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Researching Complex Governance Arrangements Elinor Ostrom’s Legacy for Research Methods and the Analysis of Institutional Design Derek Kauneckis Researching Complex Governance Arrangements 6 Elinor Ostrom’s Legacy for Research Methods and the Analysis of Institutional Design Derek Kauneckis1

Abstract

Many of our most threatened natural resources involve complex interactions with human and technological systems, each with their own rule structures that govern interactions within and across systems. The complexity of governing systems characterized as networked commons, multi-level nested institutional arrangements, socio-technological commons, and ecological knowledge production systems challenge our existing analytic toolbox. The study of these complex systems face multiple methodological and theoretical challenges, such as how to examine the multi-scale nature of institutional arrangements, dealing with the influence of endogenous and exogenous change on systemic-level properties, accounting for the variety of incentives and behavior of diverse social agents, understanding the impact of different nested structures of decision-making, and determining the influence of the configuration of networked interactions. Researchers and practitioners who seeks to understand the structure and function of complex governance systems often begin with Elinor Ostrom’s seminal work on the commons, and more recent research on socio-ecological systems. This article traces how Ostrom’s substantial body of research informs continued efforts to develop research tools for understanding the governance of complex systems. It begins with early work on the co-production of public goods in urban systems, traces her evolving thought on the critical role of institutions, and continues with recent research into developing a framework for the analysis of socio-ecological systems. The article highlights the centrality of Ostrom’s research for understanding increasingly complex natural resource systems and the co-evolution of management arrangements. It concludes by proposing that Ostrom’s work should not be seen as limited to the study of the commons per se, but rather represents the beginning of a new science of governance. Keywords: Complex Systems, Governance, Institutional Analysis and Development, Methodological Approaches, Natural Resource Management

1 Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Nevada, Reno. Email: [email protected]

POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

70 Understanding Governance in Complex Systems in Economics, the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework had already emerged as a major Governing theoretical the Commons: approach The in Many of our greatest natural resource Evolutionpublic policy of Collective analysis. ActionThe seminal work of management and conservation challenges Elinor Ostrom, involve highly complex systems that include (1990) has been combinations of ecological systems, resource cited over 16,000 times (Google Scholar) in utilization and management, and increasing almost a thousand different journals that technological infrastructure and interventions vary in subject matter from engineering to in natural processes. One of the hurdles facing eco-criticism, mathematics to music, and those involved in researching effective policy information sciences to cellular biology is the need to develop methodologies to study (Web of Science). Citations (Figure 1) have resource systems that involve multi-scale increased steadily year on year since its interactions, dynamic change and threshold initial publication, pointing to the increasing effects, heterogeneous social agents, and relevance of Ostrom’s work. Policy multi-level governance arrangements. While Matters different disciplinary approaches offer insight This contribution to the special issue of into various aspects of these systems, the examines the intellectual development research community at large has yet to adopt of a theoretical approach known as the a broad enough theoretical lens that is able to “Bloomington School of Institutional Analysis capture the system as a whole. Yet, progress and Development” (Aligica and Boettke 2009), is being made in untangling linkages and along with recent work on the socio-ecological causality in these complex systems, and at the system (SES) framework (Ostrom 2009). It forefront of this has been the work of Elinor outlines how this body of work has garnered Ostrom and colleagues at The Vincent and theoretical relevance for so many divergent Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory fields of inquiry, and ends with discussion of and Policy Analysis. its role in the future of research on resource governance systems. The article traces early The work of Elinor Ostrom has had a profound work on the management of large-scale water influence on the study of environmental systems and the co-production of public goods resources and, more broadly, on public in urban local governance systems, the role of policy and public goods dilemmas. Long institutions and collective action, and Ostrom’s before being awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize later endeavors developing a framework for

Figure 1: Citations by Year (Web of Science)

POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

71 the comparative analysis of socio-ecological district as a ground water basin systems (SES). Governing the Commons management enterprise and (6) the development of a management plan In the spirit of , I involving the coordinated action attempt to discern “common principals” and of several public water agencies… the qualities that have allowed Ostrom’s work (Ostrom, 1965: xvii). to resonate across so many fields, and better understand how her legacy, as well as that of The work begins with the nature of the her husband, Vincent Ostrom, has helped set problem, both in terms of the physical Tthehe foundations Development for new ofareas the of inquiry. Ostrom resource under study as well as the market/ governance failures associated with the Framework current system. Considerable effort is expended toward laying out the multitude of different private and public organizational Those aware of Elinor Ostrom’s contribution actors involved in water management. to rational choice theory might be surprised Public Collective action organizations are prominent. Entrepreneurship:to know her dissertation a case studyat UCLA in ground was water The focus on public entrepreneurship marks basinfocused management on public entrepreneurship. the beginning of an implicit model of how individuals are able to create new institutions is primarily a qualitative in order to prevent damage from overuse of case study analysis based on documentary the resource in certain situations. Based on material. As in later work, her dissertation work by Vincent Ostrom (Ostrom, Tiebout includes chapters on such non-political and Warren, 1961), the important distinction topics as “Topography” and “Seasonal and between production and provisioning Cyclic Variation in Precipitation”, which she arrangements is made, allowing for a subtle used in order to develop an explanation yet important differentiation of the role of public entrepreneurship around water of formal government organizations and management. A vision of what would evolve that of inter-organizational relationships. 25 years later into the Institutional Analysis Constitutional arrangements become an and Development framework is found in the explanatory variable in understanding summary of that dissertation: the outcome of the particular case her dissertation considered. The work is rich in …strategies of those who functioned discussions on property rights to land and as public entrepreneurs are examined water, legal structures and litigation, voting in a case study which involves (1) the rules and sanctions, forums for negotiating organization of a water producers’ water sharing arrangements and resolving and users’ associations to function conflict, and attempts to understand how as a forum for the consideration of these endogenous systems are able to adapt common problems, (2) the creation as the economic uses of water and changing of a municipal water district to technologies shift over time. provide a supplemental surface supply, (3) the use of litigation The dissertation foreshadows a long career to achieve a limited pro-rata investigating collection action problems rationing of the local ground water by concluding with the statement, “Every resources, (4) the development of society faces the task of finding appropriate institutional arrangements to test institutional means for providing the goods the effectiveness of a fresh-water or beneficial consequences desired by barrier against the sea and to place members of that society and avoiding the a prototype barrier into operation harms or adverse consequences resulting from along a one-mile section of the competition among individuals for the limited exposed coastline, (5) the design and quantities... This task may be accomplished creation of a water replenishment in a variety of different ways involving some POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

72 combination of individual effort and initiative Elinor’s participation in this work had led to on the one hand and centralized direction and a jointly authored piece entitled “A Political control on the other.” (Ostrom, 1965: 588- Theory for Institutional Analysis” (1971). 589). The articulation of institutions as the critical factor in successful common pool resource Research activity during her early career was management was then fully articulated in focused on investigations into urban service the 1977 paper, “A Theory for Institutional delivery, inter-organizational arrangements, Analysis of Common Pool Problems”, which the size and allocation of responsibilities incorporated insights from the wide variety of among local governments, and involvement in systems the Ostroms had studied in order to the debate over urban consolidation. At this develop a framework for analysis. point, her approach is firmly rooted in the public choice school of thought (Ostrom and Throughout the 1980s, a large of body of Ostrom 1971;The Ostrom Calculus 1972; of Consent Ostrom, Smith empirical research highlighted international et al. 1975). Public choice theory, based on case studies of successfully managed Buchanan’s , provided commons, which were then analyzed to the theoretical foundations for those finding enable identification of shared governance that empirical evidence countered the belief characteristics that appeared to form that organizational centralization would generalizable principles. TheGoverning results inspired invariably lead to improved efficiency. In the Commonseight design principles reported in developing their own method for measuring Ostrom’s best known work, urban service delivery, Ostrom and colleagues , which in turn spurred the rejected any single measure of performance development of a cottage industry of such as efficiency, and called for a plurality of researchers who sought to apply and modify measures in order to capture the complexity the principles by means of empirical case in these highly localized and heterogeneous study work (Agrawal 2002; Kauneckis and systems (Ostrom 1973; Ostrom, Ostrom et Imperial 2007; Quinn, Huby et al. 2007; Cox, al. 1977; Ostrom, Parks, 1979). The central Arnold et al. 2010). Elinor Ostrom continued theme emerging from this body of research to experiment with and develop new was that highly complex management systems methodological approaches for understanding are by necessity organized into smaller units the impact of institutions both at the micro- of responsibilities that correspond to local level of individual behavior and the macro- conditions, and often have overlapping and level of landscapes. Experimental methods even redundant responsibilities. While these were increasingly incorporated to better could appear inefficient and cumbersome understand the foundation of trust and to an outside observer, they have evolved to reciprocity that lay Elinor Ostrom effectively address local problems (Ostrom at the foundations continued to and Whitaker 1973; Ostrom 1976; Ostrom, of cooperative Parks et al. 1978). behavior (Ostrom, experiment Gardner et al. with and Building upon this work, Elinor Ostrom turned 1994), and remote to developing a more general theory of how sensing technology develop new institutions impact both citizen participation and geographic methodological and individual behavior (Ostrom, Parks et al. information approaches for 1978). These questions were considered in the systems were used context of the complex common pool resource to link institutions understanding problem that characterized the governance of and collective action the impact of Southern California’s water, which had been to landscape-level institutions. the focus of her doctoral work. The connection effects (Ostrom and between institutions and common pool Nagendra 2006; resources had its roots in the work of Vincent Evans, York et al. Ostrom on water and natural resource politics. 2008). POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

