Common Property
Resource - Institutional Innovations Database
This database
includes more than 80 cases of indigenous common property resource institutions.
Included here is synopsis of some of them:
- Rec# 250. A1 Author, Title
Publisher City Year., -. -. Features of the economic, social and ecological
environment which affect the institution. Short historical overview,
primarily; when was the institution established. Size of the group covered
by the institution.: Other spatial or temporal settings where similar
institutions can be found. Is the institution concurrent or episodic.,
Social boundaries: Who are\can be included in or members of the institution
?Spatial boundaries: The geographical area covered by the institution. Rules
for governing the institution: Organization, election of leaders,
accountabilities, sanctions etc. Also including rules for maintenance.
- Rec# 3. Abu, Rafia Aref
Control and allocation of grazing lands among the Bedouin tribes of the
villages, Traditional, Pastoralism. Israel. In Israel the Negev Area is
semi-arid and it serves the Bedouins for dwelling, grazing and farming. The
Bedouin population about 60,000,comprised of 30 tribes. The area varies
topographically from flat to rolling hills to hilly. Most of the area is
covered with loose soil, but the hills are composed of brown lithosols. The
climatic conditions in the Negev varies from year to year, this instability
has a great influence on vegetation, Bedouin life and livelihood. Dew is an
important source of water for vegetation in Negev : Spatial: The Negev
comprises 12,500sq.km, 60% of the area of the state of Israel. The Negev
Bedouin dwell in an area of 1,000 sq km. Out of this about 400sq km are dry
farmed and the remainder 600 sq.km are rangelands
Social: Nomadizing with the flocks outside the Bedouin area of 1000 sq.km is
dependant on obtaining a permit from the authorities. Nomadizing is allowed
only between mid-February till beginning of October. About ninety percent of
the land in Israel, including all of the Negev, is controlled by the Lands
Administration. The grazing areas outside the Bedouin area are controlled by
a number of bodies: the Israel Lands Administration, the Jewish National
Fund, co-operative villages (MOSHAVIM), collective villages (KIBBUTZIM)
Ministry of Agriculture, the Israeli Army and the Nature Reserves Authority
The authorities are not monolithic, but they control most of the lands. They
can give or withdraw access by different criteria and preferences. Since the
Bedouin need those lands for a large part of the year , the authorities have
the power to control the Bedouin to a large extent
MAINTENANCE: Watchman is appointed for guarding the fields and orchards and
he has to monitor that the flocks do not enter the sown fields. Certain
tasks and chores are done by users themselves, like watching the flocks at
night by remaining awake turn by turn. Letter sent ed. CPR: A-151996 Mar
15-1996 Mar 15.
- Rec# 160. Acheson, James M.
The Lobster Fiefs Revisited Economic and Ecological Effects of
Territoriality in Maine Lobster Fishing. in James M. Acheson & Bonnie J.
McCay eds. The Question of the Commons. The Culture and Ecology of Communal
Resources. p. p. 37-65 University of Arizona Press Tucson 198 and James M.
Acheson Where Have All the Exploiters Gone Co-Management of the Maine
Lobster Industry. in Fikret Berkes ed. Common Property Resources. Ecology
and community-based sustainable development. p. p. 199-217 Belhaven Press
London 1989., Lobster, Fishery, Property Rights, Common Property, Population
Conservation, Territorial Regulation, Technological Change. USA. The lobster
fishermen in Maine have established informal rules of territorial regulation
alongside the formal government regulation. These rules provide exclusive
ownership of fishing areas to individuals or groups. It also seems to
function as a system of conservation; since the 1940'es lobster catches have
been relatively stable, varying from 16 to 21.7 million pounds a year (1982
numbers). In the 1970'es there were about 9000 lobstermen in Maine of which
2300 were working fulltime. Generally they use the same techniques. The
lobsters are caught in 3 - 4 feet long wooden traps, marked with a buoy on
the surface. They are usually placed in the water in long rows, so that a
man can see from one buoy to another in the fog. On a good day a lobsterman
can pull up to 200 traps. Typically lobstermen will have 4-600 traps each.
They fish alone from 28-32 feet long boats equipped with modern technology
such as depth sounders, hydraulic trap haulers and radios. Activity varies
greatly from season to season. During winter (January, February and March)
the lobsters migrate to deeper waters, three to ten miles off shore. During
this period fishing is relatively dangerous and unprofitable. The weather
can be rough and trap losses increase. Some lobster men will stay ashore and
build traps during this period or use their boats for fishing scallops and
shrimps. The busiest periods are spring (April 15 - June 15) and fall
(August 15 - November 15). Over 65% of the catch is done in the Fall. During
the molting season (Roughly June 15 - August 15) catches are very low, and
most lobstermen will bring their traps ashore and do maintenance work on
their gear. The central Maine coast. The institution is concurrent.,
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: To go fishing, formally one must have a license issued by
the State of Maine. Informally, one should be accepted by the other
fishermen from the harbour (The " Harbour Gang") and show that
one will abide to their norms. Normally such acceptance will be easier for
people who already belongs to the community, through residence or kinship,
such as a young local boy who wish to take up fishing. More difficulties
will be experienced for outsiders, especially part-timers who have other job
opportunities. Members of a harbour gang can only go fishing in the
territory which belongs to their harbour. If the harbour uses perimeter
defended territories (see below), acceptance from the harbour gang is not
enough. Then one should either have achieved the rental rights for a fishing
area or one should be from a family which owns land and adjacent waters
within the harbour territory.
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The fishing territories of the central Maine coast.
Formal rules made by the State of Maine only requires a license. Anyone who
has a license can go fishing anywhere. Informal rules has set up more
explicit territorial boundaries. A fishing territory in this system belongs
to the harbour fishermen are fishing of. Harbour territories are relatively
small. They do not exceed 100 square miles and normally they will be much
smaller. Territories are recognized by landmarks, rocks, trees, buildings
etc. along the shore. Offshore boundaries will be marked by landmarks and
islands. There are two types of harbour territories. In nucleated
territories, the longer you get from the shore, the less definite the
boundary will be, and mixed fishing (The same area being fished by fishermen
from different harbour gangs) is tolerated - partly because boundaries are
more difficult to define far off shore, and partly because competition is
low in the season where fishing is done in these areas (winter). Still,
areas close to the harbour are very well defined and should not be
trespassed by outsiders. The other type of harbour territories is perimeter
defended territories, in which boundaries are and must be respected to a
much wider extend. This system is used on the islands in the eastern part of
the area. But as well as lobstermen with perimeter defended territories do a
lot to maintain the territorial boundaries and to prevent intruders from
fishing in these areas, they are unlikely to be fishing outside their own
territory. Thus, the major difference between nucleated and perimeter
defended areas is the degree to which mixed fishing is allowed.
FORMAL RULES: The State of Maine has jurisdiction out to three miles from
shore. To fish, a license is required and traps and buoys should be marked
with license number and assigned colours. Violations result in court action
and suspension of licenses. The state has also established size regulation
and rules for protecting breeding females.
INFORMAL RULES: Informal rules are governed by the Harbour gang. Violations
of territorial regulations will lead to sanctions, initially by warnings,
but if they have no effect, fishing gear, such as traps, buoys may be
damaged, often simply by cutting the buoy line so that the trap will be
lost. Sanctions are most likely to be imposed on newcomers and part-timers.
Old, well-established fishermen can often break boundaries without being
sanctioned, but they also face limits, and consistent boundary violation is
not likely to be accepted. It is not reported if sanctions are the result of
collective or individual action. Though the actual damaging of gear is most
likely to be executed by an individual, it could be the result of
discussions within a larger forum. No letter sent. Professor in Anthropology
and Marine Science, University of Maine. ed. IIM-lib no. 333.72 Q.8-174.
- Rec# 40. Agrawal, Arun The
Illogic of Arithmetic in Resource Management. Overpopulation Markets and
Institutions as Explanations of Forest use in the Indian Himalayas. Workshop
in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Indiana University Bloomington USA,
Forestry, Overpopulation, Population Growth, Panchayat, Forest Councils,
Monitoring, Sanctioning, Forest Management, Resource Degradation. India.
Between 1840 and 1910, the British brought most of the forest area in the
Kumaon Hills under their control as an economic and commercial resource.
This was an important loss for the local population. Because of their
relative isolation from factor and product markets, the hill
agriculturalists of the Kumaon Hills use animal draught power instead of
mechanized implements, organic manure instead of chemical fertilizers and
traditional varieties of seeds instead of modern varieties. Thus, there is
a close connection between different ecological subsystems - agricultural,
pastoral and forest related and the region is heavily dependent upon
self-reliance, thus also upon the access to forest resources. Popular
resistance made the state pas the " Panchyat" - act in 1931,
according to which 30 % of the forests were given back to the villagers, to
be controlled and managed by the relatively autonomous panchyats. Today,
more than 5000 van panchayats forests councils control the use of 30 % of
the forest areas in the Kumaon Hills. The institution is concurrent.,
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The village forest area, governed by the panchayat.
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: All villagers have access to extract the resources of the
area in accordance with the rules settled by the panchayat. The Van
Panchayats are governed by the same government law, the Forest Panchayat
act. But at village level rules and regulations may differ. Day to day
management of the panchayat forests is governed by the rules the van
panchayat create in regular meetings. Villagers are appointed as watchmen
for a small stipend to monitor people who violate rules about how much can
be extracted from the forest by individuals. Violators are reported to the
panchayat which will exact fines or impose other sanctions. Contacted at:
University of Florida, Department of Political Science, 3324 Turlington
Hall, Gainesville, Florida 32611 - 2836. ed. CPR A.31.-16212.
- Rec# 10. Akimichi, Tomoya
Territorial Regulation in the Small-Scale Fisheries of Itoman Okinawa. in
Kenneth Ruddle and Tomoya Akimichi Maritime Institutions in the Western
Pacific. National Museum of Ethnology Osaka Japan 1984., Coastal Fishery,
Ambushi, Stake-net, Territorial Rights, Common Property. Japan. The Ambushi
fishermen are part of a larger fishing industry in Itoman. They use
stake-nets, "ambushi's", for coastal fishery. Ambushi fishing
is done in shallow water where tidal waters and corresponding fish movements
must be taken into account. The net is composed of two main parts: A bag net
which is set using poles fixed in a semi-rectangular shape at the side of
coral rock, about three to four fathoms deep; and wing nets which are
attached to each side of the bag net. The net is fixed with coral rocks at
the bottom. Usually the wing nets are 50-100 m. long (See fig.3). Normally
each fisherman works on his own with his small boat and netting gears, but
sometimes they will use an assistant. Ambushi-fishermen generally belong to
the same Munchu - indigenous descent groups in traditional Okinawan society
- the Sumu-bara group. Contracts to conduct Ambushi fishery were first
reported in the late 19th century. In the 1930'es, there were 7-8 Ambushi
fishermen in Itoman.: The text does not refer to similar institutions
outside Itoman, but Ambushi fishery is generally known in Japan normally
called Tateboshi-ami. The institution is concurrent.,
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: To undertake Ambushi fishing, one must obtain a
permission by the local Fisheries Cooperative Association (FCA) The rules of
the institution only applies for fishermen using the ambushi technology
within the coastal fishing territory of Itoman.
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The coastal waters of the fishing territory licensed to
the Itoman FCA. The Ambushi fishermen are members of the local FCA, which
administrates, controls and execute formal rules and rights among all
fishermen in Itoman. The Ambushi fishermen have set up their own rules on
how to conduct Ambushi fishing. Earlier meetings in order to govern this
institution were held among Ambushi fishermen once a year. Presumably these
meetings started in the 1890'es. Post-war meeting frequency has been very
low. No letter sent. National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan. ed. CPR.
A.14TroB180396.
- Rec# 20. Appell, G. N.
Resource Management Regimes among the Swidden Agriculturalists of Borneo
Does the Concept of Common Property adequately map Indigenous Systems of
Ownership Paper presented at panel session Property in Common Property The
International Association for the Study of Common Property University of
Manitoba Winnipeg Canada sep. 26-29 1991., Swidden Agriculture, Property,
Use Rights, Common Property, Lineage. Malaysia. The villages of Bidayuh Land
Dayak people of Sarawak. The institution is concurrent.,
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: Use rights of swidden areas are given to descendants of
the original feller who are married men, who have children and reside in a
seperate longhouse apartment. Village reserves can only be cultivated by
members of the village, unless prior permission is given by the village
headman. The village headman can also allow outsiders to join the village as
such.
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The village reserves. Village members can create
use-rights for the village reserve. ????? No letter sent. ed. CPR
A.10.-16212.
- Rec# 150. ---, Forestry, Fruit
Trees, Property Rights, Common Property, Heritage, Lineage, Kinship.
Malaysia. Similar institutions can be found elsewhere on Kalimantan (See
Nancy Lee Peluso). The institution is concurrent.,
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: The institution is found among the Rungus people of
Sarawak.
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The Rungus territory. No further information is given.
If a fruit tree is, a descendant (See ResA) will guard and cultivate it. He
will also call other right holders to come and collect the fruit. If the tree
is destroyed, the cultivator can attend the village moot to sue the person
who destroyed it on behalf of the entire group of descendants. No letter
sent (OBS!!! other Appel file.) ed. CPR. A.10.-11748.
- Rec# 24. Barrow, Edmund G C
and 1991 "Turkana Tree Rights, Issues of Natural Resource Management
and Policy Potentials and Conflicts Draft, Ekwar (tree), tenure, Arid,
Usufruct rights , Fodder, semi-arid, livestock, pastoralist, Adakar.
Nairobi(Kenya). Usufruct rights to trees (Ekwar) in the Turkana silvo-pastoral
system of Kenya are an important aspect of natural resource management,
especially in the drier central parts. Turkana is a semi-arid and arid
district situated in Northern Kenya with a population of about 225,000
people. This system makes best use of the vegetation through a transhumant
system of wet and dry season grazing combined with the setting aside of
specific dry season grazing reserves. Therefore the Ekwar system includes wet
and dry season grazing combined with reserved grazing areas (Epaka, Amaire)
and dry season fodder reserves (Ekwar)
Simultaneously there exists a customary rule "Adakar" based on
the grazing associations of the Turkana particularly related to the usage of
trees in dry season grazing reserves (group rights), however at present such
a system is not allowed under the influence of the government
Ekwar: An "Ekwar" is associated with the ownership of the trees
(more particularly their produce) beside or near a river or lake. In dry
season a person's Ekwar provides the family with dry season fodder in the
form of pods and leaves of various trees in their Ekwar, and in particular
Acacia tortilis. The produce from the Ekwar belongs to the owner and no one
else can use it unless by prior arrangement and agreement. Thus an Ekwar can
be related to customary ownership of, or usufruct rights to a certain area
of land (refer figure in pg.28)
Some of the tree species which are identified as locally important species
are: Acacia tortilis, Cordia sinensis, Salvadora persica, Hyphaena compressa
and Zizyphus mauritiana : Such usufruct rights of trees are not unique to
the Turkana situation, it may have evolved in other places also according to
the text, Spatial: Turkana district covers an area of 72, 000 sq.km with a
low and variable rainfall, varying from 150 to 200 mm in the dry central
areas to over 400 mm in the south. The district is bordered on the east by
lake Turkana, on the west by the Ugandan escarpment, on the north by the
boundaries of Sudan and Ethiopia, and on the south by West Pokol and Baringo
districts of Kenya.The topography consists of low lying central plains (600
metres), close to hills and mountains (1800-3100 metres).There are numerous
ephemeral streams, the two important river being Turkwell and Kerio.
Social: In the drier parts the herd owner within their "Ere"or
area of permanent settlement where old and young stocks may remain all year
around, may have ownership rights to particular resources which may include
fodder, trees, dry season wells and Sorghum gardens. These resources are
owned by the herdowner and his own family relatives. Outsiders are not
allowed to use them without prior permission
The importance of hill areas, as dry season fodder reserves are recognized
in terms of the grazing group which has rules and regulations governing
their usage. The Loima mist forest being the most important of the dry season
grazing reserves in the district
There is fair degree of flexibility in Ekwar ownership rights. If an Ekwar
owner is absent for a period of time and not using the produce of his Ekwar,
it is likely that someone else will take over his Ekwar so that the produce
of the Ekwar can be used efficiently. Such flexibility of Ekwar ownership
represents method to reduce risk and make the production system more
sustainable
Property ownership in Turkana whether it be land, trees or livestock is not
definite, it is rather a claim which a person may always be ready to
defend. If a person is not able to protect the trees he has fenced or if
nobody is willing to support his interest than others may ignore the
enclosure and collect fruits (Storas 1987). Thus in the same way as
relationships to people are necessary to get access to land, they are also
essential to protect use of land.
Likewise, confrontation in land disputes is not always between insiders and
outsiders but can be amongst closer family also . Not clearly reported in
the text. Forestry: B-031996 Apr 13-1996 Apr 13.
- Rec# 6. Berkes, Fikret Common
Property Resource Management and Cree Indian Fisheries in Subarctic Canada
in The Question of Commons The University of Arizona Press Tucson,
Traditional, Fishing, Hunting, Trapping. Canada. The eastern James Bay Cree
are organized into eight bands including Chisasibi and its northern
neighbour ,Great Whale and Southern neighbour, Wemindji. In Chisasibi there
are two broad social groups: Inlanders and coasters the families who
traditionally hunts in the interior and along the James Bay coast
respectively. Within the band hunting group consists of several nuclear
families, usually 10 to 20 people: Spatial: The Cree Indian village of
Chisasibi is located about 1,000 km north of Montréal, it is one of eight
Cree communities in the area. Social: The community hunting area is divided
into some 40 traplines or hunting territories. According to the James Bay
agreement the hunters and fishermen have the right to use the Western
quarter (area) and for trapping they have rights to use for the entire
area. All persons wishing to hunt, fish or trap should inform the boss of the
area, since he is the person who has access to his area. The trapline holder
controls (Beaver boss) the traditional common property system in
Chisasibi. All persons wishing to hunt, fish or trap are expected to inform
the boss of the area. The boss manages the harvesting capacity for the
benefit of band society as a whole. He may enforce customary laws with
respect to harvesting activities and hunting behaviour. The boss inherits the
hunting territory usually from his father or other relative, but he cannot
sell or buy it. If he is not able to manage it for community benefit , he can
be held accountable for it and forced by social pressure to step down. 1996
Mar 23-1996 Mar 23.
- Rec# 30. Bjorklund, Ivar Sami
Reindeer Pastoralism as an Indigenous Resource Management System in Northern
Norway A Contribution to the Common Property Debate. Development and Change
vol. 21 pp. 75-86 Sage London Newbury Park New Delhi 1991., Pastoralism,
Resource Management, Sami, Norway, Siida, Overgrazing, Reindeer, Government
Intervention, Knowledge systems. Norway, Finland and Sweden. Sami's are
reindeer pastoralists living in the Finnmark, a territory including northern
parts of Sweden, Finland and Norway. Domestication of reindeer is at least
one thousand years old, and as a pastoral adaptation, reindeer herding is
reported since the 16th century. Generally, herds are moved around in a
cycle according to seasonal pasture conditions. The institution is generally
used among Sami's in the Finnmark. The institution is concurrent.,
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: Members of the "Siida" (see below). SPATIAL
BOUNDARIES: Gouvdageaidnu area of Northern Norway, Finland and Sweden.
National borders restrict the movements of the herds but specific rules for
crossing the border between Norway and Sweden has been made in an internal
agreement between the governments the two countries. Herdowners are
organized in "Siida's", cooperations organized through kith
relations (Possibly a Clan). The members of the "Siida" lives
and migrates together and they will organize the grazing of reindeer herds
throughout a year. Contacted at: Ivar Bjorklund, Tromso Museum, University
of Tromso, Folkeparken, N-9000, Norway. Response received 17/5/96. Will send
updated paper. ed. CPR, B. 17.-16212.
- Rec# 1. Brett, June Prill 1985
Stone Walls and Waterfalls Irrigation and Ritual Regulation in the Central
Cordillera Northern Phillippines in Karl L. Hutterer A. Terry Rambo and
George Lovelace Ed Cultural Values and Human Ecology in Southeast Asia
Centre for South and Southeast Asian Studies The University of Michigan. pp.
125-156., Traditional, irrigation, water distribution, ritual regulation.
The Philippines. The case discusses the role and effects of the Tukukan
Bontok ideational system in the management and distribution of water,
specifically how ritual regulates social relationships to satisfactorily
control individual access to irrigated land, water and labour under
particular set of ecological constraints.
The Bontok Region is located in Mountain Province of the Central Cordillera,
northern Luzon. Connected to the Sierra Madre in Central Luzon, the
Cordillera Central is the most extensive system of highlands in the
Philippines. The people of the Cordillera Central inhabit some 24,000 sq km
of northern Luzon, leaving narrow strip of coastal flatlands and foothills
to the west and adjoining the agayan valley to the east. It is a broad,
highly desiccated upland with peaks of more than 2,500 m in the south
central area. Most of the central Cordillera lies above 1,000 m and thus
forms a unique climatic, geographic and cultural region.
