Local Management Institutions Research Articles

Many mountain paths: Perceiving change in the management of community forests in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India

India's high mountain, van panchayat forests are a long-standing example of community-led forest governance. These provide vital support for mountain communities’ wellbeing, yet little is known about how environmental and social change is currently perceived or addressed, despite many claims that characterize van panchayats to be in crisis due to policy interventions by state forest actors and erosion of local management institutions. This research investigates how changes in forest dependence, governance, and health drive forest management decisions. Using open-ended interviews with 41 forest stewards and knowledge holders in a high mountain valley in Uttarakhand, our analysis describes managers’ perceptions of environmental and social changes and their implications for management choices. We found that van panchayats are currently navigating stewardship pathways in response to: (a) population shifts and changes to historically forest-dependent livelihoods; (b) a shift in governance regimes across van panchayats, affected by both regulatory changes and local institutional capacity; (c) the effects of global environmental change as it intersects with local influences on mountain ecosystems. Forest stewards’ perceptions of the drivers, trends, significance, and appropriate management responses to these changes varied widely. An overall decline in rightsholders’ dependence on forest resources was commonly reported, as was improved forest health in van panchayats in relation to other forest types. However, van panchayat managers disagreed on whether declining dependence positively or negatively affects forest health, whether the state is absent or actively wresting control from communities, and if successful forest restoration efforts will continue. A lack of shared understanding of these issues complicates forest stewards’ efforts to cooperate towards mutually desired ends, exacerbated by a co-management policy which isolates forest councils’ efforts from neighbouring forests. Accordingly, we encourage policy changes to enhance collaborative decision-making and to address implications of diverse perceptions, priorities and practices of care in mountain forests.

Reconsidering the longline ban in the Galapagos Marine Reserve

In 2000, longline fishing was banned inside the Galapagos Marine Reserve to prevent illegal fishing of sharks and bycatch of endangered, threatened, and protected (ETP) species. Despite local management institutions possess one of the most sophisticated control and surveillance systems in the Eastern Tropical Central Pacific, statistical and anecdotic evidence suggest the longline ban has been ineffective in eradicating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for the last two decades. This short communication examines the legal, institutional, and socio-economic factors that have prevented the effective implementation of the longline ban and proposes an ecosystem approach to fisheries to maintain bycatch mortality rates below biologically based limits, facilitating the recovery of ETP species while safeguarding a sustainable development of the Galapagos small-scale tuna fishery. Significant investments in science, technology, and innovation are necessary to encourage gradual and adaptive improvements in fishing practices to reduce IUU fishing and bycatch.

Impact of Exclosure on Species Diversity, Population Structure and Regeneration Status of Woody Plants in Lowland Northern Tigray, Ethiopia

Aim: This study was conducted to assessing woody plant composition, population structure and regeneration status in lowland exclosure (EX) of Northern Ethiopia.
 Study Design: Investigation of parameters was undertaken from 71 plots with size of 20 m x 10 m laid systematically along transect lines for vegetation data. These 200 m2 plots were used for assessment of trees with DBH >5 cm. Small quadrats of 4 m*4 m (16 m2) nested within the bigger plots was laid at the four corners and center of each plots. These were used for measuring seedling and sapling individuals. To analyze species diversity, population structure and regeneration status of woody plants were by computing abundance, density, basal area, Importance value index (IVI) and using Shannon-Weiner diversity and evenness indices.
 Results: According to vegetation survey result, a total of 23, 17 and 26 woody species were recorded, at Kara, Erba and Shektekli exclosures (EXs), respectively. While 8, 7 and 5 species of woody plant were in open grazing land (OGL). The total mean densities of all woody plants were found to be 1530, 1480 and 2999 individual’s ha-1 at Kara, Erba and Shektekli in EXs.
 Conclusion: The study suggested that the regional government have to considering EXs as useful for restoration or rehabitation strategy in the region, the vegetation in all the EXs in the study sites have a higher species composition, diversity, density, increment of basal area and regeneration woody plants than OGL, as a result of management differences in EXs. However, there are also variation on species composition, diversity, density increment of basal area and regeneration woody plants among exclosures having similar age and altitude for instance the species recorded in Erba site is lower than with other of EXs, This could be due to among local site characteristic variation and high grazing happen before Ex establishment exists. Therefore, we need to apply soil and water conservation, enrichment planting with indigenous tree species and strengthen local management institution in effectively protect the exclosure.

