Role of collective action and policy options for fostering participation in natural resource management

Abstract

Community based management and empowering local communities are based on co?management, using local/indigenous knowledge, recognizing local institutions and the establishment of common property regime. Local users often have intimate knowledge of the resource and because their livelihoods depend on it, they have the greatest incentive to maintain the resource base. However, community based natural resource management can only succeed through building social capital, enhancing collective action, and empowering communities to be involved in policy and decision making. Therefore the objective of this study was to illustrate the importance of local collective action institutions, their contribution to natural resource management and policy options to foster their participation in natural resource management