In the present paper, the institutional arrangements existing in a village,
ukukan have been discussed in detail.: The institution discussed in this
paper is with the people belonging to a culture group called Bontok colture
and represent one of the societies in the Central Cordillera cultivating wet
rice in hillside terraces. They live in compact villages with populations
ranging from 800 to 3, 000 persons and depend heavily for their subsistence
on the cultivation of irrigated rice., Spatial: There are fifty-one
localities with irrigated rice-terraces of varying sizes in the village of
Tukukan. The approximate total land of irrigated land is less than 100 ha.
According to the author's census in 1982, there are approximately 4,424 rice
fields of different sizes around the village., all within territorial
boundary of Tukukan. The geographical layout of the rice fields has been
influenced by not only be the terrain and water source, but also by
inheritance patterns.
Social : Of the 4,424 rice fields, 1,358 belong to the kakachangyan (aristocrats)
and 3,066 belong to non-kakachangyan. There are no villagers without at
least a couple of rice-fields to till; there fore there are no landless
villagers in Tukukan. Besides the rice fields, all villagers, as members of
corporate groups, have ownership rights to communally held swidden land.
Members of the irrigation associations are recruited by virtue of their
being citizens of the village and descendants of original terrace-field
owners. Membership in an irrigation association ranges from 37 to 275
families whose fields are scattered in different geographical locations.
Rights to irrigation water are automatic for any owner of the rice field
(whether inherited or purchased) and can not be acquired in any other way.
Newly constructed fields adjacent or below older terraces are allowed to
receive water from kus-sing turnouts (field spouts) originating from these
older rice fields. It is a rule that no one is allowed to construct a new
field above or close to the turnouts of main irrigation canals. Also, no
owner of a new field is allowed to receive water before older rice-terrace
owners have watered their fields, unless new fields are extensions of old
terraces belonging to descendents of original owners. IIM: 301.3 C81996 Dec
7.
- Rec# 28. Brouser, R 1995
Baldios and common property resource management in Portugal Unasylvia 46 FAO
Rome, Baldios, chamados, zeladores. Portugal. The "baldios" are
an ancient tradition in Portugal. The main components of the traditional
management system of the "baldios" exclusion, zoning and
allocation. The system provided a sort of social security for landless
poor, who were permitted to pasture cattle and cultivate plots on a temporary
basis and this was determined by the "chamados" (village
council). Supervision of the implementation of the councils' ruling was
entrusted to elected caretakers or"zeladores".As late as 1875,
the baldios comprised of more than 4 million ha, but after the intervention
of new state regime "Estado Novo" in 1933 (remained in power
till 1974) the land was reduced to some 450 000 ha. The new state regime in
order to strengthen the forestation, curtailed many traditional usufruct
rights of the local people and forced many members to abandon herding or to
emigrate. In 1966 the civil code was revised to abolish communal property and
therefore the baldios ceased to exist for quite sometime. In 1974 a leftist
military coup brought up this issue of baldios supporting the village
councils so that they could restore their common property. Finally a law was
passed in 1976 which returned the land to the original user communities :
Such type of common property management is found in other Portuguese villages
too, Spatial: Campea lies 15 km west of the district capital, Vila Real, in
the eastern folds of the Serra do Marao. The municipality has an area of
about 2500 ha. It consists of a wide basin, with a flat bed at 750 m above
sea level, and the surrounding mountains with a height of 1400 m. The
mountain slopes comprise about half of the municipality's area which are
officially registered as common property.
Social: The village have 12 territories, the inhabitants of each territory
had their own village council. They elected a caretaker for themselves, who
was supposed to look after the system within their territory. The territories
were autonomous elements within the municipality.
Access to the common could be gained in several ways: a) by being a full
member of the community
b) by tilling fields within the community's territory so that they be
fertilized with manure
c) by renting part of their land for grazing etc. According to the law
passed in 1976, there were two specific prerequisites:
1)The people should organize themselves in user groups, there will be a
commoners assembly which would be the formal democratic representative of
the villagers in common management affairs and the application of financial
revenues generated on common land. the commoners assembly was required to
elect a five member management council for day to day regulation of the
exploitation of the commons
A provision was introduced were the state would appoint a representative to
the management council (like local forest guard ).The aim was to provide
technical assistance in managing the forest and also to improve relation
between the forest service and the local population which had deteriorated
during the state regime (refer- Int)
2)The second requirement was the recognition of the commoners' assembly and
management council by the state. There was need for a process where more than
one council could present itself to the state as the legal owner of a given
piece of land for settlement of disputes. It was necessary to identify the
groups for the restoring of the commons to their former owners. 1996
May-1996 May 31.
- Rec# 300. Buzdar, Nek Property
Rights Social Organisation and Resource Management in Northern Pakistan.
East-West Center Honolulu 1988., Irrigation, Kuhl, Mir, Village Council,
Pastoralism, Shepherds, Mountain Agriculture, Common Property, Cooperation,
Alps, Alpine Grazing. Pakistan. This record describes the resource
management systems set up in the Chipursan and Hoper valleys in Northern
Pakistan.
ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT: Chipursan and Hoper are located in one of the most
mountaneous areas in the world, close to the Pamir Plateau - " The Roof
of the World." The floor of Hoper Valley is at about 2.800 m. with
surrounding peaks exceeding 7.000 m. Chipursan Valley is at about 3.200 m.
with surrounding peaks up to 4.000 m. The climate is dry. Both valleys lie
outside the monsoon zone, in the rain shadow of the mountains. Mean annual
rainfall is between 100 and 200 mm., a bit lower in Chipursan than in Hoper.
At higher altitudes rainfall is more. Rainfall supports the growth of
juniper, shrubs and alpine pastures at heights exceeding 3500 m. In the high
mountain areas, above 6.000 m. at least 2.000 mm of snow will fall,
providing a valuable source of water for the valley.
The area has large temperature differences during a year. In average 30 dgr.
C is the difference between the coldest month, January, and the hottest,
July.
Cultivation is practiced on terraces and fans. The former is suitable for
growing crops and the latter for forest and alpine pasture growth when water
is available. Both valleys are single crop areas (NB: In the sense that in
one year only one crop can be grown. Not monoculture). The active growth
period extends from May till October, as soils are frozen the rest of the
year. Crop raising depend on irrigation systems, where water originating
from snowmelt and glaciers is diverted into channels ('Kuhls'). Mostly
farmers practice mixed mountain agriculture. Crop land has been developed
adjacent to villages on river terraces and alluvial fans at the valley
bottom or on the river banks. In Hoper Valley, the lower parts contain
apricot and walnut orchards, and gradually trees are being planted in all
other areas also. Because of the altitude, Chipursan is not well suited for
fruit trees, but many farmers have planted some on their land. Cultivation in
Hoper takes place at altitudes between 2500 and 3000 m. whereas in Chipursan
crops are grown between 3000 m. and 3500 m. Therefore the growing season is
longer in Hoper than in Chipursan.
For grazing their herds, people in Chipursan and Hoper practice what could
be called vertical migration. That is, various microenvironments at
different altitudinal levels are exploited. Some land in the lower areas, at
the level of valley bottom crop lands, which are not irrigated are used as
pasture or forestland. But most pastures (alpine pasture or forest land) are
located at heights above 3500 m. None of these lands are supported by
irrigation.
SOCIAL CONTEXT: The villagers claim a common ancestry, though Mongolian,
South-Asian and Caucasian ethnic characteristics are found in all villages
of the region. Chipursan valley has seven main villages and is inhabited by
Waakhi speaking people who belong to the Ismailia sect of Islam and are
followers of Aga Khan. With 186 households, the total population of
Chipursan is app. 1500 people (mid-'80es). Hoper has five main villages and
is inhabited by Brushaski speaking people who belong to Shia Islam. The
valley has a total population of app. 3000 people.
The farmers are mostly subsistence farmers with small landholdings and small
herd sizes. Based on surveys and interviews the average household ownership
of cultivated land is reported to be 4.3 acres in Hoper and 2.7 acres in
Chipursan. Corresponding figures for animals raised by a households are 18
and 35. It is not reported whether similar arrangements can be found
elsewhere. The institutions are concurrent.,
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: The villagers in Chipursan and Hoper Valley.
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: Private and common property belonging to the villagers.
Traditionally the villages have been governed by the Mir. The main concern
of the Mir was tax collection. The Mir appointed village heads, 'Trangpa''s,
who were supposed to be good resource managers rather than administrators.
The 'Trangpa's appointed a number of 'Oyom' to constitute village advisory
councils called 'Oyoko'. All important resource management related
decisions, as well as conflict resolution, were the responsibility of these
village councils. The Mirdom was abolished by the Government of Pakistan in
Nagar and Hunza States in '72 and '74. But the social organization of the
village remained unchanged. Since then, village representatives have been
elected at the local level under the government union council system, and
the religious organization created branches at the village level in the
Ismailia areas. The traditional organization, the newly elected leadership
and the religious organizations are reported to work in harmony with one
another.
The 'Trangpa' coordinates the key agricultural and pastoral activities
within the village and between villages. The activities are more or less the
same each year, but due to the instability of the weather, timing of
activities is very important. A few days' delay in sowing may affect the
crop yield and maturity. In Chipursan, the crop rarely gets the sunshine
required for complete maturity. Early in the agricultural year (April\May),
the 'Oyoko' meets in continuous sessions to decide the timing of field
operation, sowing and herd departure from the village. When the final
decision is made on the date of departure and field sowing, it is conveyed
to all the villagers. Generally, each village has more than one pasture
subdivided into different altitudinal levels. Therefore, the 'Oyoko' assigns
each village member to a specific pasture and determines the length of the
stay and departure from different altitudinal levels. Schedules can be
changed if weather conditions require it. The animal departure date is
enforced at both ends of the crop year. No animals are allowed to stay in
the village after the departure date and no animals are allowed in the
pastures before the appointed dates. If animals remain in the village and
trespass into someone else's field, the violator will be fined 3 - 10 rupees
(depending on the type of animal. Fines for subsequent violations are
progressively raised. Taking a herd to a common pasture before the agreed
date is also heavily punished. At one such incident a shepherd, who had
taken his herd to the common pasture before the agreed date, had three of
his goats slaughtered on the spot, and the meat was distributed among the
residents of the six villages who had ownership rights over the pasture.
MAINTENANCE: Channel construction and maintenance of the irrigation system
as such are based on village households, irrespective of holding size.
Customary rules require each household to provide equal labour time for 'kuhl'
(channel) maintenance. No letter sent. Residential address as pr. 1991: 1532
Shasta Way, Placentia, California 92670-2936. ed. CPR B-09.20596.
- Rec# 16. Chakraborty, Falguni
1986 The Santal of Puniyasasan A Study of Techno-economic Adaptation to
Hill-forest Environment Journal of Indian Anthropology 21 1 pp 36-56,
Traditional, Santal, Rice. West Bengal. The Santals are recognised as a
scheduled tribe in the states of Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal and Tripura. The
present case study describes a Santal tribe from Puniyasasan village who
consider their own ethnic group as "Hor"(men) and others as "Diku"(non-men, foreigners). They consider themselves as people
of hills (Pahar) in contrast to the people of the plains. There are 24
families/households and 157 persons in Puniyasasan (refer Table 1).The
villagers broadly prepare three kinds of agricultural land: Bargey (homestead
land); Gora (highland field), and Khet (kinds of wet rice). The cultivated
lands are situated around their settlements. It is mainly for resisting wild
elephants and wild pigs which destroy crops that the villagers prepare their
cultivable land in an area which could come under their close
supervision. For this reason they do not try to possess any land within the
jurisdiction of other village : Spatial: The village is situated on top of
the Ajodhya village in Purulia district. In the south-western part of Purulia
dist. Ajodhya range forms the main highland region of the district. It acts as an
watershed between the Kangshabeti and Subarnarekha rivers. The top soil of
the range is composed of hard, dry, ferruginous gravel and many of the lower
levels in between the valleys are filled with good alluvial soil and produce
a fine rice crop. The hill covering an area of about 320 sq km, have an
average elevation of 540 meters
Social: Most of the agricultural lands of the people of Puniyasasan village
were prepared by illegally reclaiming the forest areas belonging to the
Govt., hence there is a wide gulf between the extents of land recorded in the
Land Revenue Office of Baghmundi and the lands which are actually cultivated
by the villagers and are in their traditional possession. The villagers
measure their lands in terms of the amount of seeds sown. Although they are
aware of the amount of seed sown in each plot, they are unable to describe
the real amount of land
All the families in Puniyasasan do not own plough harnessing bullocks. Those
who do not have, hire bullocks usually from their own kins (both within and
outside the village, otherwise non-kins on contract basis in lieu of
specific negotiable amount of paddy, this sort of contract is locally termed
"Bahicha"Ecol/Env:C-161996 Apr-1996 Apr 30.
- Rec# 30. Charnley, Susan and
1996 "Pastoralism and the Demise of Communal Property in Tanzania
" Cultural Survival, 20 1 pp 41-44, Pastoralism, semi-arid, livestock,
Sangu. Tanzania. The Usangu plains in southwestern Tanzania are the
homelands of Sangu peoples (of Bantu origin) The northern half of the plains
is largely uninhabited due to bad ecological conditions. It is in the
southern half of the plains, the pastoral and agricultural activities are
concentrated. The vast grasslands, numerous watercourses and dry season
swamps make the plains favorable for livestock herding. The flat plains with
their fertile soils and many rivers are well suited to irrigation. Between
the mid-1800s and the mid-1900s, the Sangu people were rich in cattle, sheep
and goats. While they maintained a pastoral economy, they also practiced
some rain-fed cultivation. Not reported, Spatial: The semi-arid Usangu
plains of southwestern Tanzania covers an area of approx. 15,500 sq. km.
Social: The Sangu held Usangu's rangelands under a system of communal
property. Rights to use resources were based on residence, which in turn
depended upon ethnically identifying as Sangu. Non-Sangu Africans could be
denied the right to settle on the plains by the Sangu Chief . Resource use
was controlled by local headmen and the Chief
* Grul not mentioned in detail in the text. Letter sent: Response received
ed. Cultural Survival 20(1)1996 Jul 30-1996 Jul 30.
- Rec# 14. Cruz, Ma. Concepcion
J 1989 Water as Common property The case of Irrigation Water rights in the
Philippines in Common Property Resources ed. Fikret Berkes Belhaven Press
London, Traditional, Irrigation, Zanjeras, Maestro, Ammuyo, Lakay.
Philippines.
This case study of water rights is between a federation of 2 irrigation
associations (Zanjeras), The Integrated Communal Irrigation System (ICIS)
with a legal water right covering two municipalities and 13 villages and
three unfederated associations (Zanjeras): Curarig, Dihua and Camongao without
water rights. The ICIS holds the legal water permit from the National Water
Resources Council (NWRC) for a total discharge of 2800 lps. However there are
several unregistered users who draw water directly from the Baccara-Vintar
river system. The three Zanjeras of Curarig, Dihua and Camongao have been
users of this category. While they have no claim in the water, their rights
as water users were established by a long standing "prior
rights" : There are numerous cases of water sharing in other parts of
Philippines that have existed in eighteenth century, Spatial: The site is
located in the downstream of segment of the Baccara-Vintar River system,
province of Ilecos Norte, Northern Philippines
Social: Not clearly reported in the text . There are three levels of
collective control for using water among Zanjeras. 1)Panlakayen or board of
directors, which determines the enforcement procedures across municipal or
administrative boundaries. The "panlakayen" officers apply for
water permits from the NWRC on behalf of the association and supervise
follow up of the application. They also coordinate administration of the
water permit with other users along the river, which involves creating
suitable rotation schedule for the different associations of the federation
and settling water rights conflicts among minor member associations
2)The Maestro or supervisor, who controls the activities of working groups
which are defined at the canal level, each working group is composed of four
to ten farmers sharing a common canal. Membership is based either on kinship
ties or on the labour-exchange grouping called the "ammuyo".In
many of the affiliated "zanjeras", ammuyo members engage in an
equal exchange of labour hours for cultivation work. "Maestro",
assigns canal- cleaning and repair work to different ammuyo clusters
3)The third level of water control is at the canal segment or cluster of
farm parcels The "lakays" or farm elders provide function of
mediator for problems related to water use below the canal turn-out .
333.72-C6 (IIM-Library)1996 Apr-1996 Apr 30.
- Rec# 60. Dani, Anis A. &
Siddiqi Najma Institutional Innovations in Irrigation Management A Case
Study from Northern Pakistan. paper prepared for International Conference on
Public Intervention in Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems International
Irrigation Management Institute Kathmandu Nepal August 3-8 1986., Irrigation
Management, Kuhls, Population Growth, Lineage, Infrastructure, Market
access, Orchards. Pakistan. Aliabad is a village of 337 households (1986),
located in the Hunza Valley at an altitude of 2200m. Agricultural crops,
fruit- and fuel wood trees are entirely dependent upon irrigation. Water
comes from a glacial stream through "kuhls" - a combination of
channels and tunnels (in landslide prone areas.). The Kuhls and the water
they provide, is shared with two other villages; Karimabad and Hyderabad.
Karimabad is located upstream, Hyderabad in the middle and Aliabad
downstream. Together, the villages have set up rules for allocation of water
and maintenance of Kuhls but each village might have its own rules for water
allocation within the community. This record describes the institution set
up for coordinating irrigation management at the kuhl-level - the whole
irrigation community including all of the 3 villages - but it also pays
specific attention to the institution set up at village level in Aliabad.
Some of the Kuhl's in the area are reported to be more than one hundred
years old - from the 1880'es. This was also the time of the original
settlement in Aliabad.: Geographic and historical coverage is not reported.
The institution is concurrent., Social boundaries: The rules of this
institution partly work at kuhl-level, but each village has set up further
mechanisms for regulation and governance at village level. The village level
examples apply for the village of Aliabad. From 1953 up to 1985, a "Jirga",
council, for irrigation management was founded. Jirga's was set up at three
levels; Kuhl-level, village level and lineage or neighbourhood level,
covering lineages within the village. At village level, the Jirga had 16
members representing all segments of water-users from the Aliabad subsystem.
The Jirga functioned as sanctioning body, supervisor and it was also the
forum for conflict resolution. The Jirga system was maintained until 1985
when it was replaced by the Volunteer Corps of Ismailia community (All
residents of Aliabad are Ismailia). The VC was assigned to supervise and
manage the distribution of water and control the length of the kuhls. The VC
has 76 members, of which 40 works actively. Each household pay 100 rp. p.a.
to the VC which goes into the VC-fund. The replacement of the Jirga by the
VC has only affected supervision and monitoring of the irrigation system,
the ways of distributing water and maintaining the kuhls have remained.
MAINTENANCE RULES: The three villages cooperate in maintaining the kuhls and
they have set up the following rules for maintenance. Kuhls are cleaned and
repaired each year at the end of May. All households in the villages should
participate in this activity. If a household do not wish to contribute
labour, it can compensate by paying cash (1985: 300rp.) Each subsection
(village) of the irrigation community has a part of the kuhl to repair.
During the season someone (no further description) will have the
responsibility of controlling the length of the kuhl, while taking care of
minor repairs. If there are significant breaches, the user group will be
mobilized for repairing. However, this mobilization will only include
downstream users. E.g. Karimabad, being located at the top of the system,
can mobilize help from both Hyderabad and Aliabad, Hyderabad can only
mobilize help from Aliabad, and Aliabad will have to manage alone. No letter
sent. Could request address of Ms. Siddiqi from Aga Khan Rural Support
Program. Anis A. Dani, International Center for Integrated Mountain
Development, Kathmandu, Nepal. Najma Siddiqi, Aga Khan Rural Support
Program, Gilgit. ed. CPR. D.06.-6212.
- Rec# 11. Dani, Anis A and
Siddiqi, Najma Institutional Innovations in Irrigation Management A case
study from Pakistan Paper prepared for International Conference on Public
Intervention in Farmer managed Irrigation System at Kathmandu Nepal August
3-8 1986, Traditional, Irrigation, Wheat, Kuhl. Pakistan ( Northern). Aliabad
is located in Hunza valley,100 kms beyond Gilgit and slightly more than 700
kms from Islamabad along the Karakoram highway. Aliabad shares the irrigation
system with Baltit and Hyderabad. Two smaller settlements -Dorkhand and Aga
khanbad also comes within the sub system management levelof Aliabad.