Incentives and challenges for local institutions in coffee forest management: The case of Bilo-Nopha Woreda, Ethiopia

Abstract. Dibaba B, Berhanu A. Incentives and challenges for local institutions in coffee forest management: the case of Bilo-Nopha Woreda, Ethiopia. Asian J For 2: 31-46. Because woodland biodiversity is threatened by various anthropogenic factors, the role of institutions in administrating natural provenances in general and woodland provenances in specific increases over time. Therefore, this is the right time to find out the role of institutions in administrating natural provenances. An assessment of the role of local institutions in the management of coffee forests, by taking the case of Bilo-Nopha Woreda, Illu Abba Bora zone as its object, became the main objective of this study. This study attempts to describe the utilization of regulation attributes, community attributes, and attributes of woodland provenances influencing the management of coffee forests in this study region, using the institutional analysis and development framework (IAD) adopted from Ostrom (2006). This study uses qualitative and quantitative research methods in the form of triangulation. From 16 Kebeles in the study region, the researchers purposively selected 3 Kebeles that were adjacent to the plantation woodland region. Using a systematic random sampling technique, 125 households were selected from three Kebeles for quantitative interviews. In addition to conducting in-depth interviews, key informant interviews and FGDs were conducted to support and strengthen data obtained through household surveys. The results reveal that both official and informal institutions take part in the management of coffee forests at the local level. Rules established by the government to secure coffee woodland areas decrease woodland utilization by local communities and make their ownership rights unsafe. This, in turn, will negatively affect their participation in coffee woodland management activities. Community contributions and forest provenances also influence management activities both positively and negatively. Some of them operate as incentives that increase management activities including compactness, homogeneity and topography, and goods and services derived from forests while others operate as disincentives for management activities including group size, distance, and inadequacy of clear boundaries. In addition to the challenges of administrating coffee forests, lack of ownership, illegal encroachment and inadequacy of coordination between various stakeholders are the main difficulties that must be resolved to preserve coffee forests in the study region.

Rehabilitating mussel beds in Coffee Bay, South Africa: Towards fostering cooperative small-scale fisheries governance and enabling community upliftment.

Along the coast of South Africa, marine resources play a significant role in supporting livelihoods and contributing to food security in impoverished rural communities. Post-apartheid fisheries laws and policies have begun to address traditional fishing rights and development needs, and new management arrangements are being implemented. One such initiative has been the Mussel Rehabilitation Project in Coffee Bay, which piloted a resource rehabilitation technique at several over-exploited fishing sites. Mussel stocks in these exploited areas had dropped to under 1% mussel cover, and during the project period, stocks increased to>80% cover, supporting a sustainable harvest well above national daily bag limits. This stock enhancement was achieved only after the project had started to address social challenges such as the lack of local management institutions and the need to enhance food security. The project embarked on training and institution-building; it formed a robust community mussel management committee; and developed a local resource management plan, facilitating increased community participation in the day-to-day management of the resource. The project also saw the initiation of various ancillary projects aimed at improving food security and stimulating the local economy and hence alleviating pressure on the marine resources. Here we review this 10-year project's outcomes, and present lessons for small-scale fisheries governance in South Africa and internationally. We show, through empirical experience, that balancing stock rebuilding needs in a context of widespread poverty and dependency on natural resources by a local fisher community can only be addressed through an integrated approach to development. Participation of resource users and a thorough understanding of the local context are imperative to negotiating appropriate small-scale fisheries governance approaches. We recommend that the implementation of South Africa's newly minted Small-Scale Fisheries Policy should begin with bottom-up, demonstrative resource management measures such as mussel rehabilitation. This type of initiative can deliver short-term food security benefits and foster social learning towards sustainable and cooperative fisheries governance.

