Collective Action and Property Rights for Sustainable Development [2020 Focus 11, February 2004]

This collection of briefings studies the linkages between property rights, collective action, and natural resource management. It argues that such linkages have important implications for technology adoption, economic growth, food security, poverty reduction, and environmental sustainability, yet are often undervalued and misunderstood.It argues that institutions of collective action and systems of property rights shape how people use natural resources, and these patterns of use in turn affect the outcomes of people’s agricultural production systems. Together, mechanisms of collective action and property rights define the incentives people face for undertaking sustainable and productive management strategies, and they affect the level and distribution of benefits from natural resources.The collection includes the following briefs:overview, by R. Meinzen-Dick and M. Di Gregoriounderstanding collective action, by E. Ostromunderstanding property rights, by R. Meinzen-Dick, R. Pradhan, and M. Di Gregoriolocal-level public goods and collective action, by N. McCarthyproperty rights, collective action, and agroforestry, by F. Place, K. Otsuka, and S. Scherrirrigation, collective action, and property rights, by D.L. Vermillioncollective action and property rights in fisheries management, by M. Ahmed, K. Kuperan Viswanathan, and R. A. Valmonte-Santoscollaborative management of forests, by E. Wollenberg, B. Campbell, S. Shackleton, D. Edmunds, and P. Shanleyinstitutional options for managing rangelands, by T. Ngaido and N. McCarthyproperty rights, collective action, and plant genetic resources, by P. Eyzaguirre, N. McCarthy, M. Di Gregorio, and E. Denniscollective action in pest management, by H. Munk Ravnborgproperty rights and collective action in watersheds, by B. Swallow, N. Johnson, A. Knox, and R. Meinzen-Dickproperty rights, collective action, and agribusiness, by N. Johnson and J.A. Berdeguéfarmer research and extension, by A. Knox and N. Liljastrengthening collective action, by B. Bruns and P. Chalad Brunsstrengthening property rights for the poor, by J.W. Bruce