Promise, Trust and Evolution: Managing the Commons of South Asia

From land management to water rights, this volume looks at the current status of Common Property Resources, or CPRs, in South Asia. Developed countries, have managed to establish well-defined property rights over numerous resources and in some instances extended non-exclusionary rights over privately owned resources over an extended period of time. In the developing world, however, the share of community property is extensive, either as a response to an expanding market or because the exposure to markets in still in its nascent stage. This coupled with the demands of globalization, has led to the co-existence of both community ownership of resources as well as an evolving private property rights market. This tension between public versus private ownership rights is particularly relevant in the developing countries of South Asia, not only because of its shared history but also because of its resources frequently cross national boundaries. This book tells the story of CPRs and the commons in a rapidly changing South Asia. Including contributions from those working with natural resources in Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, the papers discuss issues such as equity in distribution; efficiency and productivity of resources; sustainability of resources; and institutional transition and governance.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Part I Issues and Challenges 1: Partha Dasgupta: Common Property Resources: Economic Analytics 2: Narpat Jodha: Some Places Again: A 'Restricted' Revisit to Dry Regions of India 3: Priya Shyamsundar: Decentralization, Devolution, And Collective Action - A Review of International Experience Part II Evolution and Transitions 4: A.K. Enamul Haque: Does afforestation ensure sustainability? A study of the Haors of Bangladesh 5: Rucha Ghate: A Tale of Three Villages: Practiced Forestry in India 6: Asha Gunawardana and Paul Steele: The Stake-Net Fishery Association Of Negombo Lagoon, Sri Lanka - Why Has it Survived over 250 Years and Will it Survive Another 100 Years? 7: Athula Senarathne and Kalpa Karunanayake: Transaction Costs and Institutional Innovation: Sustainability of Tank Aquaculture in Sri Lanka 8: Gamini Herath: Irrigation Management - Does Bottom up work better than Top Down in Sri Lanka ? Part III Livelihoods and Distribution 9: Pranab Mukhopadhyay: Heterogeneity, Commons, and Privatization: Agrarian Change in Goa 10: Bhim Adhikari: Is Cooperation Costly with Diverse Economic Agents? 11: Arun Khatri-Chhetri: Who pays for Conservation: Evidence from Forestry in Nepal 12: R. Balasubramanian: Community Tanks vs. Private Wells: Coping Strategies and Sustainability Issues in South India Part IV Statutory and Customary Law 13: Shaheen Rafi Khan: Tradition and Sovereignty: Conflicts over Dir-Kohistan's Forests 14: Arabinda Mishra: Is the state passe? Competing domains in forestry in Orissa 15: Edward. L. Webb and Lam Dorji: Efficiency and Low Costs Under Non-limiting Supply Conditions in Bhutan 16: Keshav Raj Kanel: So Far So Good: Next Steps in Community Forestry

About the Author :
Rucha Ghate is Director (Projects) of SHODH, a research institute based in Nagpur, India. She is also Director of Collaborative Research Center (India), International Forestry Resources and Institutions, Indiana University, Bloomington. She was earlier a Reader in Economics at Nagpur University, India and a Visiting Fellow at Indiana University, Bloomington, and a Visiting Faculty at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok. Narpat Jodha is Senior Research Associate at ICIMOD, Kathmandu. He has earlier worked in the international agricultural research centres such as ICRISAT, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (Africa) and at the World Bank. He has been a consultant to various international agencies including the World Bank, FAO, UNEP etc., and worked on the Editorial Boards of nearly half a dozen national and international journals. He is also a Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Science. Pranab Mukhopadhyay teaches Economics at Goa University, India. He graduated from Presidency College, Calcutta and completed his doctoral work at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has been a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, Warwick University, UK, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and the Centre for Urban Economic Studies, Calcutta University.

Review :
`The case studies tell fascinating stories (of successes and failures), and, to the best of my knowledge, it is the first time an academic NGO has brought together the works of young economists from all of South Asia. I believe [this book] will prove to be the most significant collection of empirical writings to date on communitarian resource allocation mechanisms.' Sir Partha Dasgupta FBA FRS, Frank Ramsey Professor of Economics, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge