Property rights are social definitions; they exist as long as the society is willing to enforce them. If enforcement is missing, they cease to exist. The reasons for changes might be market conditions, popular sentiments, scientific knowledge, new technologies, lobbying, or legal battles....

This paper is divided into six chapters. The first introduces the central issue under investigation: the hypothesized relation between devolution of authority over natural resources and the sustainable exploitation of those resources. This chapter also provides a discussion of the research...

Common property regimes (CPRs) have received considerable attention in the scholarly literature. Consensus seems to exist concerning the importance of effective conflict prevention and management to the success of CPRs generally. This paper is concerned with the impact of disputes upon CPR...

The core thesis is that Western neoclassical economics and law (particularly Anglo-American) have a peculiar cultural history that biases Western-trained economists and lawyers against common property systems like those found among Africans and American Indians. This Western cultural bias is...

This paper does not presume to offer definitive answers to complex questions raised around the new emphasis on "local communities" in Mozambique. Such answers vary and depend upon the sociopolitical histories of each community. Instead, the paper briefly explores the concept of local community...

Privately owned forests in the United States are being divided, roaded, and developed by increasing numbers of second-home buyers, retirees, and recreation enthusiasts. Forested parcels adjacent to or embedded in public land are considered especially desirable and a premium is being paid for the...

This paper, first, reviews the report filed by the Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission since it touches on all the major issues associated with water rights and uses in the Upper Rio Grande Basin, defined as that part of the river from the San Luis Valley in Colorado to Fort Quitman,...

This summary report synthesizes the central research findings of the Working Group on Resource Tenure and Land Use Planning and the Law Reform Commission of The Gambia, recommending a series of tenure policy options for both government and donor agencies. Specific programs and projects are also...