Residents of these villages are from the same lineages as those of
Aliabad but they migrated from Ganish village. Not only agricultural crops
even fruit and fuel wood trees are entirely dependent on irrigation. Wheat is
the most important crop in Aliabad. With few exceptions landholdings are
equitable. Traditionally, these lands are not alienable beyond the
lineage. There is extremely low rainfall in this region. Glacial melt is
tapped and carried through indigenous channels, locally called as "kuhl",Aliabad
is irrigated through three kuhls: Samarkand, Barbar and Harchi,where
Samarkand is the major kuhl divided into four secondary channels: Dalah,
Makuchim, Chooshihar and Peer : Not reported, Spatial: Aliabad is located in
Hunza valley,100 kms beyond Gilgit and slightly more than 700 kms from
Islamabad along the Karakoram highway. Baltit is located at an altitude of
2405 meters, Aliabad proper being approx 200 meters lower
Social: The rules of this institution partly work at kuhl level, but each
village has set up mechanisms for regulation and governance at village level
The relationship of water rights to land tenure varies according to the
situation. In Aliabad water rights are directly linked to rights over
land, allocation of water varies with land use. Wheat has top priority, with
alfaalfa as winter fodder for livestock, as second. Fruit orchards come
next, with plantations of multipurpose tree interplanted with grasses at the
last. Trees have junior rights to water while wheat and alfaalfa have senior
rights when planted on croplands. From 1953 to 1985 a council"jirga"
was formed for irrigation management. Jirga was set up at three levels;
village level, kuhl level and lineage level. It consisted of sixteen members
representing all segments of water users from the Aliabad sub-system. It
acted as the sanctioning body and had a supervisory role. Aliabad's share of
water was now allocated to fields on a rotational basis
Maintenance: Each kuhl is cleared and repaired at the end of May. Every
households in the villages is required to participate in this annual
maintenance. If any household cannot or do not wish to contribute may
compensate by paying cash (Rs 300 :1985).The kuhl is divided into portions
which are allocated to sub-sections of the irrigation community for
repair. Minor repairs during the course of the season are done by those
responsible for patrolling the length of the kuhl, but in case of any
significant breach, the user group will be mobilized for repairing, but this
mobilization will include only downstream users. CPR:D061996 Mar 28-1996 Mar
28.
- Rec# 260. Dorm-Adzobu, Clement
& Veit Peter G. Religious Beliefs and Environmental Protection The
Malshegu Sacred Grove in Northern Ghana. Ground Up case study series no. 4
ACTS Press African Centre for Technology Studies Nairobi 1991., Forest
Degradation, Sacred Grove, Reserves, Gene Banks, Religion, Biodiversity,
Resource Degradation, Drought, Arid Area, Fetish. Ghana. The people of
Malshegu are deeply influenced by traditional religous leaders,
institutions, beliefs and practices. They have managed to protect and
maintain a sacred grove of 0.8 ha close to their village for nearly three
centuries. The sacred grove has become a refuge for a large variety of fauna
and flora - numerous native species are found in higher concentrations than
anywhere else in the region. It provides seeds and seed dispersers which are
vital to traditional shifting cultivation practices and herbs for local
medicinal, social and religous purposes. Also, it protects the village from
bushfires, wind and rainstorms and other climatic hazards from the south.
ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT: The Malshegu community is located six kilometers north
of Tamale, the capitol of the Northern region in Ghana. The area is not
densely populated with human settlements, but cattle are numerous. Malshegu
is surrounded by open lands, primarily used for grazing and, to some extent,
agriculture. The land is classified as Guinea Savannah. The predominant
natural vegetation consists of short perennial grasses interspersed with
fire-resistant, deciduous broad leaved trees. Many natural and planted trees
are maintained for social, economic or religous value. Mean annual
temperature is 27.9 degrees C. and the recorded rainfall range is between
900 - 1650 mm, with an annual average of 1070 mm. Rainfall occurs in one
season, from May to October, and is followed by a long hot season. The area
is prone to periodic droughts, most recently in '72-73, '76-77 and '82-83.
There are no surface rivers or streams nearby Malshegu, but some untapped
shallow groundwater resources. Only permanent water source is a standpipe in
the village from the Tamale Water Station. Few houses have rainwater
collection systems. The soils are classified as Savannah ochrosols. They
have low agricultural potential, and are highly susceptible to water and
wind erosion.
HISTORY AND SOCIAL CONTEXT: The people in Malshegu belong to the Dagbani
ethnic group. They arrived to the area in the 12th century. In the early
18th century, the Malshegu settlement as such came into existence. Several
families moved nearer each other to defend themselves from Arab invaders.
The main Trans-Sahara route was less than two kilometers from the current
settlement and farm compounds - typically four to five nuclear families will
share a compound with walls around it - were frequent targets for both slave
and livestock raiding. Other families joined the community as they saw the
advantages of living together. At the time of the study, the population of
Malshegu was estimated at 2000 people and growing due to an influx of
immigrants from Tamale. Most young men and women, though, migrate to urban
centers to find manual wage labour. The dominant economic activity in
Malshegu is agriculture mixed with animal husbandry. Main crops are guinea
corn and vegetables (pepper and okra), additional crops are maize, yams,
groundnuts, cowpeas and beans. Soil fertility is maintained by using animal
manure and night soil by practicing traditional intercropping and crop
rotation techniques and by allowing a six-month fallow period during the dry
season. Sacred groves are scattered around Ghana (and in other parts of the
world also). In a Ghanian context the success of maintaining the grove in
Malshegu is unique. It is the largest sacred grove in the Northern Region
and it is one of the countries most important groves from a socio-cultural
perspective. The institution is concurrent.
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: It is not clear, but it seems that everybody, even people
who are not residents of the village, are allowed to make use of the grove
in accordance with the rules set up by the worshippers of Kpalevorgu, the
god residing in the grove.
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The grove occupies an area of 0.8 ha outside Malshegu.
Surrounding the grove there is a buffer fetish land, a band varying from
one-quarter to half-a kilometer width.
RELIGIOUS: When the community was first established it was under the
leadership of a fetish priest. The story goes, that the founding families
routed the Arab slave raiders in their first battles and it is believed that
a fetish god - Kpalevorgu, in the form of a boulder under a Baobab tree -
helped and protected the families from the invaders. The early victories
encouraged other families to move to Malshegu, and the power and importance
of Kpalevorgu increased. Kpalevorgu is the community level god in a complex
traditional hierarchy of gods and religious practices found in this region of
Ghana. A supreme god, considered male, is creator of all things and is
worshipped by all people. The land, considered female, is the second most
powerful god.
The Tindana, a woman custodian of the land, responsible for distributing
common land, is the community's most powerful religious leader.
Second most powerful in the local community is the Kpalna, but his authority
supersedes the Tindana on matters concerning the sacred grove and its
protection. He leads the community in honoring Kpalevorgu and advises the
village leaders and residents on religious issues concerning the community.
Malshegu people will also establish and worship compound and individual
level gods. These practices are reported to strengthen the local belief in
the traditional religion and add to the reverence afforded to the Kpalevorgu
god and its grove.
Twice a year, the Kpalna, aided by the village chief and other local
leaders, organizes a grand Durbar - a village wide meeting - and leads the
community in prayer and various rituals in honor of Kpalevorgu. These
festivals mark the beginning (May) and end (October) of the agricultural
season. They are designed to give thanks to Kpalevorgu for the community's
prosperity and to solicit continued blessings. Residents from Malshegu and
neighbouring communities will participate in the festival. During these
festivals villagers are permitted to enter the grove to do some hunting and
collection of forest resources (see Res A). At the end of the ceremony
marking the end of the farming season, a three meter wide fire belt is
cleared around the sacred grove and fetish lands by the young men supervised
by the Kpalna, in order to protect the sacred grove from the annual dry
season bush fires.
The remaining part of the year, only the Kpalna is allowed to enter the
grove.
When the grove was first demarcated, unwritten regulations were put in place
by the Kpalna and other village leaders regarding land use in and around the
grove. Some of these rules have been amended to ensure their continued
relevance and effectiveness. Today they protect the fetish lands and the
original grove by regulating the behavior of the people of Malshegu and, to
some extent, the residents of neighbouring communities. All kinds of farming
and grazing in the grove and the fetish lands are prohibited. Entrance into
the grove and fetish lands is only permitted during the biannual Durbar's or
on other occasions with advance consent of the Kpalna and other village
leaders. Only the Kpalna and his aides have regular access to the grove and
fetish lands and regularly visit the grove to pray to Kpalevorgu on behalf
of the community.
Sanctions or offending the grove are both sacred and secular of nature. As
for sanctions of sacred nature, failure to comply with the rules protecting
the grove, or to participate in the biannual Durbar's, is believed to offend
Kpalevorgu and bring misfortune to the offender, his family or perhaps the
whole community. This belief is supported by stories of people (including
one American) who violated the sanctity of the god and established residency
in the grazing zone, fetish lands or the grove. These people soon fell ill,
went insane or died. As for sanctions which are more of secular natur,
community vigilance, under the Kpalna's direction, is well entrenched and
effective. It is nearly impossible for anybody to enter the grove without
being detected, approached and reported to local authorities. The support of
the village chief and other leaders from Malshegu and neighbouring
communities ensures that the Kplana has the power needed to enforce rules.
In the past offender were lynched, today they are fined several cows or
goats, which are sacrificed by the Kpalna to appease Kpalevorgu. Fines on
nonbelievers are paid by family members who still believe in the
traditional religious system.
Today Malshegu is subdivided into two sections. Kumbuyili is the cluster of
houses around the compound of the Kpalna. In Malshegu, which is separated
from Kumbuyili by several compound farms, the village chief resides. Letter
sent 1-5-96. ed. CPR D-23-31648.
- Rec# 10. Dorm-Adzobu, Clement
and Veit, Peter G 1991 Community Institutions in Resource Management
Agro forestry by Mobisquads in Ghana World Resources Institute and African
Centre for Technology Studies U S A Kenya, Agro forestry, Traditional,
Cassava,
Maize, farming . Africa (Ghana). Goviefe-Agodome is one of five traditional
Govie settlements. The Govie people belong to the we Ethnic group. In the
1870s or 1880s,Goviefe-Agodome became the third Govie group to distance
itself from the traditional Govie settlement. The founders moved to the
lowlands to open new farmland and to live near the road. They settled near a
Borasus tree locally known as "Agor",from which came the name 'Agodome'-"the
settlement under the tree" : Spatial:Goviefe-Agodome is situated in
Hohoe District, Volta Region, it is at the base of the Akwapim-Togo mountain
range. The area has rocks essentially sandstone. The soils are of low to
medium agricultural potential with high iron content. The mean annual
rainfall is 58 inches. The flatlands and foothills of Goviefe-Agodome are
characterised by typical savannah grassland vegetation
Social. Each Govie community is headed by a village chief who is selected by
a council of elders from the extended family of the village. A regent,
selected by the village chief, acts as a deputy chief and rules in his
absence. The council ,which helps the chief decide local matters is made up
of the leaders of the village clans. The "Okyeami",the spokesman
for the village chief, regent and council of leaders receives and delivers
official messages between the public and chieftaincy. The queen mother is the
traditional leader of women villagers. There is another traditional custodian
of peace, the "asafo" company, led by a man called an "asafoatse"
organizes all young village men into communal work parties. In 1987 ,the
Govt, established a separate Ministry of Mobilization and Social Welfare.
The
Ministry called for transformation of the mobisquads into agricultural
co-operatives to help boost food production, improve the living conditions of
squad members and other rural people. An executive committee was established
in 1987 which heads the mobisquad. It is responsible for organizing weekly "durbars" for discussing current affairs, work plan, financial
matters etc. The mobisquad operates all year long .Members work one half-day
each week(7a.m to 1p.m) except during peak labor demand periods-planting and
harvest periods when they may work 2-3 days each week. Men clear the land and
women cook, collect water, and sell the crops; both men and women plant,
weed
and harvest.
Sanction: Members who do not show up for work are fined. The fine for missing
one day is usually two bottles of "akpeteshie",a local
gin, valued at1,200 cedis. The gin is disbursed for refreshment on workdays;
members pay villagers to prepare their food on full workdays . CPR:D241996
Mar 28-1996 Mar 28.
- Rec# 12. Gadgil, M and
Malhotra, K C 1983 Adaptive significance of the Indian caste system An
ecological perspective Annals of Human Biology 10 5 465-478,
Traditional, Caste, Hunting, Pastoralism. India. The case study reported here
pertains to the Western half of the Maharashtra state. The society in this
tract has low but stable agricultural productivity and is made up. of
cultivators, pastoralists and hunter gatherers. The agriculture is productive
only in the river valleys ,whereas the large tracts of uncultivated lands
away from the valley is favourable for pastoralism and hunter
gathering. During the four months of the monsoon, few nomadic castes namely
Hatkars, Tirumal Nandiwallas, Fulmali Nandiwallas, Vaidus and Phasepardhis have
their base villages in this semi-arid region. But otherwise the society is
largely made up of Kunbis and Gavlis : Spatial: The western half of the state
of Maharashtra has an undulating coastal strip varying from 50 to 80 Km
wide, flanked by the hill chain of Western Ghats which rises abruptly to an
altitude between 1000 and 1500 m. The Western Ghats merge through a series of
broken hills with the Deccan Plateau at an elevation of 500 m. The annual
rainfall here decreases from 3000 mm at the crestline to 1500-1000 mm at the
edge of the plateau
Social: The Kunbis live in the lower valleys, while the Gavlis lived on (still
do) the upper hill terraces.
Livestock:G-131996 Mar 29-1996 Mar 29.
- Rec# 50. Gadgil, Madhav &
Iyer Prema On the Diversification of Common Property Resource Use by Indian
Society. in Fikret Berkes ed. Common Property Resources. Ecology and
Community-Based Sustainable Development. p. p. 240-255 Belhaven Press London
1989., Conservation Rules, Colonial Rule, Caste, Common Property, Religion,
Endogamous Groups, Decentralization, Van Panchayat, Forest Council. India.
Indian Caste Society, crystallized around the fifth century AD, provided a
resource management system by which particular castes of given communities
only had access to certain resources, while more commonly used resources,
such as fuel wood, were controlled by small multi-caste communities which
linked different castes. In some areas, mostly rural, the system still has
some influence.
ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT: The study concentrates on a cluster of villages located
at the mouth of the Aghanasani River. spurs of the hill range of the Western
Ghats run all the way to the sea in this region, creating a rich mosaic of
terrestrial, riparian, and coastal habitats with a great diversity of
natural resources. The Caste system as such prevailed all over India, except
from tribal areas. Today the importance of the system is decreasing. The
institution is concurrent.,
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: Common Property land and resources belong to specific
villages. Within the villages, specific groups (castes) will have exclusive
access to harvest specific resources, which can then be exchanged among the
groups.
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: A cluster of villages in Uttara Kannada. The Caste
system is embedded in religious and traditional ways of life. How the system
is governed today is not reported, but norms and rituals might play a major
role in this context. Violation of the rules in the system are most likely
to mean social exclusion. Letter sent, April '96. Indian Institute of
Science, Malleswaram, Bangalore, 560 012, Karnataka. ed. CPR. B.31.-6212.
- Rec# 4. Gill, Shepherd
Common
property rangelands in Somalia, Traditional, Livestock, Pastoralism.
Somalia. Bay region's inhabitants are agro-pastoralists. They survive by the
complimentarity of low risk trees and livestock component of their economy
practiced on the region's poor sandy soils and high risk sorghum cropping in
the clay soils. Sorghum stalks are stored as emergency fodder for
cattle. Villagers mostly have to grow, gather or make what they need :
Spatial: Bay region is an area of Southern Somalia lying 300km inland from
Mogadishu. It is region of higher rainfall than the rest part of
Somalia (Average 500-600mm).Social: Reciprocal grazing occurs by request and
neighbouring villages are supposed to ask each other's permission before
cutting pole wood in others terrain. The resources are protected by paid
Government officials. CPR-G091996 Mar 21-1996 Mar 21.
- Rec# 13. Gueye, Mamadou Bara
1994 Conflicts and Alliances between farmers and herders A case study of the
'Goll' of Fandene village Senegal IIED London, Traditional,Crop. Senegal.
This case study describes a village in the Western groundnut growing basin
of Senegal, Fandene. Here the people are mainly farmers. There is a pastoral
enclave within the lands of Fandene village. The herders moved in some 30
years ago into a land known as 'Goll', abandoned by farmers as a result of
harsh climatic conditions. The land comprises of three types of soil: sandy "dior"soil (south-eastern part) ; sandy/clayey
"deck
dior" soil (central part) and ferruginous soils (north) unsuitable for
cultivation. The name of the area ( goll means forest in Serere) shows that it
used to be covered in trees, but now it is transformed into shrubby
savannah. Having been left uncultivated for several decades, it was gradually
taken over by herders for pastoral purposes. There are now two Peuhl (Fulani)
settlements, Mbayene Peuhl and Fouta Goll in this zone. Social: The Peuhl
stayed only during the rainy season, moving on to richer areas of pasture in
the dry season. There is a water hole in this area, in the dry season few of
the Peuhl became involved in small-scale market gardening, using water from
the well.
The mobile nature of pastoral activity has always passed a problem in marking
out a pastoral area belonging to a herder community, although long term
occupation gave the herders a sense of belonging to the area but their
informal contract with the former owners prevented them from making any type
of concrete investment e.g.; planting of trees which could mean as if they
were seeking to appropriate the land for themselves . The Rural Council has
control over the allocation of land and also its withdrawal in the Rural
community . Livestock:G-211996 Mar 30-1996 Mar 30.
- Rec# 20. Gupta, Anil K
Sociology of Stress Why do Common Property Resource Management Projects Fail
Centre of Management in Agriculture IIM Ahmedabad Summer school-Programme
material, Traditional, Pastoral, Auran. India (Jodhpur). Under a World Bank
project for development of drought prone areas, 100 hectare sheep and
pasture development plots were established in 1974 in Jodhpur dist. The key
objectives was the organization of a cooperative of the weaker sections of
sheep breeders. This place had a livestock population of 1.89 million in
1971.The mean rainfall ranges from 425 mm in the southeast to about 200 mm
in the northwest. Traditionally, the private fallow lands were also treated
as common land, but cultivators have begun objecting to the use of their
fallow lands by other pastoralists. Initially the most degraded land was
selected for improvement. It was expected that after the full development of
the plots, a maximum of 400 sheep could be maintained on a year round basis
in each plot. One of the first pasture plots established on degraded auran
lands in Bhawad village was selected for a detailed study. In these lands,
grazing was restricted, People restrained from using auran land for any
individual purposes because the land was dedicated to various gods and
goddesses respected in the region; the use of any water source was also
restricted
The soils here are shallow, poorly drained, saline and alkaline in nature
with very low organic matter. Because of excessive grazing pressure, coarse
grasses as Aristida spp. and herbs, Techrosis spp. are dominant in the area
: Spatial:
Social: A member of a sheep and pasture development project was required to
be a resident of that village and to be a sheep breeder. His application had
to be approved by the majority of the management committee, and he should
purchase atleast one share. A preference was given to small, marginal farmers
and agricultural labourers, a return of 25 percent was assured to every
shareholder. Individual members provided a sheep in lieu of the share capital
so that they would have greater attachment to the project
The sheep and wool deptt. of the state govt. had appointed stockmen at each
plot to take care of the health of the animals and to protect against
unauthorized intrusions . The president of the management committee of the
pasture plot, who is one of the richest person of the area, was also the
village headman, vice president of the dairy co-operative, and exercised
influence over almost every other social activity. He belonged to the Rajput
caste, which dominates the panchayat
The management group, composed of three govt. representatives and four
members of the society, was supposed to be representative of and accountable
to all the members . CPR: 00-261996 Apr-1996 Apr 30.
- Rec# 31. Gupta, Anil K and
Gangadharn, V 1982 Socio-Ecology of a Tribe The Chenchu A food gathering
tribe in Andhra Pradesh, Traditional, Food gathering, honey collection,
hunting . Andhra Pradesh (Kurnool dist.). The Chenchus are spread over in
small habitation dispersed over the western and southern stretches of the
Nallamalai hills mostly in isolated groups. The Nallamalai hills form a part
of Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh. The Chenchu gudems (habitation) are
spread over these forest cover hills on both sides of river Krishna. The
northern side falling in the Telangana area in Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda
districts and the southern side in the Rayalseema and Andhra area, mostly in
Kurnool and Guntur districts.
It is believed that the chenchus inhabited this area much earlier then the
Dravidians, they were referred to as Adi-chenchus. The total population of
the Chenchu was about 25,000 as per 1971 census, and a bulk of this
population is inhabiting the forest areas of Kurnool, Ongole, Guntur and
Mahboobnagar districts
Mannanoor is a multicaste village, people have migrated from the plains and
settled at this place. Mananor is situated somewhere in between Srisailam-the
Shaivite pilgrim centre and Hyderabad. The population of the village is
approx. 3,500 out of which 10% consists of chenchu population. Most of the
chenchus depend on Agriculture labour, they also cultivate their own lands :
Not reported, Spatial:
Social: Altogether their are about eight honey deposit sites, but exclusive
authority to collect honey from these sites had been vested on concerned
families only. There were 15 exogamous group, out of which only three group
had claim over the site ( Marripalli, Kanamoni, Dasari), no other group had
any joint share or claim over any of the sites.
Territorial Rights: The territorial rights belonged to two exogamous groups
in the villages: Kanamoni and Marripalam. Other persons in the village had
no right to collect minor forest product. To collect MFP from the
territories one has to take a prior permission from the owners and then 1/4
part of his collection is given to the owners as a tribute . The owners
hires labourers for honey collection from other places on daily wage basis
or on contract. The chief collector gets Rs 20 extra, even if he is one
among the owners. The owners of honey sites do not offer an equal share to
all the members who participate (cf. Nagaluti). If there is no owner
collector, labourers are employed on contract basis. The owners provide food
for the labourers, the owner generally acts as as supervisor in the whole
activity. The labourers are given Rs 3 as a daily wage. Letter sent ed.
Anthropology:G-011996 Aug 23-1996 Aug 23.
- Rec# 12. ---, Traditional,
Food gathering, honey collection, hunting . Andhra Pradesh (Kurnool dist.).
The Chenchus are spread over in small habitation dispersed over the western
and southern stretches of the Nallamalai hills mostly in isolated groups.
The
Nallamalai hills form a part of Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh. The Chenchu
gudems (habitation) are spread over these forest cover hills on both sides
of river Krishna. The northern side falling in the Telangana area in
Mahboobnagar and Nalgonda districts and the southern side in the Rayalseema
and Andhra area, mostly in Kurnool and Guntur districts.
It is believed that the chenchus inhabited this area much earlier then the
Dravidians, they were referred to as Adi-chenchus. The total population of
the Chenchu was about 25,000 as per 1971 census, and a bulk of this
population is inhabiting the forest areas of Kurnool, Ongole, Guntur and
Mahboobnagar districts
The Nallamalai have a continuous range of unbroken, rugged and fairly steep
hills with an average elevation of 2,000 running in north south directions.
Three types of soil is found in this region: Black cotton,
Alluvial soil (brown loamy) and red-brown soil
Traditionally the chenchus are semi-nomadic food gatherers living in the
forests, their main economic resource being the forest wealth. But now-a-days
the staple food of the chenchus is jowar and rice, supplemented by some
forest produce. Honey is one of the seasonal food stuffs which the chenchu
collect with great interest and zeal
The chenchu recognize five varieties of honey :
1) PERRA: Found in big trees and gorges and ravines with big bees
2)THODIDI:found in trees with red coloured bees
3)ROSARA:found in the tree trunks with small and round bees
4)KANNAGALLU:found in trees and bushes with small bees
5)JANTI: Found in trees and palm trees with white strapped bees. This honey
is supposed to be most delicious
Out of the five variety, the first one is available in large quantities
Nagalutigudem is situated near the foothills of Western part of Nallamalai
hills of Kurnool district. Due to extensive deforestation and afforestation
activities in and around , the ecological balance of this region got
disturbed, which further affected the traditional food gathering and hunting
of the chenchus of Nagaluti. Not reported, Spatial:
Social: There are 42 households in the village formed into three groups. The
village territory is sub-divided into three parts. The three groups in the
village use these sub territories one each. Gum trees in each sub-territory
are owned by individual families in each group There are two honey deposits
in the village territory which are privately owned: the first one was owned
by five households and the second one was owned by seven households. Total
eight persons have the skill of collecting honey, out of which five persons
are the owner of honey deposits.
Collection of honey is something more than a mere subsistence activity, it is
carried over in a very systematic and organised way. Several rules and
regulations are strictly followed in order to avoid dangerous competitions
and disruptive tendencies that may arise in claiming ownership of bee-lines.
A chenchu can claim ownership over a particular bee-line by making a deep
cut in the main stem of the tree or by planting a wet branch on the ground
near the ant-hill or berth in which the honey-line is present. Besides
certain trees , some locations in the mountains like cliffs or gorges or
certain hills are customarily owned by few families. The sole authority to
collect honey from these locations lies exclusively on the respective family
members. The allotment of locations is said to have been done by the chenchu
ancestors in order to maintain peace and solidarity among the people. Every
location is associated with family deity, and it is a general belief that
this safeguards the honey bee-line an kills the people who do not have any
claim on it . There is a village leader appointed by the local forest
officials, but his power is very much limited. He intervenes in some
disputes to settle.
Regarding the task involving honey collection, initiation is taken by one of
the senior owners instead of village leader. All the owners have to
contribute some money for the initial investment. Those who do not
contribute will not be entitled for ownership share. One single owner can
bear the whole initial investment and claim honey proportion to that amount
All the owners distribute certain tasks like, for inviting members to act as
chief honey collector or as helpers, purchase of food grains, contacting
merchants etc. Therefore the honey collecting team, consists of both owners
and other persons, the group size varies between 15 to 20 member, selection
of the members are done according to their skill. The chief honey collector
acts as the leader of the team. He assigns tasks to the members, but certain
tasks like fixing up of the loop and ladder set-up is done by himself and
his brother in law or some nearest relative. Owners generally do not
supervise
Maintenance: Theft of honey is considered to be a serious crime, in case
there are any, they are traced out through proper investigation, religious
performance. Letter sent ed. Anthropology:G-011996 Aug 17-1996 Aug 17.
- Rec# 32. ---, Traditional,
Food gathering, honey collection, hunting . Andhra Pradesh (Kurnool dist.).
The Chenchus are spread over in small habitation dispersed over the western
and southern stretches of the Nallamalai hills mostly in isolated groups.
The
Nallamalai hills form a part of Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh. The Chenchu
gudems (habitation) are spread over these forest cover hills on both sides
of river Krishna. The northern side falling in the Telangana area in
Mahboobnagar and Nalgonda districts and the southern side in the Rayalasama
and Andhra area, mostly in Kurnool and Guntur districts.
It is believed that the chenchus inhabited this area much earlier then the
Dravidians, they were referred to as Adi-chenchus. The total population of
the Chenchu was about 25,000 as per 1971 census, and a bulk of this
population is inhabiting the forest areas of Kurnool, Ongole, Guntur and
Mahboobnagar districts
The Nallamalai have a continuous range of unbroken, rugged and fairly steep
hills with an average elevation of 2,000 running in north south directions.
Three types of soil is found in this region: Black cotton,
Alluvial soil (brown loamy) and red-brown soil
Traditionally the chenchus are semi-nomadic food gatherers living in the
forests, their main economic resource being the forest wealth. But now-a-days
the staple food of the chenchus is jowar and rice, supplemented by some
forest produce. Honey is one of the seasonal food stuffs which the chenchu
collect with great interest and zeal
The chenchu recognize five varieties of honey :
1) PERRA: Found in big trees and gorges and ravines with big bees
2)THODIDI:found in trees with red coloured bees
3)ROSARA:found in the tree trunks with small and round bees
4)KANNAGALLU:found in trees and bushes with small bees
5)JANTI: Found in trees and palm trees with white strapped bees. This honey
is supposed to be most delicious
Out of the five variety, the first one is available in large quantities
Pedacheruvu is a large multi tribal village, inhabited by Chenchu, Sugali
and Boya tribes. It is located in Atmakur, taluk of Kurnool district. The
village is situated on a plateau with an average elevation of 2000 ft.
consisting of a maze of rolling hills and flat valleys with a panoramic tank
in the middle. The village is one of the biggest villages having a population
of 519 with more than 100 chenchu families. Not reported, Spatial:
Social: The village has more than 100 chenchu families. There are 14 honey
deposit sites, most of them belong to Pulichula exogamous group. There were
seven elders who had their own group. This was classified into two tier:
secondary and tertiary
A majority of members in the secondary group belong to the exogamous group
of its leader whereas the members from tertiary group may belong to more
than one exogamous group. The entire bulk of tertiary group is closely
knitted through kinship ties. The secondary groups other than the one from
which the leaders come, had their own leaders. Thaluri Pacchnagaddi Linganna,
a middle aged person was the leader to the entire village, he is supposed to
be the head of the gudem, but apart from him there are several other groups
who have their own leaders.
Operation: The whole operation of honey collection takes 4 days. The first
day the people are engaged in worshipping the deity and preparing all the
material required. Honey is extracted till fourth day morning, then in the
evening work like squeezing honey, heating and transferring it into clean
dried pots are accomplished . Anthropology: G-011996 Jun 28-1996 Jun 28.
- Rec# 33. ---, Traditional,
Food gathering, honey collection, hunting . Andhra Pradesh (Kurnool dist.).
The Chenchus are spread over in small habitation dispersed over the western
and southern stretches of the Nallamalai hills mostly in isolated groups.
The
Nallamalai hills form a part of Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh. The Chenchu
gudems (habitation) are spread over these forest cover hills on both sides
of river Krishna. The northern side falling in the Telangana area in
Mahboobnagar and Nalgonda districts and the southern side in the Rayalasama
and Andhra area, mostly in Kurnool and Guntur districts.
It is believed that the chenchus inhabited this area much earlier then the
Dravidians, they were referred to as Adi-chenchus. The total population of
the Chenchu was about 25,000 as per 1971 census, and a bulk of this
population is inhabiting the forest areas of Kurnool, Ongole, Guntur and
Mahboobnagar districts
The Nallamalai have a continuous range of unbroken, rugged and fairly steep
hills with an average elevation of 2,000 running in north south directions.
Three types of soil is found in this region: Black cotton,
Alluvial soil (brown loamy) and red-brown soil
Traditionally the chenchus are semi-nomadic food gatherers living in the
forests, their main economic resource being the forest wealth. But now-a-days
the staple food of the chenchus is jowar and rice, supplemented by some
forest produce. Honey is one of the seasonal food stuffs which the chenchu
collect with great interest and zeal
The chenchu recognize five varieties of honey :
1) PERRA: Found in big trees and gorges and ravines with big bees
2)THODIDI:found in trees with red coloured bees
3)ROSARA:found in the tree trunks with small and round bees
4)KANNAGALLU:found in trees and bushes with small bees
5)JANTI: Found in trees and palm trees with white strapped bees. This honey
is supposed to be most delicious
Out of the five variety, the first one is available in large quantities
Farahbad falls under the jurisdiction of Achampet Taluka in Mahbubnagar
district. To reach this village one has to start either from Mannanoor or
from Srisailam and get down at Chowrastra. From here a road leads into the
forest which further bifurcates over a distance of 4 km towards east and
northwest direction. The northwest path leads to Farahbad. Not reported,
Spatial:
Social: The village consisted of 12 huts (1982-at the time of survey) widely
spread over an area of 4 acres in three groups. The three groups consisted
of the following number of huts
First group-------------2 headed by Eravala Lingaiah
Second group------------4 headed by Thokala Godaiah
Third group-------------6 headed by Thokala Linganna
There were five exogamous groups: Eravala; Tokala; Kudumula; Chigurla;
Nimanla. Each group is more or less closely knitted kin group. Maximum
cooperation was observed among the members of each group than between
groups. The village owned total nine honey deposit sites. All the honey
sites were owned by Eravala and Thokala families. Eravala Lingaiah was the
chief head for all the groups in the village. Though the honey sites were
owned by two people only, they never claimed sole authority over them. The
village had three separate groups, but many of the activities specially
honey collection would involve all the families in the village.
This gudem also had its own territory and the whole territory belonged to
all Chenchu families and everybody was having equal rights over it. But
actually the territory belonged to Pravala Linganna, who was more a guardian
than a owner of the territory
For day to day activities individual family was reported to be responsible.
Generally wife and husband would go to the forest to collect some food
materials. If in case one family fails to collect food materials, it would
depend upon its neighbour but if the neighbours are also not in a position
to offer any food stuff then they might ask for help from families of other
groups .
Operation: All the heads from all families participates in this expedition.
Some strict religious observations are followed during the operation like 1)
not using safety matches while making fibre 2)while taking food (sacred
food...) a cloth is tied around the nose and mouth so that saliva or air
from the nose would not pollute the food. Maximum cooperation would be
required from the families in providing food for the honey collecting team
There are nine honey deposits out of which two are found on trees, before
collection of honey there is a discussion among all the heads of twelve
families. They select persons who would collect honey and start fixing up
each person to each honey deposit . Anthropology: G-011996 Sep-1996 Sep 30.
- Rec# 29. Hogg, Richard and
1990 "An Institutional Approach To Pastoral Development: An Example
From Ethiopia " Overseas Development Institute, London pp 1-16,
Pastoralism, Clan, Territorial, Madda, Deda, Ardha, Aba warra, Gada, Kallu,
Olla . Ethiopia (Africa). The ancestral home of Boran was probably in the
Highlands of Bale. But because of population pressure they had moved to their
present day homeland i.e.; Borana region. According to Boran, their spiritual
leader is "kallu" who taught them how to sacrifice animals and
instructed them in the "peace of Boran".
GADDA: This is a generation system in which every 8 years a new set of men
becomes responsible for maintaining "Peace of Boran" through
prayer and sacrifice. A number of Gadda officials are appointed each 8 years
who act as case settlers, law makers and ritual leaders.
CLAN: Clansmen are expected to help other in times of hardship and to settle
their disputes amicably at clan meetings. Clan leaders have no special power
or authority, but in general have considerable moral authority to settle
disputes, and to impose fines on wrong doers and even to seize property :
Spatial: The area is approximately 33,849 sq km, and the population
according to the 1984 National Census is 153,806, and the majority are Boran
pastoralists. Pastoralism is the dominant economic activity in the
area. According to a ground survey (1988), there are over a million cattle,
some 450,000 small stock and nearly 80,000 camels in the area.
Social: Not clearly mentioned in the text . The primary unit of organisation
is the household. Households are grouped into villages, village into
neighbourhoods, which may in turn form a larger grazing encampment.
Villages may contain from a few houses to over 30 houses. The "senior
man" known as the "father of the village" is the protector
of the village interests and its representative to the outside world. He is
the person from whom strangers seek hospitality and newcomers request
permission to join. His position however is dependent on the support of the
other village elders and in case of any disagreement they can join another
village. Village members will cooperate together in the herding and watering
of animals, in the sharing of goods and services and in settlement of
disputes. People can move both into and out of a village, but generally
there is a core of people who tend to stay together over a long period of
time.
The term for locality in which the Boran live is ARDHA, within one ARDHA
there can be several villages. These villages come together to discuss issues
relating to the ARDHA in an ARDHA council or KORA meeting. Localities are
built up into wider territorial units called DEDA : an area of common
grazing regularly used by a group of villages, which in turn forms MADDA:
permanent water (refer fig 1 on pp.5)
MADDA: Madda is essentially an area of grazing which is defined in terms of
right of access and responsibility for the upkeep of particular wells.
Within
the madda area , herd owners are expected to obey the rules and regulations
established by the madda council relating to the use and maintenance of the
madda wells. At the time of crisis the herd owners who come from outside,
unless they show good reason, may be denied access to madda wells. Most
Boran live and water their animals in one madda. However, when grazing is
scarce within the madda, all stockowners have the right to use grazing in
other areas and will normally be allowed to use wells, if they seek
permission.
DEDA: These are grazing areas customarily used by a group of villages.
Decisions are taken jointly by these villages regarding use of the deda.
Council meetings are coordinated by the "senior man" of one of
the villages in the deda to discuss grazing management. Although use of the
deda is not restricted to those villages living within the boundaries, but
decisions made by the council are binding on all users
Boran rule by assembly, and different leaders have different competencies in
different types of assembly. There are two kinds of assembly :i) assembly
based on membership of a locality ii) assembly based on membership of a clan
and/ or gadda system
In the locality the main assemblies are those of the village, ARDHA and DEDA.
All resident household heads can participate and air their views. Decisions
are made by consensus and reference is constantly made to Boran customary
law. If a consensus decision is impossible or one of the parties does not
accept the decision, then the case can be passed to a clan assembly, or to
higher gada officials. The ultimate assembly of appeal is the assembly of
all Boran held every eight years . Past-Dev:H-03RS-25\06\96.
- Rec# 320. Joshi field study,
gauchar. India. Takhua is a small village on the border of Gujarat and
Rajasthan in the Banaskantha district of Gujarat. Ecologically the region is
characterised by an arid dry climate with sandy soil and low agricultural
productivity. The vegetation of this area is dry thorny scrub with a
predominance of the Acacia- Salvadora-Capparis series (after Meher-Homji)
where Acacia nilotica forms the climax vegetation and Capparis decidua shrub
forms the under storey or the secondary growth.
There are about 40 households in the village and the main castes present are
durbars, kumbhars, brahmins, darji, rabari, harijans, goswami and bhils. The
durbars are the most dominant caste and it was in fact their initiative
which resulted in the village coming together to conserve trees in the
gauchar. Water is a severe limiting factor here and agriculture which is the
main occupation of the people is mainly rainfed. Crops like bajra and jowar
are produced in summer and sold in the markets of deesa and unjha and in
winter a little quantity of wheat, isabgol, and jeera is grown. The total
number of livestock in the village is approximately 750 animals divided as
follows :
cows and buffaloes - 150-200
goats and sheep - 400-500
camels - 1
horse - 5
In winter those villagers who have saline water in their wells cultivate in
the lands of farmers having sweet water and crop profits are shared
accordingly. In summer the main activity of the villagers is to carry out
weeding operations, cleaning the fields, rebuilding and repairing the
homesteads.: There are similar institutions in the Bishnoi villages of
neighbouring Rajasthan which have been there for three centuries or so.
However, in the same district there are no records of such an institution.,
Social boundaries : There is no bar on anybody for entering or making use of
the common grazing land, people of all caste groups are allowed to make use
of or get the benefit of the gauchar trees ( grazing, collection of
fruits, cutting of Prosopis)
Spatial boundary: The area of the gauchar is 120 acres in area. However, the
total geographical area covered by the institution is unknown. The rules are
:
1 No one from the village or outside is allowed to cut any tree or damage
any tree in the gauchar or the road leading to it except the Ganda baval
tree.
2. Ganda baval trees can be cut by anyone from the village.
3. Fruits and flowers can be collected by anyone without damaging the trees
or plants in the gauchar.
4. No animal can be hurt or killed in the gauchar.
5. If anyone is found cutting any tree then the observer should report the
crime to the other villager and the person cutting the tree would be
penalised.
6. Penalty for cutting is to donate the tree and a certain quantity of grain
to the village community.
7. Cattle are allowed to graze there without any restrictions.
- Rec# 34. Kapoor, Britts Charla,
Van-panchayat, bakhli, goth . Uttar Pradesh (Kumaun). Situated in the
north-eastern corner of Ramgarh block the village exists in a mountainous
terrain at altitudes ranging between 1,400 and 1,800 meters. The village is
about 10 hours (by car) from Delhi, and roughly equidistant to Nainital and
Almora. This is a small, entirely Hindu village, about 91 percent of the
population here is Thakur with only four Arya ( a scheduled caste group )
households. Kilmora contains 46 households with a total population of 313
persons. The older houses occupy the lower, warmer and more fertile regions of
the valley but the newer homes do not have this luxury. The older houses are
built in the form of joint family house "bacilli" and can be
easily spotted out by their fine wood carving on doors and around windows .
They are fairly large in size and are two storied, livestock occupy a room
on the ground floor "goth". Other rooms at this level contain
crop residues and seeds for agriculture. In the upper floor "paeri
chaakh" there are separate room for sleeping, a shrine and a kitchen.
All families in Kilmora keep animals, they own at least one buffalo, one
bullock, several goats and one cow. 1996 Sep 17-1996 Sep 17.
- Rec# 240. Lansing, J. Stephen
Balinese 'Water Temples' and the Management of Irrigation. American
Anthropologist p. p. 326-340 1987., Ceremonies, Rituals, Nyungsung,
Religion, Pest Control, Rice Terraces, Artificial Ecosystems. Indonesia. THE
AREA: Rice is the main crop.
THE ECO-SYSTEM: In the Balinese rice terrace, irrigation water is not merely
thought to be absorbed by the roots of plants. Rather, it is used to create
an artificial ecosystem. Basic biochemical processes are governed by
controlled irrigation. Water alters soil pH, induces a cycle of acrobic and
anacrobic conditions in the soil, which determines the activity of
microorganisms, provides a range of mineral nutrients, fosters the growth
of nitrogen-fixing algaes, excludes weeds, stabilizes soil temperature, and,
in the long term, governs the formation of the plough pan and the
maintenance of soil fertility. The Balinese do not use storage devices in
their irrigation systems. Therefore the success of irrigation depends heavily
on an accurate judgment of the seasonal flow of rivers and springs. Small
differences in water depth or changes in timing the alternation of wet and
dry cycles can have a major effect on the terrace ecosystem, directly
affecting the crop yields.
CROP MANAGEMENT: A critical stage of rice is when the plants are 'pregnant';
when the growing panicle causes the rice to swell. At this stage the
reproductive phase starts and the rice requires water for developing the
panicle and sunlight afterwards. This stage is reached at the end of the
rainy season - normally in the beginning of March according to the Gregorian
calendar. As the primary rice variety used requires 200 - 210 days before
being ready to harvest, harvest will take place in September when the
rainfall is low and the sunlight required for drying the rice is present.
After the harvest a period of fallow will follow which interrupts the food
supply of major rice pests such as insects, rodents, bacterial and viral
diseases. After the fallow a secondary crop will be grown of a rice species
which only requires 120 days to mature. As this only leaves a short period
of fallow, about one month, it is necessary that the whole region harvests,
and thus sow, their crop at the same time, to assure that the pests cannot
simply migrate from one field to another. The system is used all over Bali.