73 By bringing her work on institutional analysis natural systems (water and transportation and development together with that of infrastructure). Focusing on the origin of order colleagues (Berkes, Folke and Colding 1998, and the structure of governance arrangements, 2003) on social-ecological systems (SES), Elinor’s work (as well as that of her husband, Ostrom was able to further our understanding Vincent) is the logical starting place to help of complex governance systems (Ostrom us understand how natural resources might 2009). This work, in particular, focused on the be managed in an increasingly fragile global presence of local self-governing systems that ecosystem. are able to achieve sustainable management of resources and outlined 10 subsystem variables From her extensive body of work, there are associated with successful management. The common themes that point to its applicability framework provided a comprehensive list of across a broad range of fields and its role variables associated with resource governance as a foundation for the next generation of and specific details on the utilization of scholarship on resource governance. While not terminology related to interactions between having the pretense to offer a comprehensive Wsocialhy institutionsHAS OSTROM and naturalHAD such systems. a analysis, a reading of the literature suggests profound impact on the study of the following characteristics as being particularly pertinent: (1) highly localized governance? empirical work; (2) contextualized knowledge balanced with generalizable principles; (3) empirical research rooted in big theory; (4) I began with the assertion that scholarship methodological pluralism; and, (5) complex on the governance of complex systems often problems with diverse complex solutions. begins with the work of Elinor Ostrom. HighlyEach aspect localized is discussed empirical in more work detail below. But what are the characteristics of this body of research that have led to such a deep and lasting impact among both the academic research community as well as Elinor Ostrom’s research used empirical practitioners in the field? Large scale urban evidence to challenge our assumptions about groundwater systems, police service delivery, how complex systems function. Academics and coupled socio-ecological systems are all develop their own sets of simple cognitive complex management arrangements, often heuristics based on disciplinary training with multiple overlapping organizational and expertise to understand complex jurisdictions and responsibilities, diverse systems through research. For example, sets of social agents with claims and counter- there is a continued line of thinking in water claims on resources and the arrangements management circles that creating an agency through which they are managed, and layers with authority over an entire watershed will of legal, technological and social interactions necessarily lead to improved management, across which governance arrangements despite the fact that such policy actions are are negotiated. It is often reported that rarely feasible and there is little evidence the Elinor Ostrom’s principle contribution was outcomes generated are any better. In work on in understanding how the tragedy of the climate adaptation, the focus continues to be commons could be avoided. However, any on national policy despite the most interesting such view constitutes a narrow reading of a innovations taking place at local and regional much larger body of work. The central puzzle levels. By focusing on how citizens and local that motived her was how human beings are resource users themselves were able to deal able to develop governance arrangements with the challenges faced in the management for creating order in enormously complex of complex systems, Ostrom provided an systems, sometimes of their own design empirical test of our assumptions about the (such as urban services or political systems), relationship between people and natural at other times natural (environmental resources, and pointed the way to developing commons), or combined technological- better theory in the process. POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

74 The wide array of field locations in which details that may provide the next theoretical the Ostrom approach was developed also Empiricalpuzzle. research rooted in big theory provides the entry point for researchers from other disciplines. Water engineers interested in understanding how built systems Part of Ostrom’s ability to achieve that fail to provide the services for which they balance between contextual knowledge and are designed, invariably stumble across the generalizable theory was an underlying Ostromian framework that shows just how awareness of the big theoretical questions. important governance arrangements are While it is rare (except in her later work) for understanding outcomes. Conservation for Ostrom to make explicit theoretical biologists, intrigued by the presence of extant statements, some of the biggest questions forests in communally managed areas adjacent facing social science underlie her studies on to private agricultural lands, can access neighborhoods in Indianapolis, irrigation research that helps to explain the impact of systems in Nepal, and common pool resource tenure arrangements and their impact on the lab-based experiments. Are human beings ecological system. While the natural tendency inherently cooperative or competitive? Is of academic researchers is to migrate toward human behavior fundamentally rational? What the most theoretical of our disciplinary has allowed us to create human-made systems journals, the very broad base of diverse of such dazzling complexity as modern journal outlets and continual engagement with urban areas, airplanes and the internet? Is the world of practice that Ostrom contributed self-governance possible when individuals to and actively encouraged, has helped to exhibit such varying preferences, desires generate a broader audience for the theory and demands? What mechanisms do we and dialogue across disciplines. Contextualized knowledge balanced with have available that will allow us to maintain generalizable principles healthy ecosystem services with increased human demands? Anyone who considers such questions eventually comes across evidence While fieldwork provides “ground-truthing” to help answer them in Ostrom’s body of for theoretical assumptions, the Ostrom Methodologicalresearch. pluralism approach is about generating broad principles that can test scientific hypotheses. Studies of complex systems tend to be approached One of the lasting contributions of Elinor and from two perspectives, by those who seek Vincent Ostrom is a strong and dedicated generalizability and thus omit inconsistent commitment to methodological pluralism (see data from the final analysis, and those who Poteete, A., M. Janssen, and E. Ostrom, 2010). are so focused on the intricacies of a single This legacy is, in part, due to the training of system that they are unable to offer theoretical Vincent Ostrom as a political theorist and lessons that extend beyond their particular Elinor Ostrom as a political economist, but case. Approaches rooted in Ostrom’s work also emerged because of the very nature of the are able to achieve that careful balance of problems they investigated and the inability of capturing the details of a specific system any single method to capture the information while looking for those broad generalizable they sought for analysis. patterns of behavior. Inconsistencies in specific cases become new hypotheses to be Elinor Ostrom’s scholarly pursuits took in tested later in the field, the detail-rich case fieldwork and ethnography, statistics and studies become raw material to be carefully formal modeling, experimental methods coded into spreadsheets and analyzed for both in classroom settings and in field discernible patterns. The lessons for the rest of locations around the world, systems and us working on complex governance systems is agent-based modeling, and analysis with to pay attention to the enormous laboratory of remote sensing and geographic information constantly evolving systems around us and the systems (GIS). It is a challenge to think of POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