Exploring the Relationship between Remotely-Sensed Spectral Variables and Attributes of Tropical Forest Vegetation under the Influence of Local Forest Institutions

Conservation of forests outside protected areas is essential for maintaining forest connectivity, which largely depends on the effectiveness of local institutions. In this study, we use Landsat data to explore the relationship between vegetation structure and forest management institutions, in order to assess the efficacy of local institutions in management of forests outside protected areas. These forests form part of an important tiger corridor in Eastern Maharashtra, India. We assessed forest condition using 450 randomly placed 10 m radius circular plots in forest patches of villages with and without local institutions, to understand the impact of these institutions on forest vegetation. Tree density and species richness were significantly different between villages with and without local forest institutions, but there was no difference in tree biomass. We also found a significant difference in the relationship between tree density and NDVI between villages with and without local forest institutions. However, the relationship between species richness and NDVI did not differ significantly. The methods proposed by this study evaluate the status of forest management in a forest corridor using remotely sensed data and could be effectively used to identify the extent of vegetation health and management status.

Local institutions, collective action and forest conservation: The case of Similipal Tiger Reserve in India

Abstract This study analyses the factors responsible for effective management and conservation of forest resources in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in India. Both primary and secondary data have been used for analyzing the determinants of forest conservation outcome in 35 sample villages located in and around STR. The result shows that forest growth is positively associated with function of local management institutions, caste homogeneity, and distance to forest department and nearest market. Moreover, it is concluded that efforts at improving forest conservation outcomes should not be confined to the poorest communities, as rich communities are largely responsible for adopting degrading resource use practices. Our result recommends the revival of existing local institutions and promotion of more participatory community management approaches in the STR. Further, in order to reduce trust deficit that exist between fringe villages and the forest department, more usufruct and ownership rights over resource should be transferred to local people, which in turn may enhance better forest conservation outcome.

Examining Marginalized Communities and Local Conservation Institutions: The Case of Nepal’s Annapurna Conservation Area

In developing countries, participatory conservation initiatives have been criticized for many reasons, mainly for excluding marginalized groups which have led to unequal benefits. Using concepts from the literature on participation, conservation, and political ecology, this research explored the participation of marginal groups, i.e., poor, women, lower caste, and landless, in management institutions in Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area. Field work for this research was conducted through the use of interviews and participant observation during August-October 2010. Results show that although marginal groups were involved in local management institutions, their representation was minimal and had not led to meaningful participation or empowerment to influence the decisions being made in conservation and development programs. Our study findings indicate that the involvement of marginal groups in local initiatives is complex and influenced by several factors. The study concludes that the Annapurna Conservation Area Project needs to re-orient its conservation projects by adopting a more inclusive form of participation and move beyond the quota system.

Navigating change: Second-generation challenges of small-scale fisheries co-management in the Philippines and Vietnam

Early efforts to apply the concept of fisheries co-management in Southeast Asia focused primarily on building the effectiveness of local management institutions and advocating the merits of the approach so that it would be applied in new sites, while gradually learning and adapting to a range of obstacles in practice. Today, with co-management widely embraced by the research community and adopted as policy by an increasing number of governments, a second-generation perspective has emerged. This perspective is distinguished by efforts to navigate and influence change in the broader institutional and governance context: (a) a more sophisticated appreciation of politics, power relations, and the role of the state, (b) efforts to manage resource competition beyond the fisheries sector, (c) building institutions for adaptation and learning, and (d) recognizing divergent values and goals influencing fisheries management. This paper traces the evolution of this second-generation perspective, noting how it has built on learning from early practice and how it has been cross-fertilized by theoretical innovations in related fields, notably resilience thinking and political ecology. We illustrate this evolution through analysis of experience in the Philippines, with a relatively long experience of learning and adaptation in fisheries co-management practice, and Vietnam, where fisheries co-management policies have been embraced more recently. Characterizing the second-generation perspective helps identify points of convergence in the research and policy community about what needs attention, providing a basis for more systematic cross-country and cross-regional learning.