The institution is concurrent., SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The irrigation community
and its sub-communities is marked by temples. Taken from the top and
downwards, the primary water temple in Bali is Pura Ulun Batur, located
along the rim of the crater of Lake Batur. The Temple keeps a list of 204 "subaks", sub-communities, which constitute the primary
congregation of the temple. The subaks are all located within the boundaries
of four rivers, and they all believe that the goddess of Lake Batur is
responsible for the gift of water they receive in their fields. Pura Ulun
Batur marks the water source of the entire irrigation system. Where a major
canal from the source reach a set of terraces, this is marked by a Ulun Swi
Temple (Head of The Terraces). Occasionally, division of waters from the
Ulun Swi will be marked by Masceti temples. Where the water is lead into a
set of fields, an Ulun Carik (Head of the Fields) temple is placed and each
farmer will have their own shrine (bedugul) where the water enters their
fields. Finally, Pura Segara temples (Sea temples) are located on beaches or
islands in river outlets, where the water from the irrigation system reaches
the sea. Thus, the Pura Segaras marks the end of the system. The different
temples each represent a level in the governing hierarchy of the irrigation
system. As we have seen, the coordination of sowing, irrigating and
harvesting within the region is of utmost importance. The crucial piece of
timing is to plant the rice when it is 'pregnant'. This event is marked by a
particular ritual called 'nyungsung'. The timing of the 'nyungsung' is very
difficult to estimate for the individual farmer. The Balinese farmers use
three calendric systems, and 'nyungsung' should take place at the full moon
of the tenth solar-lunar month. On the gregorian calendar this date will
fall somewhere between the end of February and the beginning of May. The
High Priests of the Pura Ulun Batur will decide when the rice i IT IS NOT
CLEAR WHETHER NYUNGSUNG OR THE FULL MOON OF THE TENTH MONTH TELLS THE TIME
OF PLANTING OR THE TIME TO START IRRIGATING WHEN THE RICE BECOMES PREGNANT
When the time for irrigation is up, Pura Ulun Danu Batur will send out an
invitation to the Subaks to participate in the major annual festival of the
temple, but reportedly the invitation also marks the beginning of the
irrigation year. At the regional level, the system is coordinated and
governed at the Ulung Swi temples or the Masceti temples. Reportedly there
is no fixed relationship between Ulun Swi and Masceti temples. They can both
be either superior, equal or subordinate to each other (It is not reported
whether there are any rules or logic which decide the relationship between
the Ulun Swi and the Masceti temples.) Subordinated to the regional temples
are the "Subaks" or groups of "Subaks" if the
number of "Subaks" subordinated to the regional temple is high
or if the geographical or physiological features of the area makes it
convenient to arrange the "Subaks" in groups. Each "Subak"
will have their own temple for worship, but they will all send their leaders
to the regional temple to make decisions and rules regarding the planting
season etc.(!) In Sukawati village, the "Subaks" meet at the
Masceti temple at the beginning of a new planting season if the planting
schedule has to be changed. Furthermore, the regional temples will send
delegates to the annual festival at Pura Ulun Danu Batur '
MAINTENANCE RULES: Maintenance rules for the entire system are not reported.
In the village of Kedewatan, seven "subaks" share water from a
single large canal. Each "Subak" takes turns in the maintenance
works and the annual rituals at the Masceti and Ulun Swi temples. No letter
sent. questions: do "districts" mean irrigation communities
(see fig. 1)? What Is the relationship between Ulun Danu Batur, Gianyar and
Badung ? ed. Irrigation L.03.-25040.
- Rec# 17. Martin, Edward D and
Yoder, Robert 1987 Institutions for Irrigation Management In Farmer-Managed
Systems Examples from the Hills of Nepal International Irrigation Management
Institute Srilanka, Traditional, irrigation, khet. Nepal. This case study
analyses the institutions employed by the farmers for the management of
gravity irrigation systems in the hill region of western Nepal. Argali
irrigation system is in Argali village Panchayat located between Ridi Bazaar
and Ranighat (refer Fig 2).In Argali there are four irrigation system, the
largest one being the Raj Kulo, each consisting of an intake on the Kurung
Khola stream and a canal which conveys water to a command area on the
Aragali river terrace. The four systems range in area from 11 to 47 hectares
during the monsoon and in membership from 28 to 159 households. The soils are
well drained with high percolation rates. The average size of irrigated
landholding (khet) per household is about 0.3 hectares. The Raj Kulo was
originally constructed to irrigate land to support a temple which was built
on the bank of the Kali Gandaki River at Ridi. Part of the production from a
small section of the present command area is still given to the temple :
This same type of device for proportioning water distribution is found in
many of the irrigation systems in western Nepal. They have different names
as: "pani dhara", penaro karahankota, Spatial: The irrigation
system is located on the river terraces 100-200 meters above the Kali
Gandaki River at an elevation of about 650 meters
Social: Same as Chherlung system (refer the next case study) . Those who
farmed irrigated rice land, whether owners or tenants, were members of the
irrigation organization and were responsible for operating the system. The
organization fined persons who were absent from work and were caught
stealing water. At the end of the year, the money collected in fines was
spent for a feast for the members
The tenant operators became land owners after passage of the Land Reform
Acts in 1957 and 1964 and since then the amount of fined money has been
invested in improvements in the system
Maintenance: Major routine maintenance is done in late May and June to
prepare the system for the monsoon season when efficient water delivery for
rice cultivation is important. At this time, the diversion and canal walls
are repaired to reduce leakage, silt and weeds are cleaned from the entire
length of the canal, and sections of the canal are lined with clay to reduce
seepage. This usually takes place between two and three weeks. The intake and
main canal are patrolled daily so that there is a early detection of
damage. The members take turns patrolling in pairs. If there is a need for
more laborers, one of them will inform the "mukhiya" who then
organizes members to do the repairs.
In Argali, where water is allocated in proportion to area irrigated, labor
and cash are also contributed according to area served. Members must
contribute labor for ordinary maintenance work at the rate of one man for
each 40 "maato muri" of khet each work day. A household with
only 20 "maato muri" is required to provide one worker every
other day * Maato muri: This is a traditional measure of area where 40 maato
muri equals approx. half a hectare
Regarding sanctions, the fine for missing a day of ordinary maintenance is
Rs 6(1982), but if fines are not paid the organization can deny the offender
water. The community can exert social, as well as physical pressure on
members to pay fines . Irrigation:M-051996 Apr-1996 Apr 30.
- Rec# 18. ---,
Traditional, irrigation, khet. Nepal. This record has tried to analyze the
institutions employed by the farmers for the management of gravity
irrigation systems in the hill region of western Nepal. Chherlung system is
in Baugha Gumha village Panchayat located in Palpa dist. Between Ridi Bazaar
and Ranighat (refer Fig 2). Here there are three irrigation system .The
smallest system serves less than 10 hectares and is supplied with water by a
spring near the command area, it has an informal organization. The other two
systems are called Thulo Kulo(large canal) and Tallo Kulo (lower
canal). The
former has 105 members and the latter has 60 members. The soils are well
drained with high percolation rates: This same type of device for
proportioning water distribution is found in many of the irrigation systems
in western Nepal. They are called by different names as: "pani dhara",
khat bunda penaro etc., Spatial: The irrigation system is located on the
river terraces 100-200 meters above the Kali Gandaki River at an elevation
of about 650 meters
Social: Rice is the preferred staple food in Chherlung, accordingly the
technology and organization developed by farmers are primarily for rice
cultivation. Membership in the irrigation organization is limited to those
who have the right to water for growing rice in the monsoon season, even
though other farmers have access to water from the system in other season
for other crops. According to local tradition and Nepali law, the first
farmer or group of farmers to develop a water source can claim the right, at
the point of the diversion from the stream, to all of the water that they
need for cultivation.
Access to water for growing rice in Chherlung Thulo Kulo system and
membership is limited to households that own at least a fraction of a share
in the system. The ownership of transferable shares also existed as the
method of water allocation . The organization have a "mukhiya"(leader)
and a secretary who are elected by the members. The current officers could be
displaced if members were dissatisfied with their performance. The mukhiya is
responsible for organizing and supervising work done on the system, and the
secretary keeps the accounts, a record of members water allocation and
attendance at work, and minutes of the organization's meetings. As
remuneration the number of workers these officers must supply for
maintenance work, based on their water allocation is reduced. If the number
of workers that they would have to provide is less than the remuneration
they are due, the balance is paid to the in cash at the local daily wage
rate ???
The organization have a meeting of the members in mid-May. At this meeting
plans are made for the major annual maintenance which begins shortly
thereafter, new officers are elected if necessary, and operating rules for
the coming monsoon season are reviewed and amended as needed. The accounts
are presented for a review at a meeting after rice harvest in the fall.
Other
meetings may be held throughout the year if decisions about system operation
need to be made
Maintenance: Major routine maintenance is done in late May and June to
prepare the system for the monsoon season when efficient water delivery is
important for rice cultivation. The diversion and canal walls are repaired to
reduce leakage , the silt and weeds are cleaned from the entire length of the
canal, and sections of the canal are lined with clay to reduce seepage. This
usually takes place between two and three weeks.
Members contribute labor and cash according to the number of shares they own
in the system. A household with one share is required to supply one man each
day of ordinary maintenance, while one with two shares must provide two
workers each day (refer table 3). In case of emergency each member household
must supply one man, irrespective of its water allocation
The system levy cash fines against members who are absent from work. The fine
for missing a day of ordinary maintenance is set near the local daily wage
rate , Rs 10 (1982). In case of emergency, the fine rate is increased to
encourage a higher rate of attendance. The cash that is raised through fines
is invested in maintenance and improvement of the system. Unless it is spent
, the money can be loaned to members who pay interest to the organization
The organization is quite strict about enforcing its rules and collecting
fines, once in Chherlung it was reported that a man did not report for
emergency maintenance for several days. When his fine was levied and he
refused to pay, a group of members confiscated his cooking pots and
threatened to sell them to pay his fine. Within a day or two , he paid the
fine and recovered his cooking pots. Irrigation:M-051996 Apr-1996 Apr 30.
- Rec# 5. Mathew, Sebastian 1991
Study of Territorial use rights in small scale Fisheries Traditional systems
of fisheries Management in Pulicat Lake Tamil Nadu FAO Rome, Traditional,
Fisheries, lagoon, fishing gear. Tamil Nadu. The total catch of the Pulicat
lake comprises mainly prawns and mullets. The fishermen practice a system
called "padu" to control access to certain fishing grounds. The
most important gears from the point of fishery in the "Padu"
grounds are stake-nets and drag-nets which are locally known as "suthu
valai" mainly used for catching prawns and "badi-valai"
used for catching all species. These gears can be used by fishermen who enjoy
access rights to Padu grounds.: Spatial: The lagoon is about 60 km in length
and 0.2 to 17.5 km in breadth. It has a high flood water spread area of 460 km
square and low flood water spread area of 250 km square. The lake is confluent
with the Bay of Bengal across a bar about 3 km from the Pulicat lighthouse.
The deepest portion of the lagoon is in the vicinity of the
bar. The best fishing grounds are confined to these water where the padu
fishing rights are granted Social: Suthu valai: it ensures equitable access
for all the eligible fishermen to all the fishing grounds in the operation
Badi Valai: it ensures equal opportunities for all the units in the
designated grounds. To become a member of Padu system it is essential to
become a member of "Talekettu" i.e.; a village organization of
fishermen based on caste and gender. The member is elected by the village
council, the membership age being fifteen. Only married fisherman belonging to
Talekettu is allowed to participate in the padu system. The village council
(Panchayat) controls the Padu system.
- Rec# 70. McGrath, David G. et
al. Fisheries and the Evolution of Resource Management on the Lower Amazon
Floodplain. DRAFT unpublished paper., Varzea, Fishery, Rivers, Lakes,
Floodplains, Technological Change, Market access. Brazil.
ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT: The Ribeirinho people (Varzeiros) of the lower Amazon
floodplains (Varzea) live in a complex eco-system which has many subsystems
and changes a lot during a year. The Varzea is defined as the area of either
side of the main channel of the Amazon river which is periodically
annundated by the lateral overflow of the waters of the Amazon river. The
lower Amazon Varzea averages about 45 km. in width and covers a total area
of 18.000 sq. km. (app.). On both sides of the main channel we will find
Restingas, land strips which can be used for farming and grazing. On the
other side of the Restinga, the varzea lakes used for fishing, are located.
Again there will come a Restinga and finally we will see Paranas, river
channels which border up to the mainland (fig. 2). River channels will flow
back and forth across the floodplain, carving the landscape into islands.
The size of the varzea lakes varies from a few thousand square meters to
several hundred square kilometers, but they rarely exceed 4 meters depth.
Annually the whole system will be flooded by the river waters, infusing
nutrient-rich waters to the varzea. The river will begin to rise in
November, reaching maximum height in May or June. Then it will fall to reach
minimum level by the end of October. The rainy season is from December till
June. Thus, from November\December till June, water is plentiful, while
July to November is dry season. SOCIO/ECO-CONTEXT: Geographical and
historical coverage is not reported. The institution is concurrent.,
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The areas of the lower Amazon floodplains which
inhabited by the Varzeiros.
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: Ribeirinhos and outsiders using the resources within the
spatial boundaries. Control over a lake is usually based on either ownership
of lake shorefront property or on a tradition of access to a lake. As no
single right holders in the community have a sufficiently large piece of
property to establish a meaningful fishing territory, the lake will be
managed collectively by the community. No further information is reported.
No letter sent. Not completed. ed. CPR M.23.-6212.
- Rec# 80. McKean, Margareth A.
Success on the Commons A Comparative Examination of Institutions for Common
Property Resource Management. unpublished paper Duke University 1988.,
Reserves, Market Access, Economy, Hill agriculture, Common Property. Japan.
The study describes institutions set up for managing common property in the
villages of Yamanak, Hirano and Nagaike, located on the slopes of Mount
Fuji. Generally there is no references to specific rules used in a specific
village. The information in this record can only be seen as examples of
principles used in the villages - not as a consistent set of rules used in
one particular institution\village. Each of the villages has an exclusive
parcel of common property land, and along with several other villages, they
share a large expanse of meadows which extends towards the summit of Mount
Fuji. The paper indicates that similar institutions was found and can be
found all over Japan. The institution is concurrent.,
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The villages of Yamanak, Hirano and Nagaike.
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: All residents of the villages who contribute their full
duty to the commons. Households who migrate to other areas, but maintain
their property in the villages will normally not be given access, as they do
not contribute. Within the villages, villagers belong to a "Kumi",
a geographic sub-area of the village, which often is used as the basic unit
of allocating resources from the commons. Thus, it was important that the
Kumi's were of equal size. Users have to convene regularly in a deliberative
body to make decisions about opening and closing the commons, about harvest
dates and about the rules governing the commons. This could either be a full
assembly or an indirect body composed of representatives of each Kumi.
Maintenance rules: The villages also set up rules for maintenance, such as
weeding on small commons, tree cropping in woodlots, cutting of firebreaks
and monitoring the annual spring burning of large meadows. Accounts are kept
to assure that each kumi and each household make its proper contribution of
labour and only take its proper share of the harvest. Commons are monitored
by taking turns in patrolling the areas to enforce rules and apprehend
violators from other villages. In Yamanaka, were households could not afford
to spare an able bodied adult for the patrol, villagers had authority to use
citizens arrest to capture violators. When violators are caught, they are
immediately deprived of their contraband, tools and pack animals and they
are ordered a fine. Penalties escalate with the severity of the violation
and the arrogance of offenders. On rare occasions it culminate in exclusion
or banishment - first from the commons, then from other social and economic
functions of the village and finally from the village itself. Margaret A.
McKean, Department of Political Science, Duke University, Durham, North
Carolina 27706 (mamckean@acpub.duke.edu) E-mail response received 7/5/96.
Suggested further readings. VERY IMPORTANT: whether the commons are still
operated along with the institutions described is unclear. Answer from Meg
says that they were ' operated traditionally' until the 1950'es. What
happened afterwards is unclear. ed. CPR M.05.3788.
- Rec# 9. Messerschmidt, Donald
A People and Resources in Nepal Customary Resource Management Systems of the
Upper Kali Gandaki Proceedings of the conference on Common Property Resource
National academy Press Washington D. C, Traditional, irrigation, panchayat.
Nepal. This is a Thakali ethnic village where we find a sort of well
organized cooperation and resource management. Marpha is a highly nucleated
settlement situated in the rain shadow of Dhaulagiri Himal. It is subject to
the cold, dry climate of the Tibetan Plateau. In the past irrigation
management was closely tied to the Traditional form of Govt. by clan
representatives, and was operated under local custom before the Panchayat
system was introduced.: This type of traditional irrigation system is
prevalent in other parts of Nepal, Spatial:
Social:
. The management of all of Marpha's resources was under control of 10
workers, besides controlling the flow and distribution of irrigation water,
the workers also maintained the public drinking water system and water
powered grinding mills. The workers were appointed from the four clans of
the village and were responsible to the headman and his executive and
treasury committees. The headman was customarily selected for a three year
period from among the four clans. His executive committee was composed of
four men, one appointed from each clan for one year terms . 1996 Mar 27-1996
Mar 27.
- Rec# 170. Miller, David L. The
Evolution of Mexico's Carribean Spiny Lobster Fishery. in Fikret Berkes ed.
Common Property Resources. Ecology and Community-Based Sustainable
Development. p. p. 185-198 Belhaven Press London 1989., Coastal Fishery,
Casitas, Lobster. Property Rights. Mexico. The fishing cooperatives of
Cozumel and Vigia Chico do their fishing in Bahia de la Ascension and Bahia
del Espiritu Santo in the state Quintana Roo. Each cooperative has about 100
members. The members of the cooperatives concentrate on fishing lobster. In
the early 1960'es the fishing industry shifted from relatively small-scale
enterprises to a larger-scale commercial industry, focused on luxury
products, such as lobster, conch and shrimp, for export. This lead to the
formation of the cooperatives, as access to these species was reserved to
co-ops. by federal law. Lobster is fished by the use of casitas, small
artificial habitats, which provides shelter for the lobster. The casita
technology was introduced in Quintana Roo by Cuban refugees in 1968 and the
following year it came to Bahia de la Ascension. Casitas are usually placed
in shallow waters (2-7 m.) and spaced 20 - 30 m. apart. They are constructed
with a frame of thatch palm logs and a roof of reinforced concrete (app. 1,5
sq.m.). They are harvested by free-diving once every week to ten days, using
a short gaff or herding the lobsters into a net. Typically the outcome of
one casita is 7 - 10 lobsters and in one day 30 - 50 casitas can be
harvested. Harvesting is done from 8-9 m. fiberglass boats powered by 40hp
motors. In 1986 there were 48 boats in the Vigia Chico co-op. and around 30
in Cozumel. The Vigia Chico co-op. use more than 10.000 casitas positioned
throughout an area of 160 squarekm. in Bahia de la Ascension. Conditions of
Cozumel are said to be similar, but they do their fishing in Bahia del
Espiritu Santu. Furthermore, Bahia del Espiritu Santu is located app. 100
km. from the island of Cozumel where the fishermen from Cozumel co-op.
lives. They go to the fishing site in a mother vessel and stay there for one
or two weeks. When they are not fishing, they work in the tourist industry
on Cozumel island. The concept of fishing cooperatives is known all over
Mexico, but it is not known whether similar rules are used by other
cooperatives. The institution is concurrent.,
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: Members of the fishing cooperatives Cozumel and Vigia
Chico. (Requirements for becoming a member is not reported.)
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: Each cooperative has been granted a territory by the
federal government. (Bahia de la Ascension for Vigia del Chico and Bahia del
Espiritu Santu for Cozumel). The distribution and spatial definition of the
campos (See ResA.) seems to have been arrived at informally. Boundaries were
established as fishermen were stopped from expanding in a given direction by
the presence of another fishermans gear or marker. Disputes on boundaries
between campos can be resolved by officers of the co-op. with the assistance
of fishery-officers. (See Con.) The co-op. officers also carry the authority
to sanction fishermen, members as well as non-members, who have been fishing
in another mans campo. The lobster season is closed between March 15 and
June 15. No letter sent. Department of geography, Cortland College, State
University of New York.. ed. IIM-lib. 333.72. C.6.18252.
- Rec# 25. Moench, Marcus and
1988 "Turf and Forest Management in a Garhwal and Hill Village"
in "Whose Trees ? Proprietary Dimensions of Forestry ", Louise
fortmann and ruce John W ed Westview Press Boulder CO p. 127-135, Turf,
lopped areas, chan, fodder . Mussoorie. Munglori is a medium sized, Rajput
dominated, agricultural village with access to extensive oak forests,
grassland and rain-fed agricultural with little irrigated lands(refer
Table.1). The village production activities are primarily directed at
subsistence level, the activities being based on locally available
resources, of which fodder and fuel are key elements.In Munglori, roughly
half of the total wood-fuel required comes from the small twigs remaining as
a by product of fodder collection.Oak (Quercus incanna) is the dominant
species which is used to meet all the requirements. Here there is a customary
system of land and tree tenure termed as "turf". Turf is
defined as a system of resource tenure that is: 1)Geographically based
2)Associated with a distinct social unit such as village, clan or family
3)Not incorporated into any official, statutory tenure system.