75 any single researcher who has employed of policy dilemmas require policy responses so many diverse methods in their scientific that are likewise multi-layered and scaled at inquiry. This methodological pluralism the appropriate levels. This was an enormous played a big part in Ostrom’s balancing of challenge to the traditional modes of policy contextual knowledge and generalizable analysis, which prefer simple answers to theory (Ostrom 2002). It emerged for very complex questions, and to disciplinary theory pragmatic reasons, given that no single that rewarded parsimony over complexity. method of inquiry was able to address the Ostrom proposed that the solutions to complex questions raised in the cycle of investigations diverse problems could be found in similarly and the new puzzles that emerged. How could complex diverse governance arrangements questions about individual-level behavior be T(Ostromowards 1995; a newOstrom science 2007). of addressed without experimental methods governance? in laboratory settings that were able to eliminate the effect of contextual variables? How can one understand the impact of cooperative behavior and collective action The legacy of the Ostroms, both Elinor among groups without comparative studies and Vincent, cannot possibly be covered of community characteristics? How can the in this short essay. The ability to carefully impact of human behavior on the physical disaggregate different units of analysis in landscape be understood without determining complex multi-tiered systems, develop a ecological change through remote sensing rich body of theory on the interconnections data? There was also a cautious modesty between human and natural system, and in not over-extending the applicability of recognize the linkages between scales of evidence from one setting into another. The governance are just some of the key lessons complexity inherent in each setting required they offer those of us researching resource careful analysis, not the creation of a new governanceVincent systems.and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in set of simple assumptions to replace former Political Theory and Policy Analysis misapplied generalizations (Ostrom 2000; The includes ComplexOstrom 2001). problems require diverse and a welcoming statement on the webpage that complex solutions the research conducted there focuses on how, “governance institutions can be crafted to enhance human well-being, while promoting One of the dominant themes in Ostrom’s democratic principles and sustainable research was how the dizzying variety of resource management”, and it remains one institutional arrangements—evolved over time of those rare intellectual centers of true to deal with the multitude of collective action interdisciplinary research. problems at multiple scales—represented the outcome of continued experimentation The significance of the Ostroms’ research and evolution, and that attempts to simplify is such that it will likely underpin future the institutional landscape tended to weaken scholarly endeavors to improve our collective effective governance. She considered understanding of ecological systems, human complexity in governance as testimony to behavior and governance systems. Many of the human innovation and creativity, not as focal areas of their work, such as institutional fragmentation and a barrier to improved analysis, trust, reciprocity, emergent systems, efficiency and more effective policy. A theme networks, and coupled dynamics are themes that emerged in her PhD research, and that that are not confined to any single discipline. permeated subsequent work on municipal As we grapple with the generation of new public services, was that external measures of knowledge to better understand and manage a local system are unlikely to reflect the needs a rapidly changing world and adapt academic and preferences of local users. She understood training to reflect new research challenges, that the multi-scale and multi-level nature the work of the Ostroms offers a unique POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

76 Economies of Landscape Change model of inquiry to follow. In the same 89: 111–29. way we understand a physical landscape Kauneckis, Derek and Mark Imperial. 2007. to incorporate multiple overlapping and International “Collaborative watershed governance in Lake interacting systems (geological, hydrological, Journal of Organizational Theory and Behavior Tahoe: An institutional analysis”. ecological, atmospheric, etc.), the Ostroms allow us to envision and investigate the way 10: 503–46. Public Entrepreneurship: in which human-environment governance A Case Study in Ground Water Basin systems function. Rather than research that ManagementOstrom, Elinor. 1965. differentiates into academic specializations, we can begin to envision a new science . PhD diss., University of of human governance—one that draws California, Los Angeles. on insights from multiple disciplines, and SocialOstrom, Science Elinor. Quarterly 1972. “Metropolitan reform: is directed toward understanding the Propositions derived from two traditions”. institutional and organizational structures 53: 474–93. through which we interact with the natural and manmade systems around us. Elements Ostrom, Elinor.Policy 1973. Studies “The Journal need for multiple of such an approach are beginning to develop, indicators in measuring the output of public agencies”. 2: 85–92. and trans-disciplinary research centers such Public Productivity as the Center for the Study of Institutional ReviewOstrom, Elinor. 1976. “Multi-mode measures: Diversity at Arizona State are beginning to From potholes to police”. gain prominence. The Ostrom legacy offers a 1: 51–58. Governing the Commons: body of canonical literature to seed not only The Evolution of Collective Action new areas of inquiry, but also the potential to Ostrom, Elinor. 1990. . Cambridge, Rdevelopeferences a new science of governance. UK: Cambridge University Press. Ostrom, Elinor. 1995. “DesigningProperty complexity Rights in to govern complexity”. In: Hanna, Susan and Agrawal, Arun. 2002. “Common resources and a Social and Ecological Context Mohan Munasinghe (eds.), institutional sustainability”. In: Ostrom, Elinor, The Drama of (pp. 33–45). Thomas Dietz, Nives Dolsak, Paul Stern, Susan the Commons Stockholm and Washington, D.C.: The Beijer Stonich and Elke Weber (eds), International Institute of Ecological Economics (pp. 41-86). Washington, D.C.: and the World Bank. National Academy Press. Political Science and Politics Challenging Institutional Analysis and Ostrom, Elinor. 2000. “The danger of self- Aligica, Paul and Peter Boettke. 2009. Development: The Bloomington School evident truths”. 33: 33–44. . London, UK: Routledge. Linking Ostrom, Elinor. 2001. “Decentralization and Social and Ecological Systems: Management Challengesdevelopment: to Democracy: The new panacea”. Ideas, Involvement In: Dowding, PracticesBerkes, Fikret and Social and Carl Mechanisms Folke. 1998. for Building andKeith, Institutions John Hughes and Helen Margetts (eds.), Resilience (pp. 237–56). New York: , Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Palgrave Publishers. University Press. Ostrom, Elinor. 2002. “Some thoughts about Cox, Michael, Gwen Arnold and Sergio Political Science and Politics shaking things up: Future directions in Villamayor Tomas. 2010. “A review of design Ecology and Society political science”. principles for community-based natural 35: 191–92. resource management”. PNAS 15: 502–38. Ostrom, Elinor. 2007. “A diagnostic approach for going beyond panaceas”. 104: 15181– Evans, Tom, Abigail York and Elinor Ostrom. Political 87. 2008. “Institutional dynamics, spatial organization, and landscape change”. Ostrom, Elinor. 2009. “A general framework POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

77 Science Publius for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological Ostrom, Vincent. 1973. “Can federalism make a systems”. 325: 419–22. difference?” 3: 197–237. Rules, Games, and Common-Pool ResourcesOstrom, Elinor, Roy Gardner and James Ostrom, VincentAlternatives and Elinor for DeliveringOstrom. 1977. Public Walker. 1994. Services:“Public Goods Toward and Improved Public Choices”. Performance In: Edward . Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Savas (ed.), Press. , (pp 7-49). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Ostrom, Elinor and Harini Nagendra. 2006. “Insights on PNASlinking forests, trees, and people Ostrom, Vincent, Robert Warren andAmerican from the air, on the ground, and in the PoliticalCharles Tiebout.Science Review 1961. “The organization of laboratory”. 103: 19224–31. government in metropolitan areas”. 55: 831–42. Ostrom, Elinor, Roger ParksPolice andStudies Gordon Working Together: Collective Whitaker. 1978. “Some evidence on the effects Action,Poteete, the Amy, Commons, Marco Janssen and Multiple and Elinor Methods Are of police agency size”. 1: 34–46. inOstrom. Practice 2010. the Lilliputs in Metropolitan Policing Failures? Ostrom, Elinor and Dennis Smith. 1975. . Princeton: Princeton University Press. Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Department of Political Science, Quinn, Claire, Meg Huby, Hilda Kiwasila Indiana University 1-25. and Jon Lovett. 2007. “Design principles and common pool resource management: Ostrom, Elinor and Gordan Whitaker. 1973. An institutional approach to evaluating “Does local community control of police make Journal of Environmental community management in semi-arid a difference? Some preliminary findings”. Management Tanzania”. American Journal of Political Science 17: 84:100–113. 48–76. The Political Theory of a Compound Republic Web of Science. 2013. Citation Search “Title: Ostrom, Vincent. 1971. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of . Lincoln: University of Collective Action, Author: E. Ostrom”, Accessed Nebraska Press. 4/10/2013. Ostrom, Vincent and Elinor Ostrom.Public 1971. Administration“Public choice: AReview different approach to the study of public administration”. 31: 203–16. Ostrom, Vincent and Elinor Ostrom. 1971. “A political theory forResource institutional Management analysis”. in theIn: GreatButrico, Lakes Frank Basin A., Joseph Touhill and Ira A. Whitman (eds.), (pp. 173–86). Lexington: D. C. Heath.

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78 Advancing Algonquin Recognition and Participation in Forest Management in Québec,7 Canada Rosanne Van Schie Advancing Algonquin Recognition and Participation in Forest Management in Québec, Canada Rosanne Van Schie1 Abstract7 The work of Elinor Ostrom was, in part, oriented towards understanding and promoting institutional arrangements crafted by local appropriators of common pool resources (CPRs). She examined and analyzed many cases “to develop a series of reasoned conjectures about how it is possible that some individuals organize to govern and manage CPRs and others do not” (Ostrom 1990). She was an advocate of “true” collective action, underpinned by a set of principles to address CPR dilemmas, such as “coping with free-riding, solving commitment problems, arranging for the supply of new institutions, and monitoring compliance with sets of rules.” Wolf Lake First Nation (WLFN) is an Algonquin community in Canada that occupies traditional lands in what are now the provinces of Québec and Ontario. This paper examines Wolf Lake’s struggle with “true” recognition and participation in the management of forest CPRs under the Province of Québec’s new Sustainable Forest Development Act (SFDA). The paper argues that Québec’s lack of recognition of Aboriginal Title and Rights deprives the community of their right to self- determination and equality in managing such resources. Yet, as Elinor Ostrom herself enjoyed pointing out, “people don’t like to be suckers!” The paper thus explores how changes to the international principles of Forest Stewardship certification offers communities such as WLFN an opportunity to address the inequitable distribution of forest resources and the limited role of Algonquin peoples in forest management on their own unceded territories. Keywords: Aboriginal Rights and Title, Algonquin, Collective Action, Commons, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Human Rights, Québec, Sustainable Forest Management

Plate 1: Algonquins, Jim St Denis and Chris Wabi peel birch bark to craft a birch bark canoe. (Photo credit: Mark Grandlouis)

1 Economic Development Advisor for Wolf Lake First Nation. Email: [email protected]

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80 “If we are not at the table, are we on the menu?” Chief Harry St Denis, Algonquin Nation of Wolf Lake during a presentation to the Commission on Agriculture Energy and Natural Resources with regards to Bill 57, the Occupation of Forest Land in Quebec and the Constitution of Forest Management Corporations. Quebec City, Quebec, 2009.

INTRODUCTION

The traditional territory of the Algonquin Nation includes the entire Ottawa River On March 23, 2010, the members of the watershed straddling the Canadian provinces National Assembly of the Province of Québec, of Québec and Ontario. Canada, gave unanimous assent to the Sustainable Forest Development Act (SFDA), The community of WLFN is made up of which changed the way that public forests 205 people, living not on reserve lands are managed throughout the province. Key but traditional lands within the Provinces orientations of the new regime include of Québec and Ontario, where they assert science-based ecosystem management, Aboriginal Rights and Title as recognized by integrated land and resource management, the Canadianthe Occupation Constitution. of Forest The Land First in QuebecNation is regionalization and certification. Although andin opposition the Constitution to Québec of Forest officials Management following Bill forests lie at the heart of First Nation culture Corporations57 ( and livelihoods, the SFDA was created in order to govern common pool forest resources ), which was crafted without through the constitution of regional forest adequate aboriginal consultation and rights management corporations—a process that provisions. Criticism is leveled at a ‘sustainable would dilute First Nation representation and forest development’ act that continues to rights. Mahingan Sagaigan deprive their people of equitable distribution Wolf Lake First Nation (WLFN), or of forestlands and legitimate participation in , is one of ten communities their governance. For WLFN, a key component representing the Algonquin Nation in Canada. of self-determination is a forest commons

Map 1. The Algonquin Nation (Cartography by Marcel Morin)

POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

81 framework that enables the community worth of responsibilities for livelihoodIn Review to participate in the management of forest security, cultural identity, territoriality, and resources without compromising their long- biodiversity (Van Schie and Haider, ). held values, rights and title towards customary Algonquins have developed culturally distinct lands or their independence as a sovereign ways to assess changes in their environments, people. In appearing before the Commission using such assessments to adjust their in 2009, Chief Harry St Denis of the WLFN resource use and occupation. As Roark-Calnek demanded that the community’s full spectrum (2013) notes, Algonquin knowledge should of rights and title be recognized rather than be recognized, considered, and actively disenfranchised through the development of incorporated into the monitoring of ecosystem new forest legislation. His requests on behalf and socioeconomic health. However, while of WLFN were demonstratively ignored. international frameworks such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Elinor Ostrom has suggested that respect, trust recognize the benefits of using Aboriginal and reciprocity are among the preconditions knowledge for natural resource management needed to move “beyond the tragedy of the and conservation, there is currently no commons”—crucial to building the social room within the Québec Sustainable Forest capital needed to create workable property Development Act (SFDA) to make use of rights (Ostrom 1998; Ahn and Ostrom traditional ecological knowledge in this way. 2008). This paper examines the historical devaluation of the role played by Algonquin For several years, WLFN has prioritized long- peoples in Québec forest management, the term strategies to restore ecosystem health damage this has caused, and how this needs through alternatives to government- and to change. It is the work of Elinor Ostrom and industry-led intensive forestry operations. other commons scholars that could help to These include eco-tourism and renewable inform such change in Québec, and specifically energy projects, along with improved forest Ostrom’s (2008) call for diversity in natural management planning and conservation. resource institutions in order to match the All such initiatives are based on a model social-ecological complexity of the commons. of self-determination and a history of In addition to helping fix historical injustices, traditional knowledge and land governance the creation of diverse institutional landscapes (Van Schie and Haider, In Review). As would improve the current conditions for Dr. Sákéj Henderson, of the University of First Nation recognition and participation in Saskatchewan’s Native Law Centre, states, DIVERSITYQuebec’s forest IN commons. SOCIAL ORGANIZATION “Pursuing self-determination will allow AND ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE First Nations people to be as they truly are, as opposed to how they have been re- created by Crown governments through such mechanisms as the Canadian Indian Act” Traditionally, Algonquin peoples’ social, HISTORICAL(Henderson 2010). CHANGES TO ALGONQUIN political and economic organization was based around watersheds, which served as FOREST LIVELIHOODS their transportation corridors and family land management units (St. Denis 2009). Speck (1915) notes how members of each From the late 1800s onwards, the regional regional band traditionally held a territory in economy around Wolf Lake was focused common, and this collectively held tenure was on extractive timber harvest and later recognized in alliance with other bands. Today, pulp and paper production. To facilitate ten Algonquin bands are recognized under the the development of a forestry industry, Canadian Indian Act, nine in Quebec and one Québec gave ‘open access’ to First Nation in Ontario. Together they form the Algonquin lands, including those of WLFN, so that Nation, a people who regard themselves as forest companies could maximize yields and ‘keepers of the land’, with ‘seven generations’ create more jobs. By the early 1900s, WLFN POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

82 traditional livelihoods came under severe development of the Québec Sustainable pressure not only from forestry but also from Forest Development Act (SFDA), which came farming, mining and trapping. Algonquin into effect in April 2013. Among the main property rights were flagrantly ignored during changes introduced, the Québec Ministry expansion of these activities (Morrison 2005), of Natural Resources (MNR) was given as were the inherent ‘conservation’ practices responsibility to develop a sustainable forest of the WLFN—the ‘seven generations’ management strategy (SFMS) and sustainable obligation to ensure all environmental forest management regulation (SFMR), along resources were sustained over the long term. with tactical integrated forest development Indeed, beaver and other fur-bearers were and operational plans. The new Act also brought to near local extinction by the 1920s. ABORIGINALintroduced the conceptTITLE ANDof ‘local RIGHTS forests’. AND More contemporary forestry operations FOREST DEVELOPMENT IN QUEBEC surrounding WLFN have been based on a ‘roving system’ that logs in different areas from year to year, based on stand age and distance from the mill. Ostrom (2008) referred to this Despite much rhetoric and fanfare, the SFDA as ‘roam and steal’ resource management, still sees decision-making power remain firmly arguing against it by simply stating that if, “you in the hands of the Minister, while First Nation use something year after year it just might just communities, forestry communities, forestry disappear”. Regional forestry tenures continue workers, theTML municipalities Daily and the regions to physically displace WLFN members, while only need to be consulted prior to a ministerial resource revenues flow directly to the forestry decision ( , May 24, 2013–No. 63). companies and to the government in taxes. Wyatt et al. (2010) state that aboriginal For WLFN, like most First Nation communities peoples in Canada present a particular in Canada, this brings issues of ‘privilege and case in relation to citizen involvement in oppression’ to the fore, issues over which they forest governance, given specific legal rights historically have had very little control or that need to be recognized in consultation means to object. processes (House 1998, Natcher 2001, Newman 2009, Pesselac-Ross and Potes It wasn’t until the mid-1980s that forest 2009). In this way, aboriginal peoples are company practices in Québec came under ‘not just another stakeholder’ but expect to be increased public scrutiny. Civil society groups consulted on a ‘nation to nation’ basis (Smith began to demand that the forestry industry 1996, Stevenson and Webb 2003). be held more accountable and both public and private industrial forests subject to In 2008 and 2009, WLFN, the Algonquin greater regulation. New forestry laws and Nation Secretariat, the Assembly of First environmental best practices were applied Nations of Québec and Labrador, and and organizations emerged with an explicit numerous other First Nations, made interest in sustainable forest management submissions to the Québec National certifications and forest conservation. Despite Assembly’s Commission on Labour and this, and the work of certification programs Economy to have their aboriginal rights and such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), title recognized in what is now the SFDA. public concern about the sustainability of Appearing before the Commission in 2009, the province’s forest management remained. Chief Harry St Denis of the WLFN stated that: Things came to a head in December 2007, when 400 industry, union, native, outfitter, Our experience with the internal and government representatives attended bureaucracy of the MNRF leaves us wary the first ‘Summit for the Future of the Quebec of Bill 57 resting these types of project Forest Industry’. Among the conclusions development decisions or approvals drawn was a need for greater consolidation, in the hands of a Chief Forester, MNRF innovation, as well as co-operation with or a regional CRE Committee. As such, local communities. The summit led to the there is the outstanding question for POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

