Governance and Management of Common Property Resources

Abstract

Millions of people across rural India depend on and share the ‘common’ (community) natural resources like forest, wasteland, grazing land, water resources, etc., for their livelihoods, whereas developing such ‘common resources’ through collective action for the sustainable village development is a challenging task for the rural community. The study analyses the community participation of Hiware Bazar village of Maharashtra in governance and management of common property resources for sustainable village development. This study adopts both descriptive and analytical research methodologies to understand various developmental initiatives and its overall impact of the watershed-plus and other attenuating measures on the social and economic lives of the people in Hiware Bazar. The study uses both qualitative and quantitative data that are collected through primary and secondary sources. The study finds that community-driven common resources management had impacted on rural households through increased employment and income. The social and economic integration of the people in Hiware Bazar led to social, economic and environmental transformations for sustainable development of the village.