In this study the turf and forest management have been examined on
inter-village and intra-village level
The operation of Turf has two basic elements: a) a clearly defined area of
forest use for the village as a whole
b) hazily defined areas of individual or group use within the village area
The former one is explicit whereas the latter one is more implicit :
Spatial: Munglori is 12 north-east of Mussoorie in Tehri Garhwal, the
predominant local culture being Hindu Pahari. Despite close proximity to the
major center of Mussoorie, Munglori is isolated by the area's steep
topography
Social: Each village has a clearly defined "turf" area in the
forests over which it claims use right. Although this right has no legal
standing but is explicitly recognized by other villages and thus serves as an
effective unofficial control on access to forest. Therefore "turf"
in Munglori is ownership of resources that are officially in the public
domain. Within each village's forest families or small groups of families
have hazily defined areas of regular use, adjacent to outbuildings, but
these areas are not explicitly recognized by other members of the village
yet it does provide a basis for limited management. Forests in the Munglori
region are owned by the state and under control of the Forest department
Maintenance: The starting point of maintenance deals with the lopping
system. Lopped areas are essentially production forests towards the supply of
fodder and to a lesser extent fuel. Regular lopping is one of the
prerequisites for the production of fodder. In addition to this another
element of management is the reservation of oaks in the vicinity of "chans"
(outbuildings near or in the forest where stock are kept) for cutting during
periods of high labor demand. These chans belong to individual families in
the village. The leaf fodder available on the oaks near the chans is not
collected except during periods, such as harvest when little time is
available for the collection of fodder from other areas. During this time the
chan owners use the fodder which has been saved for their stock
Other elements of use include grazing and entry of fires from adjacent
grassland areas. Grazing is uncontrolled in most part of lopped areas
Fires are set in grassland areas during the period prior to monsoon to
ensure a good grass crop. Gradually under the dryness of the season they
spread to adjacent lopped oak areas and into the main forest.
Forestry:M-081996 Apr 15-1996 Apr 15.
- Rec# 27. Moorehead, Richard
Changes Taking Place in Common Property Resource Management in the Inland
Niger Delta of Mali in Common Property Resources Ecology and Community Based
Sustainable Development ed Fikret Berkes Belhaven Press London, Ethnic,
Dina, res publica, res nullius, res communes. Africa (West). The inland
Delta is one of the most important wetland areas of West Africa.About 550 mm
of rain falls in the southern, upstream regions, and 250 mm in the northern,
downstream parts of the delta. Common property system have developed over
hundreds of year in the Niger Delta, which served to control access to
resources between different ethnic groups using different production systems
within the same area. One of the major characteristics of this area is the
variability in the total amounts and timing of rainfall and flood levels
between seasons, between years and between the delta and adjacent
territories, due to which there may be considerable differences in
productivity. There are five production systems in Niger delta and its
surrounding dry lands: semi-sedentary farmers; agro-pastoralist;
agro-fishermen; transhumant fishermen and herders. The access rules governing
resource use in various parts of delta were codified in the 19th century
when the area was under the control of Fulani tribe. Now the Fulani rules are
no longer operational, there are processes at work which are changing the
common property relations in the delta : Spatial: The inland delta of the
river Niger is a flood plain situated in central Mali, covering an area of
approx. 40, 000 sq km. The delta bridges the Saudano-Sahelian climatic zone
to the south and the Sahelian climatic zone to the north
Social: A system of resource management was imposed by the Fulani tribe
called "Dina"in the 19th century. The Dina divided the area
into a number of grazing territories allocated to loose Fulani clan
groupings within which there were groups of :subordinate farmers and more
independent farmers; farmer fishermen, and hunting and gathering
fishermen. Two of the most important effects of this system were to 1)to
sedentarize groups of nomadic herders and fishermen and ii) formalize
grazing , fishing and farming territories in the area.
Forest, browse and wild food resources were open access property (res
nullius) whereas agricultural land, pasture rights and fisheries in both the
Erg and floodplains and fields of dry lands were allocated as common property
(res communes).
There were three types of pasture which :belonged to political heads of
Fulani clan; belonged to the founding lineage groups within clans ; belonged
to Fulani settlements.
Each Fulani clan set dates at which animals could enter their territory;
arranged herds in the order of priority of entry, and controlled the number
of animals in line with pasture availability. The principal Fulani manager
was the "Dioro", who was the head of the founding lineage of
the clan. The founding lineages were the inalienable owners of resources;
heads of these lineages were called "sacrificers" with
delimited territory. These lineages provided resource managers, who were
called 'masters of water ' and 'masters of the land 'the positions were
hereditary. Access to fishing grounds was managed by masters of water and
access to fields in the dry lands by the masters of the land. Stranger
fishermen paid the sacrificer to sacrifice for them when they arrived in his
area. They paid in kind for permission to fish or farm. The resource managers
carried out their function in consultation with the council of elders
comprised of heads of other lineages making up the community. The principal
rule governing access to resources was that members of the community had a
right to access which was essentially free or there was small tithe, while
outsiders had to pay. Revenue from these sources was used by the head of the
community to pay for visitors, marriages etc. and also shared between the
founding and consanguine lineages of the family. 333.72-C6 (IIM-Library)1996
Apr 23-1996 Apr 23.
- Rec# 310. Niraj, sacred
grove, biodiversity, religious belief, fetish. Ghana. The community of Malshegu
has for three centuries protected a sacred grove in northern Ghana which
they believe houses their local god called as kpalevorgu. Though most of
Ghana's forests have been highly degraded today, this grove has been very
well conserved chiefly due to its religious importance. History.
- Rec# 280. Participants of
Summer School on Management of Common Property Resources, Indian Institute
of Management June 1-10 1995 Eco-preneurship for Renewing Commons The Case
of A Missing Tree. Honey Bee Vol. 6 no. 3 SRISTI Ahmedabad 1995., Common
Property, Goddess, Religion, Tree Cutting, Institution Building. India. The
village Takhua is located in an arid area. Land under agriculture is limited
and getting drinking water is a serious problem. Most villagers make their
living from livestock, and in drought years, when there is no grass, only
tree looping come to their rescue. Thus, proper management of their common
property land is crucial to the villagers. Takhua has more than 200 ha of
common pasture land with several seasonal water bodies.: Similar
institutions are likely to be seen in other villages close to Takhua.
Further information is not reported. The institution is concurrent.,
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: 200 ha. of common land belonging to the village.
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: None reported. The main governance feature is an oath
given to a Goddess, in which the villagers promise not to tamper with the
common land. At that occasion, the villagers decreed that:
- Any person who cut a tree from the common land would have to feed a fixed
amount of grains to birds.
- Anyone who learnt of the offence, and failed to report it to the panchayat
(Village Council) would also be punished.
- If the offender do not comply with these sanctions, he will be ostracized
from the community. No one will attend functions such as marriages at his
house, nor will they invite him to functions in their houses. The same
sanctions apply to offenders from other villages in case they break the
rules of Takhua.
A vigilance group was formed, which would periodically go around the village
and persuade the farmers from adjoining villages to vacate common lands.
Furthermore, the villagers revived the practice of clearing the catchments
area of debris or dung to ensure that the water bodies meant for storing
drinking water do not get polluted during the rainy season. - ed. Honey Bee,
Vol. 6 No. 3 1995.-27184.
- Rec# 21. Patel, Haribhai G and
1991 " Forest Ecology and Cattle Graziers: Where do they stand
?"(A study of the Gir Forest and Maldharis in Saurashtra Region of
Western India) :Common Property Conference-Natural Resource Institute,
Canada, Maldhari, livestock, interdependence, cattle-feed. India (Saurashtra).
The forest of Gir before 1947 was ruled by the Nawab of Junagarh.Thousands
of trees were cut twice a year and open land was brought under cultivation
for the villagers, settled by state officials.Cattle graziers (Maldhari) of
Gir forest entered as nomads, with some negros about 300 years ago since at
that time the forest was a no-man's land. It was three times larger and dense
as compared to the present condition. Cattle graziers depend on the forest
mainly for their livestock and on the hand lion depend on the livestock as a
principal prey
In 1972 The state govt. declared that the Gir Sanctuary area should be closed
to grazing by domestic livestock from outside and the Maldharis in this area
should be shifted along with their livestock elsewhere. The Cattle graziers
were charged by the govt. officials and other experts as being harmful to the
forest resources on the following grounds:
a) Since the Maldharis moved from place to place, and wherever they stayed,
they built a hut, which resulted in cutting of trees, it was also alleged
that they take away fruits, branches and leaves for their consumption or
medicinal purposes
b) The cattle movement results in hardening the soil and impairing the
fertility
c) The Maldharis join hands with illegal tree cutters causing damage to the
forest resource, they were also charged for an indiscriminate grazing,
resulting into serious stock depletion
But the role of forest graziers have been very significant in conservation
of forest resource if they are rationally analysed: Tree seeds, that cattle
swallowed during grazing become naturally processed when come out with their
dung and grow easily. The cattle dung functions as a natural fertilizer to
the forest soil. The settlers move from one place to another as part of their
strategy to survive, such a move is helpful to the forest interims of
spreading cattle -dung and seeds on a large space as a natural process
In Gir grass grows normally upto 6 feet height. If not removed in time, it
becomes dry in summer which is highly inflammable. The grass grazed by the
cattle graziers, in the light of this fact is functional to the conservation
: Spatial:
Social. The forest resource is under control of the Administrative
personnels of the Government, and also by some Wildlife experts and
environmentalists. 1996 Apr-1996 Apr 30.
- Rec# 290. Patel, Kirit K.
Jitendra Suthar Rhaychandbhai Bochia and Astad Pastakia Traditional Episodic
Institutions for Dealing with FPM. Honey Bee vol. 6 no. 4 SRISTI Ahmedabad
1996., Foot and Mouth Disease, FMD, Animal Husbandry, Livestock, Pastoralism,
Quarantine, Cattle. India. Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a serious cattle
disease which spreads rapidly, unless strict quarantine measures are adopted
at an early stage. The disease has a cycle of twenty days, and when the
cycle is completed, the cattle will recover. Milk yield of infected animals
will go down and pregnant cows risk loosing the foetus if it is less than
two months old. For the 'Maldharis' from the village of Sembalpani and
adjoining villages, FMD constitutes a common problem. The villages are
mostly inhabited by pastoralists. They are surrounded by the hills of
Aravalli, which are covered by forest. The Maldhari's do not possess any
land. They rely mostly on the forests to provide fodder for their cattle
(cows and buffaloes).
In order to control the spread of FMD, the Maldhari's have used a set of
quarantine rules over a long period of time (Further details not reported).:
Geographic and historical coverage is not reported. The institution is
episodic.,
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: The 'Maldhari's in Sembalpani and adjoining villages.
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: Sembalpani and adjoining villages. Quarantine rules vary
depending to the extent to which the disease has spread:
- When only one or two animals are infected, the owner of the animals is
expected to inform the other farmers. The diseased animals are confined to a
cattle-shed until their treatment is completed. Under no circumstances are
the infected animals allowed to visit the "gauchar", the common
grazing ground, of the "hawada", the common place for drinking
water. Instead, the animals are stall fed by the owner.
- When several animals are infected, stall feeding becomes less practical.
The farmers of the village get together and decide on a particular area of
the forest and a particular "hawada" which will be restricted
for use by the infected animals. The route by which these animals are taken
to the forest is also specified. Usually it will be the shortest route.
- When the majority of the animals is infected, the elders of the village
get together and make arrangements to inform all the neighbouring villages
about the disease. It is ensured that infected animals do not visit the
pasture lands of other villages.
If rules are violated, the "panch" - a committee of, usually,
five elders decide on the mode and intensity of punishment. Social ostracism
is the highest punishment which can be given. Generally, sanction rules are
flexible and punishments can be reversed subject to the attitude adopted by
the offender. Frequently a person who acknowledge his or her mistake will be
taken back into the fold. To be taken back one should pay a fine of 15 kg.
of food grain to the community and one should also invite the entire
community to tea and ask forgiveness from each member. But for the last ten
years there has been no cases of rule violation. - ed. Honey Bee vol. 6, no.
4 1996.18352.
- Rec# 130. Peluso, Nancy Lee
Fruit Trees and Family Trees Property Rights and Environmental Change in an
Indonesian Rainforest. paper prepared for the Agrarian Studies Seminar Yale
University 1994., Fruit trees, Property Rights, Forestry, Durian,
Privatization, Family, Lineage. Indonesia. The village of Bagak is located
on the slopes of the Setipa Mountain. It has more than a hundred
single-family houses. Major crops are rice and fruit. Durian trees are
considered to be the most economically and ecologically important fruit
tree. They occupy 71 % of the old and medium aged fruit forests basal area.
They are productive for up to 150 years and their ownership spans for many
generations, changing over time from private property of the person who
planted the tree to shared property of the ever increasing group of planters
descendants. Durian drops from the tree when it reaches its peak flavor. It
must be eaten processed or sold rapidly because it will loose its flavor,
quality and value fast. The fruit of a tree will drop within 7 to 21 days,
and the entire Durian season will last for about 2 months or more. Other
texts indicates that similar rules are found elsewhere on Kalimantan , See
G. N. Appell. The institution is concurrent.,
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: Access to fruit trees is given to descendants of the
planter. The text indicates, that a descendant will loose his use rights if
he or she moves to another village.
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The village of Bagak and surrounding forest. Not
reported. Letter sent, April '96. School of Forestry and Environmental
Studies, Sage Hall, 205 Prospect Street, Yale University, New Haven,
Connecticut 06511, USA ed. CPR. P.11.-11748.
- Rec# 190. Pradhan, Prachanda
Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems in Nepal. Nepal Field Operations of
International Irrigation Management Institute Kathmandu. Year of publishing
is not mentioned but reference has been made to articles from 1989, Village
Committees, Regional Committees, Central Committees, General Assembly,
Irrigation Management. Nepal. The Chhatis Mauja irrigation system described
in this record is used by 6 villages and Nagar Panchayats in the Ruphendi
district with a total population of about 25.000. It is more than 100 years
old.: Geographical and historical coverage is not reported. The institution
is concurrent.,
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: Members of the users group are land holders and operators
within the command area of the irrigation system.. To become a member of the
users group, the landholder or the operator has to furnish the Village
Committee (See Grul) with a record of the share of water entitled to him,
and the committee will register his or her land area and entitlement of the
share of water.
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The command area of the irrigation system. Committees for
governing the system has been set up at three levels; central, regional and
village level. Village level committees has two to five members, including a
chairman, which all are elected annually by the water users of the village.
Often the chairman will be remunerated by the villagers in kind or in cash
(500-1000rp annually.) The regional level committee is composed of the
chairmen of the six village committees. All regional level committees will
chose a chairman and these are the ex-officio members of the central
committee. There are 9 regional committees in the system. The central level
committee is the most powerful body in the irrigation management system.
Previously the decisions regarding irrigation management activities were
made by the central committee. But in 1979, written regulations to
administer the irrigation system were formulated by the central committee
and approved by a general assembly of the whole body of water users.
Meetings for the General Assembly are held annually. All water users
(thousands of people) must attend - otherwise they will have to pay a fine.
A progress report, work schedule for maintenance and desilting, and
financial accounts are presented. Progress is reviewed and new proposals are
discussed. Also the general assembly can decide whether the incumbent
chairman and vice chairman of the central committee should stay at their
posts or a new election should be held.
MAINTENANCE; Village levels canals are the responsibility of the village
level committee. For the main channel, maintenance will be planned by the
Central Committee, who will prepare the schedule, mobilize labour and
material and specify what kind of work should be done. Each village is then
assigned with the amount of work to be done. Dates for maintenance and
desilting are decided at the Annual General Assembly. Letter sent, April
'96. Head, Nepal Field Operations, The International Irrigation Management
Institute, PO BOX 3975, Kathmandu, Nepal. ed. Irrigation P.06.20496.
- Rec# 200. ---, Irrigation
Management, Committees, Bhanu Bhakta. Nepal. The classical Nepalese poet
Bhanu Bhakta Acharya contributed to the Chundi River Valley by constructing
the Bhanu Bharah Irrigation System that feeds the plains of the area. Over
time the irrigated area has expanded and is currently servicing 92 farmers
in an area of 120 ha. In 1961 rules and regulations of the system were
codified. Until then it had been managed by the family of Bhanu Bhaktar for
over 4 generations, but now it was time for all the farmers in the system to
participate in managing the system. Geographical and historical coverage is
not reported. The institution is concurrent, but has episodic elements.,
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The command area of the Bhanu Bharah irrigation system.
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: None reported. Farmers within the command area. In 1961 a
committee of seven members was elected among the farmers. From then the
members have had turns of one year which can be renewed. The committee
consists of a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and three other
members. They meet every fortnight. The irrigation command is divided into
five sub-areas. 5 of the members of the committee represents these
sub-areas, and they are responsible for communicating with the farmers in
each region. Written regulations describe the facilities of committee
members and punishment and fines for rule violation.
MAINTENANCE: There are two types of maintenance; dam construction and main
canal repair. Farmers will have to contribute to both activities. Farmers
who do not participate will be fined. Committee members are partly exempt
for contributing labour. The irrigation committee supervise maintenance on
the main system. The main canal is cleaned at least once a year and when this
work has been done, farmers will clean the separate field channels. Also
labor will be mobilized during crisis. During the wheat and early paddy
season the group as such does not do maintenance work on the system, and
farmers who grow crops in this period are responsible of the system
themselves. Letter sent, April '96. ed. Irrigation P.06.20496.
- Rec# 210. ---, Jimawal, Water
Supervisor, Committees. Nepal. The Satrasaya Phant irrigation system in
Tanahau district is believed by the local people to be more than 200 years
old. In 1968 it covered 21,6 ha, but today the command area is larger. The
system has 45 irrigators registered. Geographical and historical coverage is
not reported. The institution is concurrent, but has episodic elements., Not
reported. Until 1979 the system was looked after by a Jimawal, the
government agent who is responsible for collecting land revenue. If the
revenue collection fell short of the quota for the area, the Jimawal would
have to pay the revenue difference himself. Hence his incentive for
enhancing irrigation was high, as irrigation contributes to the
productivity of land. In 1979 a seven member committee was founded to
monitor the irrigation system, currently, though, the committee has ten
members, including Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and 6 other
members. Written rules have been made and they are updated each year after
discussion. The committee is in charge of maintaining the system and
repairing the dam annually, appointing guards at the dam during main crop
cultivation and appointing a water supervisor to allocate water to each farm
within the command area. As for guarding the brush dam (see Conflict), six
different persons are assigned for guarding it each night by the committee.
MAINTENANCE: When the Jimawal managed Satrasaya Phant, 128 men were
mobilized for main canal maintenance each day until the work was completed.
The command area was divided into four blocks (see Res A) and 32 men from
each block would contribute their labour. When the irrigation committee was
formed, they contracted the maintenance of the main canal locally. In 1985
the contract amount for maintenance work was 1000 Rs. The contractor is
supervised by the vice-chairman. Dam repair is also done through a
contractor. Letter sent, April '96. ed. Irrigation P.06.30496.
- Rec# 220. ---, Main Committee,
Conflict Resolution, Branch Committees . Nepal. Prior to 1973, the lack of
water within the current command area of Pithuwa irrigation system , allowed
farmers to grow only maize. In 1970, the farmers were given 15.000 Rs under
the Minor Irrigation Development program to construct an irrigation system
in Pithuwa. The main canal was dug, using the fund and voluntary labor. As
the canal did not function properly, the government was approached again,
and in 1973 a government office undertook the construction of the irrigation
system.: Geographical and historical coverage is not reported. The
institution is concurrent., Not reported. Initially no rules for governance
were implemented. As this caused a number of conflicts and feuds, initial
attempts of setting up a system of governance were made (see Conflict). Today
the irrigation system is governed as follows; All farmers serviced by the
system are members of the general assembly. The general assembly will meet
each year in June at a central location to discuss the following issues;
general principles of managing water in the system; election of the main
committee secretary and chairman; approval or disapproval of accounts
presented of the secretary; reviewing whether decisions made at the previous
general assembly were implemented. The Main Committee, which is the central
governance body of the system, has 18 members; The chairman and secretary
elected by the general assembly and chairmen of 16 branch committees. The
Main Committee is active from late June till late October and hold at least
one meeting a month, depending on the issues which has to be discussed.
Major functions of the main committee are to implement the decisions of the
general assembly and supervise overall operation of the main canal. At
branch level, members of branch canal committees are chosen at the annual
branch canal farmers assembly. The branch canal committees have written
rules, account books and minutes of meetings. Letter sent, April '96. ed.
Irrigation P.06.30496.
- Rec# 230. ---, Organisation,
Accountability, Mobilization of Labour, Desawar, Tharus, Functionaries.
Nepal. The three interrelated irrigation systems Rani Jamara and Kulariya
are located in the eastern part of the Kailali district, and covers an area
of 15000 ha.. The canal construction was initiated by Colonel Dhundi Raj
Sahi some 60 years ago. At that time only a few villages existed in the
district. The Nepalese government tried to encourage the cultivation of new
lands through giving a 10-year land revenue holiday to landlords who
cultivated new land. Thus, new villages settled, and people were brought in
from other areas. The immigrants worked for the landlords, initially under a
very unstable system in which they had to move from place to place to get
work. Today the agricultural labourers are hired on the basis of one year
contracts, known as kamaiya. They receive food plus remuneration and credit
when they need it. The Tharus compose the major part of the agricultural
labour force : Geographical and historical coverage is not reported. The
institution is concurrent, but has episodic elements., Not reported.
