governmental arrangements frequently do not recognize the importance of complex, polycentric arrangements and are based on a presumption of a single government at one level taking charge of a policy arena, often ignoring the existence of many vibrant self-governed institutions. Polycentric institutions provide a useful framework for governance, enabling aspects of preferred solutions to be used together in efforts to protect the long-term sustainability of diverse forested social-ecological systems. By considering the interaction between actors at different levels of governance, polycentricity contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the variation in diverse governance outcomes in the management of common-pool resources based on the needs and interests of citizens and the complexity of resources and governance systems at local, regional, national, and global levels. In this paper, we discuss challenges to polycentricity such as the matching of the boundaries of those who benefit, those who contribute with the boundary of the resource. We describe some approaches that have been effectively utilized to address these challenges in forests in various parts of the world. We also provide a brief overview of how the concept of polycentricity helps in the analysis of climate change and the closely related international effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through degradation and deforestation (REDD).Polycentric governance of multifunctional forested landscapes 105

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Section: Human Impacts On Forests Is a Multilevel Phenomenamentioning

confidence: 99%

Polycentric governance of multifunctional forested landscapes

2012

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“…In this context, a study in Chitral in Pakistan is interesting as it compares the results in a community-managed irrigation system, a government-managed irrigation system, and an improved modern community-managed irrigation system (Nadeem, Ahmed, & Younis, 2012). The results showed that the most important point was whether local user participation was ensured in making and enforcing rules, not whether the system was managed by the community or the government, as highlighted in Ostrom (2010) (citing Grafton, 2000). The most successful system in terms of local user participation in decision making and equitable distribution of water resources was the improved modern community-managed system.…”

Section: Role Of the Governmentmentioning

confidence: 89%

Governance and management of local water storage in the Hindu Kush Himalayas

Vaidya

2015

International Journal of Water Resources Development

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The people of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region face severe seasonal water shortages due to the high variability in rainfall, and the problem is likely to be exacerbated under climate change. Small-scale local water storage options offer a means of collecting monsoon precipitation to provide for agricultural and household needs over the entire year, and they help build community resilience. Proper watershed management, with due consideration of upstream -downstream linkages, and appropriate institutional arrangements are vital for this adaptation measure to work. Active participation of local users in decisions related to water allocation and community services is essential. Planned interventions should preserve the institutional arrangements of reciprocity and cooperation among community members.

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“…There are no 'optimal' rules that can be applied to all fisheries, all forests, or all water systems (Grafton, 2000;Ostrom, 2007). We simply must stop relying on stick-figure models alone and proposing 'one-size-fits-all' solutions, given that these solutions have themselves generated tragedies when widely applied rather than solved them.…”

Section: From Optimal Solutions To Adaptive Multilevel Governancementioning

confidence: 99%

Why Do We Need to Protect Institutional Diversity?

Остром

2011

Eur Polit Sci

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In past decades, scholars have tended to recommend 'optimal' solutions for coping with common-pool resources. Examples exist of both successful and unsuccessful efforts to establish government property, private property, or community property. The absence of any property rightsopen access -related to valuable resources is associated with overuse. The resource institutions that research has documented as working well in the field differ substantially in their detailed design but can usually be characterised as adaptive, multilevel governance systems related to complex, evolving resource systems. We need to overcome the tendency to recommend panaceas and encourage, instead, considerable experimentation at multiple levels to reduce the threats of massive collapses of valuable resources.

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Governance of the Commons: A Role for the State?

Cited by 119 publications

References 27 publications

Polycentric governance of multifunctional forested landscapes

Polycentric governance of multifunctional forested landscapes

Governance and management of local water storage in the Hindu Kush Himalayas

Why Do We Need to Protect Institutional Diversity?

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