The promise of common pool resource theory and the reality of commons projects

Saunders, Fred

doi:10.18352/ijc.477

Cited by 108 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…The potential for crafting incentives, rules, and sanctions to shape human behavior in relation to the environment became linked to normative good governance principles of representativeness, participation, transparency, and accountability. Such ideas became very influential in shaping policy for natural resource management in the Global South (Saunders 2014). Often, in practice, the new institutional insights were translated into prescriptive checklists for institution building and much effort was expended on establishing Farmers Groups, Forest Committees, Water User Associations and the like, located in nested systems of governance.…”

Section: From "Getting Institutions Right" To Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding process, power, and meaning in adaptive governance: a critical institutional reading

Cleaver¹,

Whaley²

2018

E&S

119

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ABSTRACT. Adaptive governance continues to attract considerable interest in academic and policy circles. This is with good reason, given its increasing relevance in a globalized and changing world. At the same time, adaptive governance is the subject of a growing body of critical literature concerned with the ways in which it theorizes the social world. In this paper, we respond to these critiques, which we see as broadly concerning the process, power, and meaning dimensions of environmental and natural resource governance. We argue that adaptive governance theory would benefit from engaging constructively with critical institutionalism, a school of thought that, like adaptive governance, has one foot in commons scholarship. Critical institutionalism conceives of institutional change as a process of bricolage, where those involved piece together new arrangements from the resources to hand. This approach highlights the interplay of structure and agency, and illuminates how new governance arrangements form and come to be seen as natural in dynamic relation to the wider social and cultural landscape. We consider how these arrangements tend to reflect dominant power relations, whilst the plural nature of social life also provides scope for adaptation and transformative change.

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Section: From "Getting Institutions Right" To Complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding process, power, and meaning in adaptive governance: a critical institutional reading

Cleaver¹,

Whaley²

2018

E&S

119

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“…It is thus important to understand the local context within each system [20–23]. In the context of shared sanitation in informal settlements:

A shared sanitation facility can be equated to a scarce resource.

Management of the facility is done by the users (appropriators).

Quality and continued use of the shared facility depends on the users’ management practices.

…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of quality of shared sanitation facilities in informal settlements: case study of Kisumu, Kenya

et al. 2017

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BackgroundShared facilities are not recognised as improved sanitation due to challenges of maintenance as they easily can be avenues for the spread of diseases. Thus there is need to evaluate the quality of shared facilities, especially in informal settlements, where they are commonly used. A shared facility can be equated to a common good whose management depends on the users. If users do not work collectively towards keeping the facility clean, it is likely that the quality may depreciate due to lack of maintenance. This study examined the quality of shared sanitation facilities and used the common pool resource (CPR) management principles to examine the determinants of shared sanitation quality in the informal settlements of Kisumu, Kenya.MethodsUsing a multiple case study design, the study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods. In both phases, users of shared sanitation facilities were interviewed, while shared sanitation facilities were inspected. Shared sanitation quality was a score which was the dependent variable in a regression analysis. Interviews during the qualitative stage were aimed at understanding management practices of shared sanitation users. Qualitative data was analysed thematically by following the CPR principles.ResultsShared facilities, most of which were dirty, were shared by an average of eight households, and their quality decreased with an increase in the number of households sharing. The effect of numbers on quality is explained by behaviour reflected in the CPR principles, as it was easier to define boundaries of shared facilities when there were fewer users who cooperated towards improving their shared sanitation facility. Other factors, such as defined management systems, cooperation, collective decision making, and social norms, also played a role in influencing the behaviour of users towards keeping shared facilities clean and functional.ConclusionApart from hardware factors, quality of shared sanitation is largely due to group behaviour of users. The CPR principles form a crucial lens through which the dynamics of shared sanitation facilities in informal settlements can be understood. Development and policy efforts should incorporate group behaviour as they determine the quality of shared sanitation facilities.

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“…This is especially true in cases where it is hard to exclude beneficiaries and the over-use of a resource system can diminish its value to everyone (Berkes et al, 1989;Ostrom, 2005). Understanding and describing common-pool resource management involves combining perspectives from anthropology and political economy, and recognizing that actors are embedded and situated "in numerous relations of interests and reciprocal commitments at different scales" (Saunders, 2014).…”

Section: The Social Production Of Multiple Environmental and Health Bmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Commons Revisited: Revalorizing the Role of comuneiros in the Redesign of Urban Agro‐Food and Agroforestry Systems

García¹,

Swagemakers

Schmid³

2017

Urban Agric & Regnl Food Sys

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Continuing urbanization means that city regions face challenges of development, governance, and sustainability. One of these challenges relates to the management of urban green space, whether municipal parks, forests, or productive land (animal husbandry, vegetable or fruit production). This paper draws on case study research of forestry associations in Galicia. We pay specific attention to the role of comuneiros (commoners): parishioners, who collectively own and manage often-neglected green spaces: planting or rejuvenating forests of native species to enhance ecological services (water retention, fire prevention, biodiversity) while also including productive functions such as forest fruit production and smallscale animal husbandry. At the same time these activities create social benefits. With the aim of examining the position and strategies of self-governing forest organizations, we explore the organizational-institutional environment of the commons and how this facilitates (and/or obstructs) the objective of providing multiple sustainable and health benefits within the parishes, between them, and to nearby urban residents. We conclude that this particular type of management of urban green space provides products (food and non-food) and services which are not only of private interest in that they create potential new business opportunities but also of high public value. core ideasForest associations are successfully managing urban green space in a sustainable manner.They provide an anchor for the planning, design, and governance of societal needs.This self-regulatory organizational form does not generate direct governance costs for the public administrations.Training could help stakeholders and administrative personnel to improve their performance.Collaborative governance arrangements are needed to spread ideas and innovative practices that meet sustainability challenges.

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The promise of common pool resource theory and the reality of commons projects

Cited by 108 publications

References 74 publications

Understanding process, power, and meaning in adaptive governance: a critical institutional reading

Understanding process, power, and meaning in adaptive governance: a critical institutional reading

Determinants of quality of shared sanitation facilities in informal settlements: case study of Kisumu, Kenya

The Commons Revisited: Revalorizing the Role of comuneiros in the Redesign of Urban Agro‐Food and Agroforestry Systems

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