This chapter reviews the literature on natural resource decentralization with an emphasis on forests in developing countries. This literature can be located at the intersection between discussions of good governance and democracy, development, and poverty alleviation, on the one hand, and common...

Local institutions play a fundamental role in governing access to resources, shaping delivery of services, and determining the experience of governance at local level. They are the principal mechanism to channel external interventions, resources, and assistance to poor households, women, and...

This chapter reviews the literature relevant to environmental governance in four domains of scholarship: globalization, decentralization, market and individual incentives-based governance, and cross-scale governance. It argues that in view of the complexity and multiscalar character of many of...