Agrawal, Arun (1995) Group Size and Successful Collective Action: A Case Study of Forest Management Institutions in the Indian Himalayas

Conference: Presented at "Reinventing the Commons," the fifth annual conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property, May 24-28, 1995, Bodoe, Norway.

Abstract: Introduction:

"Recognizing the significance of local communties and institutions in global environmental outcomes, this study focuses on village van panchayats (forest management councils) in Almora district in the Middle Indian Himalayas. Three objectives motivate the paper: to examine the relationship between state initiatives on resource policy-making and local level outocmes, to provide some first indications of the multiple configurations of user behavior, institutional rules adn resource management outcomes at the local level; and to address a puzzling finding of the research -- why should relatively larger villages find it easier to create and maintain local forest management institutions, and achieve better protection of their forests than smaller villages in the same administrative-ecological setting."