83 us: If we are not on the table, are we on Chief St Denis’s message was clear—if a the menu? I think it’s important that government-to-government relationship Bill 57 recognizes our aboriginal rights is not recognized then WLFN would not and treaty rights. And I think it’s going participate. The Commission could have to be very difficult for us to be equal focused on the political process as a way participants, given the, you know, the to address the conditions within the draft regionalization. And so, what does that legislation that undermined Aboriginal mean for the future, you know? Is it going rights and title recognition. Instead, after to be like that for any major project that completion of the Commission hearings, the the First Nations want to realize, that Government of Québec stuck with Aboriginal the mayors can simply say: No… and rights exclusions and other than removing it’s always been our position that our the requirement within the Act for First relationship is with the Crown, not with Nations to obtain permits for firewood, the, you know, with the mayors. At first, Québec ignored all First Nation requests to the relationship is with the federal Crown structure Aboriginal rights provisions as and, since the federal Crown has passed per current Canadian Supreme Court case the, you know, passed the responsibility law. Continuing the institutional culture of for lands and managing lands to the Aboriginal misrecognition and devaluation, provincial Crown, well, now that’s our... the current version of the SFDA simply our relationship now with the provincial “takes account” of First Nations “interests, Crown, and we don’t want to see that values and needs” (section 6), which are then further diluted... for it to be a relationship limited in scope and content by being tied to with, you know, with the table of mayors, “domestic, ritual or social activities pursued who don’t necessarily have, you know, by the community” (section 40). Decision First Nations’ interests at heart. But in making support for WLFN economic rights this case we are put in a very difficult and self- determined interests within their situation, and it’s something that we just Aboriginal Title territory is not included cannot accept. in the forest legislation, thus exacerbating – CAERN-6 page 24, Quebec National continued problems of social and economic Assembly September 2009 inequality.

Plate 2: Chief Harry St Denis expresses his opposition to Bill 57 at the Québec National Assembly’s Commission on Labour and Economy 2009.

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84 DEVELOPING PROTOCOLS FOR BUILDING INSTITUTIONAL DIVERSITY MEANINGFUL CONSULTATION THROUGH POLICY AND LEGISLATIVE REFORM

In light of the above, how does the Government of Québec begin to meet the Today, Canadian Indian lands, whether consultative expectations of Wolf Lake and on-reserve or traditional territories, are other First Nations? The starting point must subject to a federal fiduciary duty and as be in recognising that Algonquins, like all such, the Province of Québec, like any other First Nations in Canada, began with both Canadian province or territory, is party to rights to their territories and rights as people the Government of Canada’s Comprehensive governed under customary laws. As Roark- Claims and Self-Government policies and Calnek (2013:13) explains, “Mutuality, respect processes. These set the framework for and consultation are integral to Algonquin negotiations around the extinguishment of social and political organization on a number First Nations’ Aboriginal Title and Rights. of levels: family to family, band to band, Diabo (2012) explains: and nation to nation. From an Algonquin perspective, the current consultation process Not only are these federal policies should be harmonized with that expectation.” inconsistent with the pre-existing The Algonquins have never relinquished sovereignty and constitutional the rights to their territory or their rights protection of Aboriginal and Treaty as Anishinabe people. Yet neither have they Rights, which Canadian First been hostile in the face of persecution from Nations have fought and struggled outside powers. Indeed, they enjoyed many for over the centuries, but these co-operative arrangements in the early federal policies are in breach of beginnings of what is now Canada. They were internationally recognized human allies with the French and assisted in the rights of Indigenous Peoples. exploration, settlement and development of Nouvelle France. They then signed treaties Even the best intentioned efforts of the of Peace and Friendship and the Royal Constitution Act (Section 35) and subsequent Proclamation with the British between 1760- Supreme Court decisions in Canada are estranged when it comes to Québécois 1764, asIn co-operative Review agreements to protect their peoples and territory (Van Schie and provincial policies, which consider that all negotiations take place under the paternalistic Haider, Constitution) and acknowledge Act their rights. In 1982, the Government of Canada framework of the federal comprehensive passed the , within which claims policy rather than co-sovereign Section 35 recognizes and affirms “existing” arrangements. Consequently, Ministries aboriginal and treaty rights in Canada. and their agents fail to listen to and support the bio-cultural and economic interests of Because of this history, WLFN has told the communities such as WLFN as partIn Review of a Government of Québec that the answer meaningful forestry consultation or planning lies in coming together under a meaningful onlyprocess (Van Schie and Haider, ). consultation protocol—one that allows When government officials presume that both parties to speak on a government-to- they can make authoritative rules, then government basis. WLFN believes that the sustaining a self-organized regime becomes SFDA can be amended so as to recognize and very difficult (Johnson and Libecap 1982). respect the ‘wide spectrum’ of aboriginal rights and title. If this doesn’t happen, This brings us back to Ostrom’s work, which First Nations will continue to be treated as provides an insight into what may be needed mere ‘stakeholders’ without regard to their to move things forward. In 2008, she talked constitutional status and internationally about how governments should ‘evolve recognized human rights as indigenous institutional diversity’. What this refers to peoples (Diabo 2013). in the Québec case is the adaptation of the POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

85 existing mono-cultural institution and/or the of the Québec government and FSC certified fostering of new institutional arrangements forestry companies to First Nations in order that recognise aboriginal rights and title thus to ensure continued compliance with FSC empowering communities to enter into co- Principle 3 in the FSC Great Lakes St. Lawrence operative schemes—schemes that respect and National Boreal Standards prior to the and recognize First Nation rights, values and Québec Sustainable Forest Development Act priorities even when different to those of taking effect on April 1, 2013.” The motion dominant society. As Ostrom (2008) stated, was passed and the Québec Tenure Transfer “We have got to understand the institutional Transition Team (QTT-TT) was developed. FSC diversity that is out there, because if we are Canada then commissioned a Gap Analysis actually going to protect biodiversity and not Report (August 2012), prepared by Sara just have simple systems where there are Teitelbaum and Stephen Wyatt, that analyzed many species interacting we have to have local the gaps and synergies that exist between knowledge that is rich about those ecologies. the authority of the Québec regime and FSC So we have to have institutions that match the forest management requirements (GLSL complexity of the systems that are evolved and National Boreal Standards). Specifically and those systems have to be complex, so my related to the rights of aboriginal peoples, motto will be, ‘Build enough diversity of the the following principle and criteria were world and allow multi-tier systems at multiple highlighted:Principle #3: Indigenous peoples’ scales so that you don’t have an uniform rights top down panacea that is predicated to cure everything and instead of curing it, kills it.’” It is this kind of respectful multi-tier system The legal and customary rights of that could provide WLFN with the political indigenous peoples to own, use and space to work in partnership with industry manage their lands, territories, and and government agencies. However, it remains resources shall be recognized and to be seen whether the Québec SFDA can be respected. reformed to recognize traditional ecological 3.1 Indigenous peoples shall control knowledge and other legal specificities of forest management on their lands First Nations land use, and allow the kind of and territories unless they delegate institutional diversity that Ostrom calls for to control with free and informed flourish. THE IMPACT OF THE FSC consent to other agencies. CERTIFICATION TRANSFER AND NEW PRINCIPLES 3.2 Forest management shall not threaten or diminish, either directly or indirectly, the resources or tenure rightsSites of indigenousof special cultural, peoples. Under the new SFDA legislation, all industry- ecological, economic or religious 3.3 held FSC certificates in Québec were intended significance to indigenous peoples to transfer from industry to government in shall be clearly identified in 2013 (Ministère de ressources naturelles - cooperation with such peoples, and MRN). In 2011, at the FSC Canada Annual recognized and protected by forest General Assembly, WLFN tabled a motion managers pertaining to the Québec transfer plan, which [emphasis added]. was seconded by the National Aboriginal Forestry Association. It proposed, “FSC 3.4 Indigenous peoples shall be Canada shall establish a Québec regional compensated for the application working group process with participation of their traditional knowledge from FSC Canada, Québec government, regarding the use of forest species FSC certifiers, FSC certified companies and or management systems in forest interested First Nations, as soon as possible, operations. This compensation shall to clarify the obligations and responsibilities be formally agreed upon with their POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