Functionaries of the irrigation organisation have the following roles and
functions;
- The Chaudhary is the chief of the irrigation system. Previously the local
landlord would occupy this seat, but today Tharus have become chaudharies in
Rani and Kulariya. The Chaudhary calls village leaders to resolve issues
regarding irrigation and has the leading role in conflict resolution. He
determines the dates for mobilizing the farmers assembly (Desawar) for
repair and desilting of the main canal and he must be present during all
labour mobilization and maintenance work.
- The Pan Chirage is the messenger of the irrigation system. The Chaudhary
communicates to the village leaders through the Pan Chirage. The major
responsibility of the Pan Chirage is to go to the intake every other day and
monitor the system. He will report to the Chaudhary on the condition of the
canal and dams. Also, he will announce the date for mobilization for canal
repair work, according to the decision of the Desawar.
- The village leader (Badhgar) is responsible for the village irrigation
canal. He must obtain the participation of the villagers in maintenance work
and bring a number of labourers, as agreed with the Chaudhary, to the annual
repair work on the canal. If he ails to bring the required number of people
he will be fined. Furthermore he is expected to settle conflicts within the
village and maintain the village water distribution schedule.
- The Nandarwa allocates the area to be desilted by each village. During
mobilization of all farmers, he supervise the work and decide whether the
work is completed. Work quotas taking soil conditions into account have been
agreed upon and he allocates work in accordance with these. The Nandarwa is
assisted by The Pachuwa, who also will work in his absence.
- The Lekhandaran keeps all records. He records the attendance of the
farmers during Desawar. Absentees will be fined. He is accountable to the
farmers assembly.
- Budhiya. Previously the Budhiya collected fines and took care of unspent
funds. Today this function is done by the Chaudhary or Lekhandaran, using an
account in the local bank.
- The Desawar is the general assembly of all the farmers. But it also refers
to the occasions when all farmers are mobilized for maintenance or repair
work and to the farmer community as such. The Desawar elect the
organisations leaders and will help in decision-making during times of
crisis. When fines imposed can not be collected, the Desawar will go to the
village of the defaulters and force them to pay. Physical assaults and
damage of property can happen at such occasions.
MAINTENANCE: When the Desawar is mobilized, the farmers will come to the
work site and stay for five days. Each village must bring a certain amount
of food, camping gear and tools. Bringing umbrellas is not allowed, since it
is impossible to work while holding an umbrella. The Nandarwa will call out
the name of a village and the Lekhandaran will call out the amount of work
to be done. As soon as work is assigned, people will start digging the
canal. The work must be completed within a fixed amount of time. If the
assigned number of workers from a village does not show up, the village will
be fined. Letter sent, April '96. ed. Irrigation P.06.30496.
- Rec# 2. Pradhan, Prachanda
Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems in Nepal Prachanda Pradhan is Head Nepal
Field Operations of International Irrigation Management Institute IIMI
Khatmandu Nepal, Irrigation, farmer-managed, Satrasaya Phant Irrigation
System. Nepal. The local believe that the Satrasaya Phant is 200 years.
Until 1979, the irrigation system was looked after by Jimawal. A Jimawal is
a government agent who is responsible for collecting land revenue on behalf
of government. If the revenue collection falls short of the quota for the
area, he must pay the revenue difference himself. In 1979, this system was
discontinued.
: Command area the Aadi Mul spring in Tanahau district., Spatial: Command
area of Adi Mul soring in Tanahau district area exceeding 1700 mato mori
(21.6 ha) Social: Farmers under this command area. After Jimawal system was
discontinued in 1979 in Satrasaya Phant in 1979, a seven-member committee
was formed to look after the irrigation system. Currently, they have a ten
member committee with a chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, treasurer, and
six other members. The secretary has been the same person since the
committee was formed. The committee has written rules which are updated each
year after discussion. There were 45 irrigators registered as members in
1979 and 1980. The same number is still continuing.
The tasks of the committee are to maintain the system and repair the dam
annually, guard the dam during main crop cultivation (paddy), and allocate
water to each farm within the command area.
The committee also assigns six persons for each night to guard the dam on
prevent the breach of the dam by Yampa Phant farmers.
Maintenance: During the Jimawal managed atrasaya Phant, 128 men were
mobilised for main canal maintenance each day until the work was complete.
The command area was divided into four blocks; 32 men from each block
contributed their labour. Today, these blocks are the basis for the rotation
system for water distribution during stress periods.
After the irrigation committee was formed, they locally contracted for the
annual maintenance of the main canal. The lowest bidder for the job is
given the contract for the year. In 1985, the contract amount for the
maintenance work was Rs 1000. he vice-chairman of the committee supervises
the contractor. Dam repair is also done through the contractor. Irrigation:
P-061996 Jul 27.
- Rec# 3. ---, Irrigation,
farmer-managed, Pithuwa Irrigation System. Nepal. Prior to 1973, the lack of
water within the current command area of Pithuwa located in Chitwan
district, allowed farmers to grow only maize. In 1970, farmers were given Rs
15,000 under the minor irrigation development program to constructan
irrigation system in Pithuwa. sing voluntary labour, and the fund, he main
canal was dug. however, the main canal did not function properly and the
people again approached the government. Finally, department of irrigation,
hydrology and meteorology (DIMH) undertook the construction of Pithuwa
irrigation project in 1973. After DIMH completed the project, irrigation
water was released. At first, water distribution was laissez-faire. "Might
is Right" prevailed in the system resulting in conflicts and feuds over
water share.
The one prominent farmer took the initiative to organise the farmers on Brach
14 into a committee, which formulated rules for water allocation and
distribution along branch 14. With farmer participation in committee
activities , conflicts over water sharing along the branch canal
decreased in a short time. Other branches started to follow the example set
by the farmers of Branch 14. Eventually, all the branch farmers created
branch committees for water allocation and distribution.: Command area of
Pithua located in Chitwan district., Spatial: Command area of Pithua located
in Chitwan district. Social: Farmers under the command area of the canal. A
general assembly consisting of all the farmers in the Pithuwa irrigation
system has formed. The farmers meet once a year n June at a central location
to discuss the following issues; (i) general principles for managing water
in the system (ii) electing the secretary in the system. (iii) approving or
disapproving the accounts of the system presented by the secretary.
(reviewing whether the decisions made during the previous assembly meeting
were duly undertaken or not.
Main committee: The main committee has 18 members. Originally, the chairman
was elected from among the assembly members. The chairman and the secretary
of the main committee are elected by the assembly during annual meeting. The
other sixteen members are the chairman of the branch committees.
From late June until late October, the committee is active and holds at
least one meting in each month, depending on the issues that have to be
decided. The major functions of the committee are to implement the decisions
of the assembly and supervise the overall operation of the main canal.
Branch Canal Committee and Farmers' Assembly: Initially, there were 15 branch
canals but one or more was added later to expand the irrigation command area
at the tail of the system. All of these branch committees have written
rules, account books, and minutes of the meetings. There are two
organizational units in each branch; the branch canal farmers' assembly and
the branch canal committee. Irrigation: P-061996 Jul 27.
- Rec# 4. ---, Irrigation,
farmer-managed, Chattis Mauja. Nepal. This system known as Chattis Mauja
Irrigation System is over 100 years old. he written regulations to
administer were approved by the members in the system in general assembly
in 1979.: This irrigation system with a command area of 3000 ha, extends to
6 village and Nagar Panchayats with a population about 25 000 in Rupendehi
district., Spatial: extending over the command area of 3000p ha. Social: The
land holders or operators within the defined service area of the irrigation
system of that user group. The land holders or operators has to furnish the
committee with a record of the share of water entitled to him and the local
committee registers his/her land area and entitlement of the share of water.
He or She then becomes the member of the group. The responsibilities of the
members of water user groups are (i) to provide labour in proportion to his
land for the maintenance of the main canal and village canal (ii) to attend
the meetings of the water users group at the village level as well as at the
central level (iii) to approve, disapprove, or amend the regulations in the
annual meetings (iv) to elect the officials of the water users committee (v)
to pay the fine for not complying with the rules of the committee if he
breaks a rule (vi) to get grievances redressed either through village level
committee or central committee.
The system operates through a 3 tier organizational structure with a village
committee in each Mauja, Regional committees each covering 6 village
committees and one central committee.
Village level committees are connected to the higher levels of the
irrigation management organization and responsible for making irrigation
system functional, consisting of two to five members. The old villages
usually have only two members, whereas in new villages there are up to five
members on the committee.
In new villages, the chief of the committee is called the Chairman and in
the old villages the chief is called Muktiyar. The Muktiyar or chairman is
elected annually by the water users of each villages. Other members also
are selected by the water users. Often times the same person will be
reelected chairman or Muktiyar and chaukidar unless the water users feel
strongly against the incumbent functionaries.
In many village committees, the chairman or Muktiyar and the Chaukidar are
remunerated by the villagers either in cash or kind. The range of
remuneration is between Rs. 500 and 1000 annually.
The regional committee is the link between the central committee and the
village committees. The regional committee is composed of the Chairman or
Muktiyars of six maujas. From among these members, one will be elected as
the Chairman of the regional committee. There are altogether nine Regional
Committees in the Chhatis Mauja Irrigation System. The chairmen of these
nine committees are the ex-officio members of the central committee.
The Central Committee is the most powerful body in the management of chhatis
Mauja Irrigation System. Previously, the decisions regarding the activities
to be undertaken for the management of the irrigation system were made by the
central committee meeting. In 1979 the central committee framed written
rules and regulations which were approved by the general body of water
users.
The central committee is composed of a chairman, vice chairman, nine
regional members and a committee-appointed secretary, two Meth Muktiyars and
two messengers. The functions and responsibilities of these officials are
spelled out in the irrigation regulation of Chhatis Mauja.
The village level canals are the responsibility of the village levee
committee. As far as the main canal is concerned, it is the responsibility
of the central committee to plan, to prepare the schedule, to mobilize human
and material resources and to specify the types of work to be done. The
village committee then complies with these plans.
In April, the annual meeting of the general assembly is convened. Thousand
of people participate in the meeting. The meeting is held in a central
location within the command area, often in one of the local high schools.
Those members who are absent from the meeting have to pay a fine. The annual
progress report, work schedule for maintenance and desilting, and financial
accounts are presented by the secretary to the general meeting. Progress is
reviewed, new proposals are discussed. (For example, who is to get the water
first, from tail end or head end) Accounts are settled and the date for
maintenance and desilting is fixed. In the same meeting, the election for
the chairman and vice-chairman are also be discussed. If the assembly feels
that the incumbent chairman and vice-chairman should continue for the next
term as well it is decided so. If they feel otherwise the date for the
election is fixed.
The desilting activity in the main canal is considered the most important
event of irrigation management. Now, this activity takes place during winter
season.
Each village is assigned the amount of work to be done. Such work is
assigned within easy reach of each village so that they do not have to walk
far and do not have to work in other villagers water inlet areas. However,
the construction of the diversions in the Tinau river is the responsibility
of all the villages. In an average, 60,000 people would be mobilized for the
maintenance of the system in a year.
. Irrigation: P-061996 Jul 20.
- Rec# 5. ---, Irrigation,
farmer-managed, Bhanu Bahara Irrigation System. Nepal. The local people
associate Bhanu Bharah with Bhanu Bahkta Acharya, a classical Nepalese poet,
for his contribution to construction of the irrigation canal that feeds the
plains of Chundi river valley in Tanahau district. Over time, the Bhanu
Bharah area under irrigation expanded.
Until 1961, the system was managed by the family of Bhanu Bhakta. From 1961,
this system has effectively made the transition from a family-managed system
to farmer-managed system. Bhanu Bharah has only one source of water to
irrigate 120 ha and strict discipline is imposed to distribute and maintain
the system.: The plains of Chundi river in Tanahau district. Currently the
command area is estimated to be about 120 ha., Spatial: The command area of
Chundi river in Tanahau district extending to 120 ha. Social: There are
currently 92 farmers participate in the system. Understandably, the system
serves the farmers in the command area mentioned. A committee of seven
me members are elected from among the farmers of the system in 1961. These
members have terms of one year which are subject to renewal based on job
performance. The committee consists of a chairman, a vice-chairman, a
secretary, a treasurer and three other members. They meet once every
fortnight.
The written regulations of Bhanu Bharah irrigation system mention the work
division of the members, facilities for the committee members, resource
mobilization, water distribution in normal times, water distribution during
stress times, and punishment and fines.
Maintenance is divided into dam construction and main canal repair. The
farmers have to contribute to both activities separately. Those who fail to
participate are fined. The fine is fixed at 50 percent more than the current
wage rate in the area. Committee members are exempt from contributing labor
for their land up to 20 mato muri (0.25 ha). In addition to maintenance,
labor is mobilized during crises (i.e. if a bund breaches or the brush dam
washes out).
The main canal is cleaned at least once a year. The main canal is cleaned
first, and then the farmers on the separate field channels clean those
channels. The irrigation committee supervises the maintenance on the main
system.
Each year, the canal is strengthened and enlarged to bring more area under
irrigation. Bringing more are under irrigation means increasing labor
mobilizing for repair and maintenance. Landowners are not compensated for
the land used to realign the canal.
Maintenance during the wheat or early paddy season is not considered a group
activity. The farmers who grow crops during these seasons are responsible
for system. Irrigation: P-061996 Jul 20.
- Rec# 90. Sandberg, Audun All
Our Eggs in One Basket. On Egg Sharing Institutions on the North Norwegian
Coast. Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Indiana University
Bloomington USA 1994., Collection, Gathering, Eggs, Seabirds. Norway. This
record describes institutions set up for collection and sharing of eggs from
nests of seabirds on the cliffs at the seafront of Northern Norway. Earlier
this activity was of great importance to the local people. The area was very
isolated and had to depend on self-reliance and the eggs has a high
nutritional value. Due to modernization, better infra-structure and a more
broad economical basis, the economic and nutritional importance of the eggs
has decreased drastically, so that today the institution is maintained
mainly because of social and cultural purposes but it also has implications
for the conservation of bird species. The example referred to in this record
is taken from the estate "Bleiksgaarden", a community of app.
600 inhabitants. Similar institutions can be found all over the region. The
institution is concurrent.,
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: Rights for egg collection are tied to the property right
of a farmstead. in this case Bleiksgaarden, which in 1950 had 156
farmsteads.
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: Eggs are shared among the estate owner, the skipper who
brought the collectors to the site and the people who took part in the
collection. As estate owners have to depend on the commoners for collecting
the eggs, usually fishermen fishing around the cliffs where the birds
reside, these will have a share of the outcome. Egg-collection requires
skills for climbing rocks and it requires boats for transporting the
collectors to the collection site. Collection is done from May 7. till June
1. The date of stopping collection is important. As most of the birds are
able to lay new eggs if the first eggs are taken, this date affects the
ability of the birds to have strong chicks before autumn. Within the period
collection is only allowed on certain days - normally every fifth day - and
all the shareholders should be present at the collection. No one can go
individually. In the case of Bleiksgaarden, the community is divided into 6
different parts which are of equal status and size. Population growth forced
the community to undertake a new practice in 1915. According to this only
half of the estate, 3 parts, would collect eggs each year. The other half
would then collect the following year. The collection is supervised by the
Islet King - an informal leader. The Islet King should know the conditions
of the nests: at which altitudes and at what exposure the various nests are
fit for harvest. Letter sent, April '96. Audun Sandberg, Workshop in
Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Indiana University, 513 N. Park,
Bloomington, Indiana 47408-3895, USA (asandber@indiana.edu). ed. CPR
s.35.3788.
- Rec# 15. Schillhorn van Veen,
Tjaart W 1995 The Kyrgyz Sheep Herders At A Crossroads Overseas Development
Institute London, Traditional, Pastoralism, Herder, Transhumance. Russia.
Kyrgyzstan was subjugated by the Russian empire in the second half of the
last century, it had mainly received support from Russia for more than a
century. With declining support from Russia it is now adjusting to new
economic conditions and suffering. The sheep herders were originally nomads
employing an horizontal and vertical migration system, but Russian
settlement forced this to change to a system of transhumance. After mining
sheep and wool production are the most important activities in the Kyrgyz
economy. Some of the important tribes of this region were Kazaks and Kalmucks
who occupied the dry plains, and the Kyrgyz who lived in the foothills and
mountains of the Tien Shan and the Pamir. They utilised a vertical migration
transhumance with high mountain grazing in the summer and settling in the
valleys and lowlands during winter. A minority of the Kyrgyz, mainly yak
herders, stayed in the high altitude region all year. Russian colonisation
during the 19th century changed this transhumance system substantially :
Spatial: The mountain areas of the Kyrgyz republic are covered with
scattered forests between 1200 and 3000 m, and with thick seasonal grasses
above 3000 m. Most of the country is above 1500 m. The climate is continental
and extreme, with cold winters and hot dry summers
Social: The Kyrgyz were organised in nuclear families and kin groups which
shared common winter camps. Summer pastures were often considered common
property of larger groups, and grazing rights were not strictly
defined. Grazing rights were based on kinship, although others within the
same tribe could be allowed to use pasture, especially in the mountains
where the "first come first serve" principle applied. Men did
herding, hunting and warfare, women were engaged in doing dairy, making felt
carpets . The tribal group is controlled by a chief. The chieftainship (manaps)
of the tribe is hereditary. Chiefs are assisted by law administrators (bii)
and military leaders (batyr) . Livestock:V-131996 Apr-1996 Apr 30.
- Rec# 22. Shah, Tushaar and
Ballabh, V 1986 Ownership use Rights and Community Involvement in Wastelands
Development Experience from Gujarat Institute of Rural Management Anand,
Contemporary, tobacco, food grains. India (Maharashtra). Due to heavy floods
in river Mahi in the year 1927, 1941 and 1949, fertile "bhatha"
lands were badly destroyed in few villages of Borsad Taluka.The small
farmers who were dependant on this land for their livelihood were rapidly
impoverished and most of them became landless labourers. In 1951, with a view
to help the distressed cultivators, at the request of Chhaganbhai Patel, a
dedicated social worker the Government granted 246 acres of "bhatha"
land, to 176 cultivators from four villages of Gambhira, Kathiakhad,
Nanisherdi and Bilpad situated in the flood affected area. The grantees
cultivated the land individually in small fields of one acre or so, but this
helped them very little because: 1)the batha lands were saline and had very
low productivity 2)the grantees had nothing to invest in reclamation, and
had to take water for their crops from the owners of water pumping plants in
return for half the produce. Moved by this pathetic condition of the
cultivators Chhaganbhai Patel suggested to the Govt. to organize the flood
affected grantees of the batha land into a cooperative farming society. In
1953, the govt. took decision of forming a co-operative farming of 176
families and entrust them about 161 acres of mostly saline soils under the
advice of a social worker, Chhaganbhai Patel.Today Gambhira co-operative has
291 members families with 460 acres of land which has become a prime
agricultural land. The total membership is divided into 28 groups of 8-16
members : This type of co-operative farming is prevalent in many other
villages of Gujarat and Maharashtra, Spatial: The land is located along the
right bank of Mahi river which forms a natural boundary between Baroda and
Kheda districts. The society's jurisdiction extends to the four villages of
Gambhira, Kathiakhad, Nanisherdi and Bilpad belonging to Borsad taluka of
Kheda district
Social: The following guidelines were laid down for membership of the
cooperative:
1. Only distressed cultivators whose names are included in the Government
approved list could become members of the Society
2. the members will have to work in groups
3. a group leader will be chosen from amongst the members of each group and
he will be solely responsible for the cultivation of the fields assigned to
his group
4. fifty percent of the produce of each group will be retained by the
Society to defray its expenses and meet its statutory liabilities, and the
remaining 50 percent will be distributed equally among the members of the
group. Each group elects its own leader from amongst its members. The
responsibility of the leader is to draw up a crop plan and work schedule,
and distribute work among members to indent requisite amount of bullock
labour and to provide overall supervision in addition to his share of work
as a member . In carrying out his duties, the group leader generally
consults with the Chairman, the members of the Management Committee and the
agricultural supervisors of the Society. For additional work the leader is
paid a bonus (0.75 percent) in proportion to the group's overall
productivity
MAINTAINANCE: The society employs two agricultural supervisors on a full
time basis. Their duties include preparation of daily report of the
activities of all the groups, submission of the daily reports to the
Chairman and Manager of the Society , provision of guidance to group leaders
in their work and monitoring and supervision of all the agricultural
operations of the Society. Besides, the Chairman, members of the Management
Committee and the Manager of the Society also visit the fields frequently
and provide on-the-spot guidance to the group leaders and resolve their
problem then and there
All members together elect a management committee of seven members and the
chairman of the committee is nominated by the cooperative department. CPR:
S-041996 Apr-1996 Apr 30.
Part of the information has been recorded from the case study prepared by
Katar Singh from the book "Managing Common Pool Resources"
(333.7-IIM library).
