Commons Tenure for a Common Future

Ruth Meinzen-DickCollection Action and Property Rights (CAPRi) Research Program

Environment, Production, Technology DivisionInternational Food Policy Research Institute

TimeShort Long

Space

Farm

Com-munity

Nation

Property Rights

Coordination

State

Colle

ctive

Ac

tion

Forests

Watershed management

Terracing

New seeds AgroforestrySoil Carbon

Integrated Pest Management

Irrigation

Seed Systems

Group

Importance of the Commons

• Whole landscapes or mosaics• Livelihoods of the poor, women,

pastoralists, fishers, forest-dependent communities– Fuel, fodder, medicines etc.– Often not marketed, not counted

• Environmental services: carbon, water, soils, biodiversity, pollenation

Does this mean…

Property Rights = Land Titling?

Collective Action = formal organizations?

Defining property rights

Secure Commons Tenure Requires• External recognition

– Collective tenure less likely to have state recognition, so more susceptible to “land grabs”

• Internal regulation– Provision rules: who needs to contribute what– Extraction rules: who can use what resources,

when and how– Knowledge of the resource– Knowledge of the rules, monitoring, sanctioning– Involvement of the users in setting rules

Further Resources• Resources, Rights and Cooperation: A Sourcebo

ok on Property Rights and Collective Action for Sustainable Development

• The six "ins" of climate-smart agriculture: Inclusive institutions for information, innovation, investment, and insurance

• This land is our land: Perspectives on land access and restoration at the Global Landscapes Forum in Paris

www.CAPRi.cgiar.org