86 free and informed consent before conditions”. While more work is obviously forest operations commence. needed, the FSC’s newly aligned international certification standards could be a foundation In 2012, MRN reiterated its intent to assume towards broader legislative reforms of forest companies’ FSC Forest Management the SFDA in Québec—presuming that the certificates for 30 million hectares of forest Québec government does not replace the FSC lands and developed a Protocol for Forest framework with its own lesser version or Management Certificate Transfer, which was industry abandons FSC certification under the approved by FSC International. However, burdenCONCLUDING of evolving REMARKS compliance. in 2013, the Quebec government decided to transfer responsibility back to the forest Deepening Democracy companies. They cancelled the Forest Institutional Innovations in Empowered Management Certificate Transfer Protocol and ParticipatoryIn his preface Governanceto entered an agreement with the Quebec Forest Industry Council that would enable industry , Wight notes that, to remain the FSC certification applicant and “nurturing clear-sighted understandings of certificate holder under the new SFDA. what it would take to create social institutions free of oppression is part of creating a In 2015, FSC International will improve and political will for radical social changes align its certification standards in accordance to reduce oppression”. Moving forward with a set of new principles and criteria with ‘true’ (sustainable forest) management being developed around key articles of the actions in Québec will require partnership United Nations Declaration on the Rights with First Nation communities like Wolf of Indigenoushave the Peoples right to(UNDRIP). participate This in UN Lake, but for this to happen, political will is decision-makingDeclaration makes clear that Indigenous needed to end First Nation discrimination and peoplesfree, prior and informed consent carry out amendments to SFDA policy and and that States must obtain legislation. their before adopting and implementing legislative or After a long history of oppression, it is time administrative measures that may affect them that aboriginal communities like WLFN (Hill Sloan 2008). Given this situation, local are able to establish a common vision of forest companies find themselves in a rather sustainable forest management through uncertain position when trying to retain their co-sovereign relationships. If Québec and forest certificate on WLFN lands, precisely the federal governments continue to play a because WLFN asserts Aboriginal Title version of what Ostrom (1990) described and Rights but have yet to be meaningfully as “the Prisoner’s Dilemma Game”, which acknowledged or consulted by MNR with forces First Nation’s to take a disempowered regards to their forestry plans. An opportunity role in a forest regime to which they do not thus exists through FSC for WLFN and subscribe, it is likely that costly legal and other First Nations in Québec to work with international forest certification challenges government and local forestry companies will ensue. As long as mainstream society to implement aboriginal principles and continues to devalue First Nation peoples and criteria outside the scope of the current SFDA their historical knowledge of complex eco- legislation. systems, we will not succeed in developing truly sustainable forest management practices It is here that Elinor Ostrom’s work on in Canada. It is for this reason that First Nation collective action theory offers further communities like WLFN will continue the lessons and guiding principles. As Ostrom struggle for recognition and participation (2009:11) noted, when resource user groups in the management of Québec’s forest work side-by-side, “they may have back up commons—a struggle that will hopefully arrangements that enable them to utilize each encourage other collectives to strive for the other’s resource under commonly understood kind of participatory, democratic governance POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

87 Empowered Participatory Governance arrangements that Ostrom pushed so hard for (pp.225- in both her scholarship and advocacy. 237). London, UK: Verso. Comments Regarding the Government of Quebec’s Interim This case highlights the struggles that First GuideAlgonquin for Consulting Nation Secretariat. First Nations 2011. (Updated Nations face in managing their commons, Version 2008) especially in the face of competing and often very powerful interests. For WLFN, as well . April 5, 2011. Available as other First Nations in the Province and in at: http://www.defendersoftheland.org/ Canada more generally, a key component of story/235 their struggle for self-determination concerns Ahn, Toh-Kyeong and Elinor Ostrom. 2008. development of a forest commons framework “Social capital and collectiveThe action”.Handbook In: of that enables communities to participate in the SocialCastiglione, Capital Dario, Jan W. van Deth and management of local forest resources without Guglielmo Wolleb (eds.), compromising long-held values, rights and . New York: Oxford University title or their independence as a sovereign Press. 744pp. Bio-cultural people. Elinor Ostrom’s work offers guidance Community Protocols: A Community Approach Bavikatte, K. and H. Jonas. 2009. to Wolf Lake, industry, and government alike, to Ensuring the Integrity of Environmental Law by helping forest actors envision what a and Policy collective action partnership requires, both . Montreal, Canada: Natural Justice in terms of institutional change as well as an and UNEP. enabling policy/legislative environment. In the spirit of Ostrom’s undimmed optimism, this Borrows, John. 1997. “Wampum at Niagara: paper shows that despite the myriad of issues The Royal Proclamation, Aboriginal Canadianand Treaty legal Rights in and tensions to be negotiated, the opportunity Canada:history and Essays self-government”. on Law, Equity, In: and Asch, Respect for for First Nations to partner with industry on a DifferenceMichael (ed.), more equitable footing, based on key articles of the United Nation Declaration on the Rights . Vancouver, Canada: UBC Press. of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and key Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. Available criteria of the Forest Stewardship Council at: http://forestierenchef.gouv.qc.ca/images/ (FSC) is apparent. This would be a critical stories/BAFD/accueil/en/Assessment_of_the_ step in developing resource management State_of_Forests.pdf approaches that challenge and ultimately begin to erode Canada’s institutionalized Diabo, Russell. 2013. Conversations with culture of Aboriginal misrecognition and author. economic inequality. Proposed revisions Forest Stewardship Council Canada. Available to FSC Principle 3, based on UNDRIP, will at: https://ca.fsc.org/quebec-tenure- provide communities like WLFN a means to transfer.245.htm Uncertainty in Québec’s increase their influence over land use without Forests, Logging and Sawmilling Journal Frigon, Martine. 2012. extinguishing their rights or devaluing who . they are as a people. This reflects the true July/August 2012. Available at: http://www. definition of sustainable forest management forestnet.com/LSJissues/july_august_2012/ and a growing international consensus that uncertainty.php Bill 57- forests should be managed to meet the social, Sustainable Forest Development Act, Chapter economic, ecological, cultural and spiritual II-Government Provisions ofSpecific Québec. to Native2009. Communities Rneedseferences of present and future generations. . Québec Official Publisher. Protected Areas in Québec: A Lifelong Heritage. Government of Québec. 2008. Abers, Rebecca N. 2003. “CyclesDeepening of reform in Porto Alegre and Madison”. In: Fung, Archon Québec City, Democracy: Institutional Innovations in Québec. Pursuing Self and Erik Olin Wright (eds.), Henderson, Sákéj. 2011. POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

88 Determination. Land use policy Presentation made to Assembly the duty to consult: A misrepresentation of the of First Nations - Special Chiefs Assembly, aboriginal landscape”. 18(5): December 2011, Ottawa, Ontario. 113-122. Sustainable Development WLFN memoire to the Commission on and the Tragedy of the Commons LabourHendrickson, & Economy Barbara regarding and Rosanne the Working Van Schie. Ostrom, Elinor. 2008. Document2008. ‘The Occupation of Forest Land . Stockholm in Québec and the Constitution of Forest Whiteboard Seminar, Stockholm Resilience Management Corporations’. Centre TV: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=ByXM47Ri1Kc Québec, Canada. Ostrom, Elinor. 2009. “Design principles of Available at: robust property-rightsProperty Rights institutions: and Land What Policies. have http://www.mddep.gouv.qc.ca/biodiversite/ we learned?” In: Ingram, Gregory and Yu-Hung reserves-bio/reservebio_tableau.pdf First Nation Consultation Framework Project Hong (eds.), ReportHill Sloan Associates Inc. (Consultants). 2008. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective . Presented to The National Centre For ActionOstrom, Elinor. 1990. First Nations Governance.