- Rec# 23. Shah, Tushaar and
Ballabh, V 1986 Ownership Use Rights and Community Involvement in Wastelands
Development Experience from Gujarat Institute of Rural Management Anand,
Contemporary, grazing land. India (Gujarat). Mehsana is a semi-arid region
in north-Gujarat with a highly advanced dairy industry, constrained by the
scarcity of fodder. In late 1978, the Coop dairy union of Mehsana took over
about 25 acres of the common grazing land in Charada village and developed
into a productive fodder farm to which all members especially the landless,
marginal and small farmers had access. Since then a total of 15 community
fodder farms have been started in Mehsana. Generally most farms take three
fodder crops a year, when demand for green fodder is not high available
surpluses are converted into dry fodder
Such type of arrangements in cooperative farming needs initially a high
capital cost of development, the bulk of which is cost of establishing
irrigation facilities and civil structures : Spatial: Not reported in the
text
Social: In case a member steals fodder from others' plots, he is forbidden
entry to the farm
* The Brul are not stated clearly in the text. The farm is managed jointly
by the village cooperative and the district union. The union has an Asstt
Fodder Development Officer, aided by three Supervisors, who provide
technical support and help in deciding cropping pattern, selling price etc.
The village cooperative's board of directors has a committee of 2-3 members
provide general management and supervision. Two permanent labourers
stationed on the farm carry out all farming operations and guard the farm's
property . CPR: S-041996 Apr-1996 Apr 30.
- Rec# 1. Shingi, Prakash M and
Bluhm, Louis H Participation in Irrigation Projects Changing Patterns in
Northwestern India Centre for Management in Agriculture Ahmedabad,
Traditional. India (Gujarat) . This is a century old community irrigation
system (Kuhl) managed and operated by Kohli (water tender) on behalf of the
water users. The Kohli's post is heriditary. For rendering services he is paid
in kind. At the harvest he is given equal amount of grain to the weight of
the seed sown. He is in charge of rebuilding the dams each spring and
coordinates and administers the distribution of water as well as other
social and political aspects of the system.: Spatial: It is a small isolated
village with 100 acres of agricultural land. About 47 acres belonging to 25
farmers are served by the irrigation system. The irrigation community is
operated by a "Kohli" on behalf of the water users. The kohli's
role is multifunctional. He is in charge of rebuilding the dams each spring
and coordinates and administers the distribution of water as well as other
social and political aspects of the system.
Maintenance: The community irrigation system involves construction of
temporary headwall in the gorge to divert water through a canal to the
fields. At the beginning of the season the work is started. Approx 144 man
days of work are required. The length of the canal is about 3 km from the
headwall to the first field .Waters flows continuously from one field to
another since the fields are sloped and finally drains into the gorge
downstream. If a person remains absent without valid reason during the
construction of the headwall, he is denied water for the season as a
punishment. During days of scarcity the Kohli decides on the quantity of
water to be allocated to each irrigator. This is done on the basis of the
size of the landholding. The flow is controlled by the width of the opening
at the outlet from one field to another. 1996 Mar 14-1996 Mar 14.
- Rec# 8. ---,
Traditional, Irrigation, Kohli. India (Gujarat) . Samloti is a neighbouring
village to Mumta. This is a old community irrigation system (Kuhl) managed
and operated by Kohli (water tender) on behalf of the water users. The Kohli's
post is hereditary. For rendering services he is paid in kind. At the harvest
he is given equal amount of grain to the weight of the seed sown. He is
in charge of rebuilding the dams each spring and coordinates and administers
the distribution of water as well as other social and political aspects of
the system.: These type of irrigation system are found in other parts of
Northwestern India, Spatial: It is a small village, the irrigation system
irrigates about 20 acres of paddy fields to 23 farmers. The irrigation
community is operated by a "Kohli" on behalf of the water
users. The kohli's role is multifunctional. He is in charge of rebuilding the
dams each spring and coordinates and administers the distribution of water
as well as other social and political aspects of the system. 1996 Mar
27-1996 Mar 27.
- Rec# 19. Shingi, Prakash M and
Bluhm, Louis H Participation in Irrigation Projects Changing Patterns in
Northwestern India Centre for Management in Agriculture IIM Ahmedabad Summer
school-Programme Material, Contemporary, lift- irrigation. India (Gujarat).
Soyara village has a population of 425 people. The system has been working
well since 1974. As such there was no irrigation system in place prior to
Govt. intervention. Most of the farmers grow rain-fed maize because their
lands are situated at a higher altitude in the Himalayas.
Under the Govt. program of soil and moisture conservation, the Department of
Agriculture had introduced a scheme of giving a 50 percent subsidy and a 50
percent loan to farmer groups interested in collectively owning an
irrigation system. As a result 16 farmers from this village joined together to
submit an application for lift irrigation project. The plan was to lift water
from a nearby gorge by constructing a pump house and installing a 15
horsepower motor at an average cost of Rs 1250 per acre and then
distributing water through open channels to the members.
The 16 farmers planned to grow paddy on a total of 23 acres in addition to
the maize which they were already growing : Not reported , Spatial: Not
reported in the text
Social: According to the procedures, certification to use water was premised
on the following agreements:
1)water was not used by anyone just to preserve water rights, and the annual
income of a member from all sources was less than Rs 6,000
2)To pay the expenses incurred by the state Govt. on the scheme
3)maintain the water source at their own expense after the scheme became
operational
4)obtain an electrical hookup at their own expense and to get the scheme
executed through the Office of Soil Conservation
Membership is not transferable, and no one is allowed to sell water to non-members.
This
policy restricts benefits to those who share the operating risks. Since it
was agreed that farmers would manage their own system by appointing a person
among them, a man who was also performing religious functions for the
village was selected to serve as a Kohli/pump operator. Depending on the area
irrigated, everybody would give him a fixed quantity of food grains for his
services
Maintenance: Minor repair work is carried out by the operator. For major
repairs, he seeks help from other members or uses services in nearby
town. Expenses are shared equally. Whenever there is a shortage of water, the
area under irrigation is reduced which is done by the operator after
consultation with others as to how much land will be irrigated. Under such
circumstances, everybody places an equal area under irrigation. Priority is
given occasionally to a person depending on his need of water for survival.
- Rec# 100. Stevenson, Glenn G.
Common Property Rights From Swiss Grazing to Global Environmental Change.
paper presented at First Annual Meeting of the International Association for
the Study of Common Property Duke University Durham USA 1990., Share rights,
Property Rights, Grazing, Common Property. Switzerland. Large parts of
Switzerland are covered by the Alps, a vast Mountain territory in central
Europe. This record, and the two other records referring to Glenn G.
Stevensons text, explains institutions set up for distributing use rights and
managing the grazing resources of pastures in the Alps. The grazing areas
are seasonal alpine grasslands, in this record referred to as "Alps"
(In local language "Alp" will refer strictly to the concept of
an alpine grassland). In the winter they are covered by snow, which will
melt during spring and summer. The Alps are part of a three level system;
Village level fields, May-fields located at higher altitudes and finally the
Alps at the top. In the spring, animals will first be driven to the village
fields and gradually, as the snow melts and grass is grown, they will go on
to the May-fields and finally the Alps. Village level fields and May-fields
are normally private property. The Alps can be both private or common
property, in which case rules has been set up for managing the resource. In
this record we will describe the concept of Share-right Alps. This type of
institution can be found all over Switzerland. The institution is
concurrent.,
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The Alp to which share rights are issued.
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: Holders of grazing rights. Most common alps will have
written regulations which can be altered by the current right holders. The
regulations will cover protection of and investment in the common, the
rights system, offices, maintenance of the alp, limitation of the grazing
season and voting rules. An Alp-overseer will be appointed to monitor that
regulations are not violated, and often he will have authority to give
fines. In the share-right system, the number of user rights issued for an
Alp is determined by the group of users by experience. They can also change
the number of animal units allowed pr. right (See below), to reduce or
increase grazing pressure. No letter sent. ed. CPR S.10.3788.
- Rec# 120. ---, Grazing, Alpine
Highlands, Cooperative. Switzerland. Large parts of Switzerland are covered
by the Alps, a vast Mountain territory in central Europe. This record, and
the two other records referring to Glenn G. Stevensons text, explains
institutions set up for distributing userights and managing the grazing
resources of pastures in the Alps. Often these institutions have worked for
hundreds of years. The grazing areas are seasonal alpine grasslands, in this
record referred to as "Alps" (In local language "Alp"
will refer strictly to the concept of an alpine grassland). In the winter
they are covered by snow, which will melt during spring and summer. The Alps
are part of a three level system; Village level fields, May-fields located
at higher altitudes and finally the Alps at the top. In the spring, animals
will first be driven to the village fields and gradually, as the snow melts
and grass is grown, they will go on to the May-fields and finally the Alps.
Village level fields and May-fields are normally private property. The Alps
can be both private or common property, in which case rules have been set up
for managing the resource. In this record we will describe the concept of
Korporation Alps. Korporations are ancient institutions which have survived
since the period between the tenth and thirteenth century, when villagers
claimed rights to many alps at a time. In the inner cantons (regions) of the
country, the Korporations still function as umbrella organizations owning
many alps.: Similar institutions can be found all over Switzerland. The
institution is concurrent.,
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: The "Korporation" is a corporate body of
citizens. Normally they will be members of families with certain surnames
derived from the old citizens of the district in which the cooperative was
founded. Use of "Korporation" Alps is limited to members of
these families. Userights can also be limited to residents of a certain
district.
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: Use-rights are given to the Alp\Alps owned by the
Korporation. Most common alps will have written regulations which can be
altered by the current right holders. The regulations will cover protection
of and investment in the common, the rights system, offices, maintenance of
the alp, limitation of the grazing season and voting rules. An Alp-overseer
will be appointed to monitor that regulations are not violated, and often
he will have authority to give fines. No letter sent ed. CPR S.10.23788.
- Rec# 110. Stevenson, Glenn G.
Common Property Rights From Swiss Grazing to Global Environmental Change.
paper presented at the First Annual Meeting of the International Association
for the Study of Common Property Duke University Durham USA 1990., Community
Alps, Grazing, Common Property. Switzerland. Large parts of Switzerland are
covered by the Alps, a vast Mountain territory in central Europe. This
record, and the two other records referring to Glenn G. Stevensons text,
explains institutions set up for distributing userights and managing the
grazing resources of pastures in the Alps. The grazing areas are seasonal
alpine grasslands, in this record referred to as "Alps" (In
local language "Alp" will refer strictly to the concept of an
alpine grassland). In the winter they are covered by snow, which will melt
during spring and summer. The Alps are part of a three level system; Village
level fields, May-fields located at higher altitudes and finally the Alps at
the top. In the spring, animals will first be driven to the village fields
and gradually, as the snow melts and grass is grown, they will go on to the
May-fields and finally the Alps. Village level fields and May-fields are
normally private property. The Alps can be both private or common property,
in which case rules has been set up for managing the resource. In this
record we will describe the concept of Community Alps.: This type of
institution can be found in various parts of the Swiss alpine highlands. The
institution is concurrent.,
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: Residency in the community/township is normally required
for using the Alp. More stringent requirements can be applied, e.g.
demanding that ancestors also came from the community/township.
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The institution covers grazing Alps belonging to a
community/township. Most common alps will have written regulations which can
be altered by the current right holders. The regulations will cover
protection of and investment in the common, the rights system, offices,
maintenance of the alp, limitation of the grazing season and voting rules.
An Alp-overseer will be appointed to monitor that regulations are not
violated, and often he will have authority to give fines. No letter sent.
ed. CPR S.10.23788.
- Rec# 180. Thomas-Slayter,
Barbara and Kabutha, Charity and Ford Richard Traditional Village
Institutions in Environmental Management. Erosion Control in Katheka Kenya.
from The Ground Up Case Study Series No. 1. Ed. by The Center for
International Development and Environment World Resources Institute African
Center for Technology Studies ACTS Press Nairobi 1991., Knowledge erosion,
Bench Terraces, Soil Erosion, Self-help organisations, Women, Workgroups.
Mwethya groups. Kenya. The Katheka sub location of the Machakos district is
an area of about 11 sq. km., including three villages with more than 1000
inhabitants. The overall number of inhabitants is 3500, distributed among
360 households of which most are farmers.
ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT: Katheka is a hill area with elevations from 1240m. to
1500m. With an average rainfall of 6-800mm. p.a., it is considered a
semi-arid region, and droughts occur regularly - every 3 to 4 years. The
long rainy season is from March to May and the shorter, but more reliable,
is from September to October. The Kalala River and springs located in the
surrounding hills are the major sources of water, but neither of these flow
year-round. As vegetation is sparse and soil porous, little protection is
offered when torrential rains cause intensive water run-off and massive soil
losses.
HISTORY: In the early 1900's large waves of immigrants arrived to Katheka
from nearby villages as British settlers had established two large coffee
and sisal estates close to Katheda. The estates already occupied 20-30 % of
the grazing land but in addition to this loss, the remaining land had to be
shared with the immigrants and their herds. This created problems of
overgrazing and expanding household agriculture. The population pressure on
land lead to severe crisis in the 1970'es when food production per capita
was declining and land use patterns had not changed. Resource degradation
was evident; soil loss, water shortage and excess tree cutting. In 1973
government appointed a new assistant chief for Katheka. In cooperation with
the village elders and informal leaders, he revitalized the concept of "Mwethya"
groups, traditional voluntary self-help groups, which had not survived the
colonial era, as more formal work groups and labor units had been promoted.
In 1987 12 Mwethya groups comprised 400 members of which only 40 were men.
The achievements of the Mwethya groups have been remarkable. Each group digs
a minimum of 1500m. of bench terraces each year. With 15 groups in the
community this sums up to an annual construction of 20km. of terraces which
helps soil conservation. Several check dams has been build, a few subsurface
dams and a hand pump has been installed in a well that now provides 100
households with water.: Mwethya groups has been used by Akamba people for
many generations. The institution is concurrent., SOCIAL BOUNDARIES:
Traditional Mwethya groups were strictly organized along clan lines. Today,
however, membership requirements are a common interest or need and a
willingness to share in group responsibilities, particularly cooperative
labor. A few groups require entrance fees
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: Katheka area of Machakos district. A "Mwethya"
group is headed by an elected leader and has a secretary and a treasurer
responsible for keeping attendance- and financial records, setting rotation
schedules, maintaining logs of work accomplished and related activities.
Furthermore, Katheka now has a council of "Mwethya" groups
known as the Katheka Womens Group, with a chair, secretary and treasurer
dedicated to coordinating work in community development. Letter sent to
Barbara Thomas-Slayter, April '96. Barbara Thomas-Slayter & Richard
Ford, International Development and Social Change Program, Clark University,
Worcester, Massachusetts, 01610 USA. ed. Eco. and Env. T.29.10496.
- Rec# 270. Vijaya Sherry Chand
and " Gauchara: Community Care of Cows.", Honey Bee Newsletter Vol.
6 No. 2 Ahmedabad 1995., Grazing, Pastureland, Animal Husbandry, Livestock,
Common Property. India. Many parts of Saurashtra have sizeable populations
of the Ahir community. The Ahirs trace their descent from Lord Krishna and
even today count care of cows and animal husbandry among their main duties.
For this purpose they use a system called "Gauchaara". ("Gau":
cattle; "Chaara": grazing) The system is believed to have been
evolved by the Ahirs in the distant past. In the current form it is reported
to have been practiced for at least three hundred years. The Gauchaara
described in this study is located in the village Tankaria.
ECOLOGICAL CONTEXT: The village is located in a dry region with low and
uncertain rainfall.: Most villages in Kalyanpur Taluka use the Gauchaara
system. The institution is concurrent.,
SOCIAL BOUNDARIES: All cow owners in the village are members of the
Gauchaara. Buffaloes and male calves are excluded from the system.
SPATIAL BOUNDARIES: The Gauchaara includes a fenced yard about a quarter of
an acre, a godown for storing fodder, a bull pen and a small irrigated patch
for green fodder for the bull. It only serves the villagers from Tankaria.
The affairs of the Gauchaara are managed by a committee which decides the
various norms and rules to be followed. Membership of the committee is
voluntary and is drawn from the community of elders. The size of the
committee varies, usually from eight to fifteen members. There are no rules
for changing members: When someone is "tired', he retires and a new
member comes in. Accounts are kept by a member of the Lohana community
(caste) in which bookkeeping has been a traditional skill. Every year they
are presented to the village by the committee. There is a strong belief,
that the institution is carrying forward Lord Krishna's efforts to protect
animals, and therefore there is an emphasis on total honesty in matters of
accounts. A caretaker (Gauchaara) has been appointed by the members to take
care of the animals. Every morning, the families hand over their cows and
female calves to him at the yard. He feeds the animals from the stocks
maintained in the godown, and then takes them for grazing and watering. By
lunchtime, the owners will collect them from the yard. The caretaker is
paid 8 Rs. per month pr. cow and its female calf by the cow-owners. - ed.
Honey Bee, Vol. 6 No. 2.-27184.
- Rec# 2. Vondal, Patricia J The
Common Swamplands of Southeastern Borneo Multiple use Management and
Conflict in The Question of the Commons The University of Arizona Press
Tucson, Traditional. Borneo. The case study focuses on an indigenous common
property system which describes the multiple uses of the swamp. The swamp
provides fish for the fishermen. The swamp water is a place to herd ducks and
also a source of food for the duck farmers. Several type of swamp water
vegetation are harvested by the men, women and children for family meals.
There is a plant "ganggang" (Hydrilla verticiliata) which is
supposed to be a very popular duck feed component said to increase ducks'
appetites. Some men use "ganggang" to make much larger traps:
Spatial: The village Desa Satu is located on freshwater swamplands between
the Barito and Negara rivers in the South Kalimantan province of Indonesian
Borneo which has a high population density.
Social: The Western part of Nortg Hulu Sungai Regency, where the study village
is located, is the locale of the primary sources of fertile duck eggs and the
largest center of Alabio duckling hatcheries in South Kalimantan. Land use
:All the dry lands in Desa Satu is privately owned. Individuals obtain lands
through inheritance in accord with Muslim rules. As the rainy season begins
the boundaries of privately owned lands disappear with the flooded
rivers. The area covered by water becomes a common property resource, whereas
in dry season only permanently inundated swampland is considered common
property.
Use of Common Swampland: This is an open access resource. Access to the
swamplands and flooded rice fields is essential for the duck farmers. At the
end of the harvest duck farmers are allowed gleaning rights to privately
owned fields where their ducks forages. As the flood water deepens the
privately owned village duck is allowed to swim in flocks freely throughout
the village territory. But as the water table lowers and lands become
visible, the fields are no longer treated as open access, since all the
available land in Desa Satu is privately owned . Once crops begin to be
planted ducks are not allowed to be herded in the fields 1996 Mar 15-1996
Mar 15.
- Rec# 7. Wollenberg, Eva 1986
Private and Common Property sources of Protein in the Philippines A
definition of the Farming System Paper prepared for FSR and Extension
symposium Kansas State University Manhattan, Fishing, Farming, Nutrition,
Protein. Philippines. Balinasasayao is a small community of slash and burn
farmers in the south eastern portion of the island of Negros. Approx. 30
households live within a five radius of two lakes: Balinasasayao and
Danao. The lakes are surrounded by an upland forest. Farmers field are located
within the forest. The community managed resources are the lakes and the
forest. The average land area managed by each household is about five
hectares. The volcanic soils are acidic, high in organic matter having
textures that range from sandy to loam.: Spatial: Lake Balinasasayao is about
100 hectares in surface area and that of lake Danao is 10 hectares. They are
deep, reaching 100 meters in depth at an elevation of 850 meters. A second
area commonly used for fishing is a swampy lake located 1 km northeast of
Balinasasayao.It is locally known as "tanke",which is approx.1
hectare in size and is quite shallow(1-2 meters)
Social: Fishing is done frequently by males and children between 9 to 16
years of age. The lake is used frequently by farmers living in nearby
communities. The lake shore households have territorial rights that permits
them to establish permanent fish collection devices. There is a 'first come
first serve'rule -one is not supposed to disturb the fish trap of another
person or place a fish trap near someone else's. The use of the tank follows
the same principle of rights used at the lake, only the nearby household can
use the tank CPR-W021996 Mar 25-1996 Mar 25.
- Rec# 140. Zorglub.,
Hypothesis: Market access threatens common property resources - Access to
markets means access to money and saving, thus better possibilities to cope
with low outcome years. Assurance in the form of commons is no longer
needed. - Better income possibilities. -- Can be traded into material goods
("Looks like forest, acts like a forest.") - It generally
creates independence of the community. -- People will concentrate on
products on which they have a comparative advantage and buy other products
from areas which can produce them cheaper than they can do themselves (McKean,
Siddiqi)
Only for certain ways of life ? - THE question: Why does this only apply for
certain kinds of common property: not water etc.: Products of common
property (land) must be directly tradeable in the market Not water,
grassland, air (Commodities of which over exploitation is evident to
produce long term scarcity.) These are resources used to produce an
outcome, which will often be tradeable in the market DOW!!!!! etc. but
crops, fruits etc. WHAT about fish -need territorial regulation (perimeter
defended) ? Construct relations between the common property commodity and
the product sold in market. THE NATURE OF THE PRODUCT which economical terms
describes this ? elasticity, luxury etc. - Hypothesis: The more integrated
(most intgr. e.g. clan or tribe) the less use of formal rules as cultural
norms and the exclusion option will have much more weight.
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