The Compossessorates in the Olt Land (Romania) as Sustainable Commons

Daniela Sorea,Gheorghe Roșculeț,Gabriela Georgeta Rățulea

doi:10.3390/land11020292

Daniela Sorea, Gheorghe Roșculeț + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/land11020292

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Journal: Land	Publication Date: Feb 15, 2022
Citations: 5	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Transylvania University of Brașov

Abstract

The compossessorates are traditional Transylvanian commons. They were disbanded during the Communist regime and re-established after 1989 according to the successive laws concerning land restitution. The current article highlights the importance of compossessorates in the Olt Land (in the south of Transylvania, Romania) as partners involved in projects focused on the sustainable development of the area. To this end, the paper presents the main features of contemporary Romanian commons, underlines the sustainable traditional orientation of compossessorates, and signals the latter’s difficulty in establishing relations with environmental protection-oriented NGOs, in this case Foundation Conservation Carpathia which focuses on establishing a national park in the area. Consequently, the methods employed to achieve all of the above was the thematic analysis of publications found in the Anelis+ databases which were considered relevant for the theme of Romanian commons, and the content analysis of some normative acts and compossessorates’ by-laws dating back to the first half of the 20th century. The information on the relations between the commons and NGOs were retrieved from the official websites of the organizations, and from the media. The article shows that current compossessorates have social potential and economic efficiency. Their existence in the Olt Land is significant from an identity-based perspective. The latter is built upon the common interest of law makers and locals to constructively manage the forestry fund and respect property rights. Their functioning can be made more efficient. Both these and the NGOs openly state their sustainable orientation and that could contribute to reducing the tensions between them through correct communication. Ignoring the compossessorates’ sustainable orientation and their community prestige could sabotage any sustainable local development project if they are not consulted and invited as partners.

Highlights

From an economic perspective, goods can be grouped in four categories, by their excludability and rivalry [1]: private goods, public goods, natural monopolies, and common resources
Concerning the sustainability of the commons, the same authors show that ”the analysis shows that illegal logging is happening in public forests—owned/controlled by municipalities, and, very important, the proportion of wood being removed from the private forests was smaller in Romania compared to EU total” [10] (p. 72)
The tense relations highlighted by contemporary studies on Romanian commons can be identified in the case of the compossessorates in Olt Land

Summary

Introduction

Goods can be grouped in four categories, by their excludability and rivalry [1]: private goods, public goods, natural monopolies, and common resources (rival but not excludable). The latter are the object of agreements found in the commons. The term comes from the English word countryside, and it connotes three main characteristics: sharing resources, a system of rights and obligations for the members, and a form of governance assuring respect for the system of rights and obligations (Coriat, 2015, apud [2]).

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