House, David R. “Aboriginal claimsThe Forestry and the . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University forestry industry: Claims processes and recent Press. Chronicle Assessment of the State of Forests and Québec’s developments in the courts”. PerformanceQuébec Chief in Forester’s Sustainable Office. Forest 2008. Management 74(3): 334-342. Logjam: Deforestation and the Crisis of Global 2000-2008 GovernanceHumphreys, David. 2006. . Roberval (Québec). . London, UK: Earthscan. Roark-Calnek, Sue. 2013. Cultural Impacts Québec Amerindians and Assessment. Document prepared for Wolf Lake InuitInterministerial of Québec. Interim Support guide Group for on consulting Aboriginal First Nation and Eagle Village First Nation- theConsultation. Aboriginal 2008. communities Kipawa, Quebec. The Last Panda . Gouvernement Schaller, George B. 1994. . du Québec. Available at: www.autochtones. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. gouv.qc.ca, under the “Publications and Schlosberg, David. 2004. “Reconceiving documentation”. Environmental Politics environmental justice: Global movements Johnson, Ronald N. andAmerican Gary D. Economic Libecap. Review 1982. and political theories”. “Contracting problems and regulation: The 13(3): 517-540. case of the fishery”. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 SFU Center for Education, Law and Society 72(5): 1005–23. Towards Conservation and How it Affects Aboriginal Issues in Canada and Justice: Options for Collaborative Efforts Today(CELS). 2011. byLynch, IUCN Owen to Address J. 2011. Human Rights Concerns and Complaints Related to Conservation (p. 9). Available at: http://cels.sfu.ca/ Aboriginal Participation Initiatives teachingApproaches/royal-proclamation.pdf in Forest Management: Not Just Another Smith, Peggy. 1997. . Paper presented at the Sharing Stakeholder: NAFA Position Paper. Power Conference, Whakatane, Aotearoa (New

Zealand), January 2011. Cultural Heritage National Aboriginal Forestry Association, Morrison, Jim. 2005. “Algonquin history in the Pikwàkanagàn, Ontario. The Role Ottawa River watershed”. In: of Indigenous Peoples in Biodiversity Sobrevila, Claudia. 2008. (pp. 17-32). Accessed June 7, 2013 at: http:// Conservation: The Natural but often www.thealgonquinway.ca/pdf/algonquin- Unforgotten Partners history.pdf . The International Bank Natcher, David C. 2001. “Land use research and for Reconstruction and Development, The POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

89 World Bank. Available at: TML Daily. 2013. “Whose Resources? Our http://siteresources.worldbank.org Resources! Who Decides? We Decide!” May INTBIODIVERSITY/Resources 2013, No. 63 RoleofIndigenousPeoplesinBiodiversity National Round Table on the Environment, Conservation.pdf and the Economy.Climate 2011. Prosperity, “Paying the price: Speck, Frank G.American 1915. “The Anthropologist family hunting The economic impacts of climate change for band as the basis of Algonkian social Canada”. In: Report 04: p. organization”. 17(2): 112. National Round Table. 289-305. Fish Out of Water Van Schie, Rosanne and Wolfgang Haider. In St. Denis, Chief Harry. 2009. . review. “Indigenous-based approaches to APTN Series. InterINDigital Entertainment territorial biodiversity conservation: A case (Ottawa Ontario) Joe Media Group (Calgary Conservation and Society study of the Algonquin Nation of Wolf Lake”. Alberta) Mamiwinni FSC Forest Management Tenure Transfer in Teitelbaum Sara and Stephen Wyatt. 2012. Adisokan: The Algonquin Story Quebec Summary of Gap Analysis Report Wolf Lake First Nation. 2010. . Historical and . Forest Cultural Interpretive Kiosk, Quebec, Canada. Stewardship CouncilLiving (FSC), Proof: Toronto, The Canada. Essential Data-Collection Guide for Indigenous Use and Wyatt, Stephen, Jean-François Fortier and Tobias,Occupancy Terry. Map 2010. Survey Catherine Martineau-Delisle. 2010.”First . Vancouver, Canada: Nations’ involvementThe Forestry in forestChronicle governance in Union of BC Indian Chiefs. Quebec: The place for distinct consultation processes.” 86(6): 730- Tobin, Brendan. 2009. “Setting protection 741. of TK to rights: Placing human rights and Geneticcustomary Resources, law at the Traditional heart of TKKnowledge governance”. Wyatt, Stephen. 2008. “First Nations, forest andIn: Kamau, the Law: Evanson Solutions C and for AccessGerd Winter and Benefit (eds.), lands andCanadian “aboriginal Journal forestry” of Forest in Canada: Research Sharing From exclusion to co-management and beyond”. (pp. 101-119) London, UK: Earthscan. 38(2): 171-180.

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90 From Theory to Practice A Decade of Co-managing Pasture and Other Natural Resources8 in Mongolia Hijaba Ykhanbai and Ronnie Vernooy From Theory to Practice A Decade of Co-managing Pasture and Other Natural Resources in Mongolia Hijaba Ykhanbai1 and Ronnie Vernooy2 Abstract8 Elinor Ostrom’s work has been the principal inspiration for a number of research and development initiatives in Mongolia aimed at designing, testing and assessing viable forms of natural resources co-management that build on traditional nomadic practices. One such initiative, begun in 1999, introduced co-management in four different ecosystems of the country. It was based on the hypothesis that under Mongolian state ownership of pastureland and private ownership of livestock, a co-management system—with clear roles and responsibilities among herders, their communities and local governments—could offer a means to reduce the pasture degradation and overgrazing that had been increasing in intensity over recent decades. Based on the results and lessons learned from fifteen years of participatory action research, the efforts at these four sites demonstrate that if all stakeholders strongly support co-management it can be a tool to overcome the “tragedy of the commons.” For this to happen, appropriate policies and legal support is needed to enable local- and multi-level collaboration. Introducing sustainable management methods such as pasture improvements, combined with new livelihood options, including the production and marketing of local products, can reduce the degradation of pastures, contribute to better livelihoods and recover the cost of environmental externalities. Keywords: Ostrom, co-management, Mongolia, pasture, natural resources

1 2 Director of Environment and Development Association “JASIL” Email: [email protected] Genetic Resources Policy Specialist, Bioversity International. Email: [email protected]

