Managing Forests as Common Property

Contents: Foreword. 1. Background. 2. Learning from systems with historical and indigenous origins. 3. Case studies of contemporary collective and co-management systems. 4. Assessing the implications of past and ongoing experience. 5. Conclusions. References. Community forestry publications. Boxes.

"This study brings together available information about the role of common property as a system of governance and its current relevance to forest management and use. It reviews the historical record of common property systems that have disappeared or survived, and it examines the experience of selected contemporary collective management programmes in different countries. The paper identifies the main factors that appear to determine success or failure at present."