Payments for biodiversity conservation in the context of weak institutions: Comparison of three programs from Cambodia

Implementing any conservation intervention, including Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES), in the context of weak institutions is challenging. The majority of PES programs have been implemented in situations where the institutional framework and property rights are strong and target the behaviours of private landowners. By contrast, this paper compares three PES programs from a forest landscape in Cambodia, where land and resource rights are poorly defined, governance is poor, species populations are low and threats are high. The programs vary in the extent to which payments are made directly to individuals or to villages and the degree of involvement of local management institutions. The programs were evaluated against three criteria: the institutional arrangements, distribution of costs and benefits, and the conservation results observed. The most direct individual contracts had the simplest institutional arrangements, the lowest administrative costs, disbursed significant payments to individual villagers making a substantial contribution to local livelihoods, and rapidly protected globally significant species. However, this program also failed to build local management organisations or understanding of conservation goals. By contrast the programs that were managed by local organisations were slower to become established but crucially were widely understood and supported by local people, and were more institutionally effective. PES programs may therefore be more sustainable when they act to empower local institutions and reinforce intrinsic motivations.

Climate Change and Coastal Management Decisions: Insights from Christchurch Bay, UK

The integration of climate change adaptation considerations into management of the coast poses major challenges for decision makers. This article reports on a case study undertaken in Christchurch Bay, UK, examining local capacity for strategic response to climate risks, with a particular focus on issues surrounding coastal defense. Drawing primarily on qualitative research with local and regional stakeholders, the analysis identifies fundamental disjunctures between generic concerns over climate change and the adaptive capacity of local management institutions. Closely linked with issues of scale, the problems highlighted here are likely to have broad and continuing relevance for future coastal management elsewhere.

Lessons from community based management of floodplain fisheries in Bangladesh

Inland (floodplain) fisheries remain the most important contributor to fish production in Bangladesh. They have in the past been administered to generate government revenue without due concern for sustainability or equity. Community Based Fisheries Management (CBFM) is a possible solution and was tested in 19 waterbodies (rivers and beels) during 1996–2000. The outcomes so far are assessed with respect to social, institutional, and physical context, and the interactions that arose in establishing CBFM. The lessons drawn are that: it was essential that communities obtained rights over the fisheries, strong facilitation was necessary, taking up visible resource management actions greatly helped, success was more likely in homogeneous communities, external threats were a strong limiting factor, clear boundaries and small fisheries were not so critical, and new institutions could be built with as much ease (or difficulty) as modifying existing ones. Effective well-defined partnerships of NGOs and government were not easy to establish but were sufficiently beneficial that in several locations new community institutions for fisheries management were established. This is a slow process, the sustainability of local management institutions is not yet established, although they continued during an interim period without funding, further phased support is planned to strengthen these organizations and to generate evidence of impacts and momentum to influence wider fisheries policy in and beyond Bangladesh.

Determinants and impact of local institutions for common resource management

In this article, local institutions for forest conservation and management are analysed. The discussion is based on data from 37 villages and 180 households randomly sampled from a protected area in Rajasthan, India. Local management institutions are described, factors affecting inter-village differences in management institutions and collective action are analysed in a logit model, and the impact of institutions and other variables on common resource dependency and forest outcomes is tested using instrumental variable regression. Village population size has a positive effect and prior institutional experience a negative effect on the probability of collective action. It is concluded that efforts at improving forest management should not be confined to the poorest farmers. Large landowners are heavily involved in degrading use practises, especially when resources have good market potential. Local management institutions play a positive role in the area, but their impact appears insufficient to safeguard forests and commons from continued degradation. Conservation policies should target win–win options through interventions aimed at improving technologies for private and common lands as well as institutional changes.

Community Wealth Stratification and the Organizational Provisioning Dilemma: The Case of Amazonian Fishing Communities

Previous theoretical analysis suggested that group heterogeneity facilitates collective action because agents with high stakes in a public good are also endowed with large amounts of wealth and thus will have greater incentives to contribute voluntarily to the public good. Results from this empirical study of Amazonian fishing communities do not support these former theoretical predictions. When increased wealth stratification was associated with greater availability of alternative economic opportunities, wealthier households chose not to contribute proportionally to the additional costs of a conservationist scheme. Organizational contributions were non-proportional or negatively correlated to household wealth in communities with less developed or failed management institutions. Larger and more homogenous communities were able to enforce rules about proportional contributions by their members and to bear the cost of creating and maintaining a fully developed local management institution.