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92 INTRODUCTION

initiatives aimed at designing, testing and assessing viable forms of so-called co- Pasture management systems in Mongolia management of natural resources, which cannot be characterized as open access build on and further develop traditional systems; rather, their features are more akin to nomadic practices in the country. Our applied those of a common property regime (Ostrom research efforts can be counted among 1990). In the context of Mongolia, Ostrom’s these initiatives. Starting in 1999, a multi- work on common property institutions disciplinary research team was formed with has been used to introduce, put in practice members from two Mongolian ministries, and assess co-management strategies three universities and two non-government and community-based natural resource organizations. In each of the four project sites, management (Ykhanbai et al. 2004). Common we partnered with members of district-level pool resources exist where one person’s use co-management teams, including the district of a resource subtracts from another’s, and governor and other officials, herder leaders where it is often necessary, although difficult and representatives of civil society, such and costly, to exclude other users outside as teachers. We promoted co-management the group from using the resource (Ostrom arrangements based on the hypothesis 1990). Around the world, the work by Ostrom that clear roles and responsibilities among and colleagues has been instrumental in all stakeholders, including herders, their contextualizing and critiquing Hardin’s communities and local governments, working “tragedy of the commons” argument. This is under Mongolian state ownership of pasture also the case for Mongolia (Ykhanbai 2011, land and private ownership of livestock, Vernooy 2011). would help reduce the pasture degradation and overgrazing that had been increasing at The work of Ostrom and others has been an alarming rate It has been important for identifying the shortcomings of (Ykhanbai et al. Ostrom’s work “tragedy” thinking. However, the alternative 2004) (Photo 1). that has been theory they put forward has been criticized for Environmental not paying enough attention to the dynamic degradation the principal nature of (local) history and for embracing was taking inspiration a “deductive model of individual decision- place parallel making and rational choice to explain the ways to the erosion for several in which different types of property rights of traditional Mongolian arrangements emerge and change over time” customary research and (Johnson 2004: 409). Central to the criticism practices as a of their work has been a political economy new Mongolian development approach that focuses on the role of rights, state structure initiatives aimed negotiated access, and conflict over resources, and associated at designing, including an analysis of socio-economic and governance gender inequality, and inclusion and exclusion process emerged, testing and in relation to natural resources. Such a rights- influenced by assessing or entitlements-based approach centres contemporary viable forms of on relations between natural resources theories of (management) and poverty. natural resource so-called co- management. We acknowledge the important contributions management made by both of these theoretical schools Our efforts have of natural and their relevance to a Mongolian context, been largely resources... as illustrated by our own research during the inspired by one of last fifteen years. It has been Ostrom’s work Ostrom’s (1990) that has been the principal inspiration for main insights, several Mongolian research and development i.e., that there POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

93 Plate 1: Overgrazing has affected many regions of Mongolia (Photo credit: Hijaba Ykhanbai)

are many indigenous institutions that have regular face-to-face interactions are endured for centuries in the sustainable paramount, and both effective monitoring management of natural resources and that mechanisms and viable short-term livelihood there is much to learn from them. As she improvement options developed. argued, under the right conditions, the people in a community who enjoy an interdependent But local level action alone is not enough. relationship with their natural resource Legal and policy support is also critical base, can organize and govern themselves to in order to scale-up co-management (by continue to obtain joint benefits despite all involving more herders and stakeholders temptations to free-ride, shirk, or otherwise that operate at higher levels). Introducing act opportunistically. In 1999, we began sustainable management methods, such the journey to see what promise local-level as pasture improvements, small-scale arrangements held in a rapidly changing agricultural production techniques, water Mongolia. conservation methods, and community- based forest management, through a process In this article, we will summarize our attempts of collaborative learning involving the to introduce, test, and institutionalize co- active participation of all, can reduce the management in Mongolia. As such, our work degradation of pastureland and cover the represents one of several initiatives in the country to find novel, feasible applications cost of environmental externalities. However, of Ostrom’s work (1990, 2009), in particular in Mongolia, where severe poverty and concerning the design principles she identified resource mismanagement is commonplace, as being associated with sustainable commons co-management did not begin in a wholly management. Based on in-depth fieldwork endogenous fashion. External facilitation that took place across the country between and technical and financial support were 1999 and 2013, our results demonstrate instrumental in mobilizing herders and other that if all stakeholders strongly support co- stakeholders to take part in a novel example management, then it can be a tool to overcome of collective action. This kind of facilitation the “tragedy of the commons.” For this to has perhaps not received as much attention as happen, the roles and responsibilities of it deserves, and that includes the writings of stakeholders need to be clearly established, Ostrom and colleagues. POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

94 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF NOMADIC PASTORALISM IN MONGOLIA market economy principles. Following the privatization of livestock in 1992, herders increasingly relied on ownership of shelters In Mongolia, pastureland has always been a to claim de facto rights to the surrounding shared resource. From ancient times to 1959, campsites and pasture (Fernández-Giménez herders all over the country practiced some 2002). form of customary land use with variations according to local conditions. Historically Eighty percent of Mongolia is covered by (until 1921), open rangeland and pastureland grassland, home to about 250,000 herders were under the control of feudal officials, and 36 million horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and clans, and tribal groups. The Khalka Djurm camels. Half of the country’s population of [literally: the Code of Act for all Khalka 2.78 million depends directly or indirectly on people; the Khalka making up the majority livestock production, which contributes more of Mongolians], enacted in 1709, defined the than 20 percent of the country’s GDP (National codification of customary law on the steppe. Statistics office of Mongolia 2012). What Late in the eighteenth century, neighborhood these numbers fail to tell, however, is just how groups enacted formal regulations, and much nomadic pastoralism is a way of life long-distance movements across territorial for many in Mongolia. For centuries, herders boundaries were prohibited in some cases. have roamed the grasslands “following our Herder groups or family clans tended to use animals,” as the herders’ adage goes, building, ranges in the vicinity of their seasonal camps packing, and rebuilding their traditional gers, and traditional rights were widely recognized or tents, to make their living from nature’s and respected. The enforceability of rights to bounty. But making a living from herding campsites was greatest when herders had used is not easy. The country’s per capita GDP is the same campsite for years or generations. among the lowest in Asia, with poverty and Campsites were widely recognized as the hardship common features in many rural areas common property of a given herder clan and cities alike. Since 2006, rural poverty has known as khot ail. The khot ail comprises one been on the increase, despite several years of to eight households which camp together for macro-economic growth (National Statistical at least one season and cooperate in livestock Office of Mongolia 2012). Some herders have production activities, e.g., herding, shearing, benefitted from the growth, but most have not. transport, fodder preparation. They are mostly Increasingly, the ancient lifestyle of nomadic related by blood or marriage, but occasionally pastoralism is under threat. comprise different groups brought together. The ultimate size of the group is usually More than a decade ago and before climate limited by the local pasture capacity, water change discourse emerged in development availability and the resulting number of debates, herders first observed and animals that can be maintained. commented on the impacts of climate change and the increase inzdud severe weatherzdud events During the early years of the Soviet period like storms, droughts, and extremely harsh (1921-1990), herders were forced to adopt winters, known as . The 2010 was commune-style management in which one of the worst ever, resulting in the death of production goals, herding operations and approximately 8.5 million livestock animals husbandry practices were established by or 20 percent of the national herd. Seven Soviet command for specific groups of hundred and seventy thousand herders were herders. This was followed by the full-fledged affected, with 43,500 herders left without a collectivization of all resources from 1959 single animal. 164,000 lost morezduds than half to 1990. From 1990 to the present, after the of their livestock (United National Mongolia withdrawal of the Soviet Union, subsequent country team 2010). Previous in 1999- governments developed policies and laws to 2000 and 2000-2001 had already killed over allow a transition from a centrally planned three million animals, or a little over ten per system to one based on democratic and cent of the total herd. While climate events POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

95 had decimated many herds, overgrazing has resource base more effectively. The increasing also been a problem, resulting in degradation degradation of the natural resource base, of already scarce natural resources. Up to widespread biodiversity loss and climate 30 percent of Mongolia’s grassland biomass change impacts—all observed in Mongolia— production has been lost over the past 40 are such that action is required at levels years. At the same time, the Gobi desert, which beyond that of the individual household or dominates the southern half of the country, group of households. has been steadily expanding north at a pace of We introduced co-management of pasture CO-MANAGEMENT150 kilometers every 20IN years.PRACTICE resources in Mongolia at the end of the 1990s in a number of pilot sites across the country (Map 1), including the dry steppe Traditionally, herders use pastureland region, the forest steppe areas, and the high according to certain kinship relationships, Altai Mountains (Ykhanbai and Enkhbat combined with the sharing of a common 2006). Our efforts addressed the challenge area that they move around in accordance of environmental degradation through a with continuously evolving community sumscombination of participatorysums and action- arrangements. Co-management builds oriented field research in three districts or on these systems, but adds new features. (there are 330 in the country) of Co-management brings together formally three provinces or aimaks: Khotont (district) organized herder groups, government and of Arkhangai (province), Deluin of Bayan- researchers. It is based on the observation Ulgii, and Lun of the Central province.sum Later, in that the limited capacity of herders and 2008, we expanded activities to a main forest local government to sustainably manage ecosystem by selecting Batsumber , also pasture resources can be complemented by in the Central province. These four districts the participation of other stakeholders at represent various herding systems that can various levels. Together, they can manage the be found in the country’s major eco-regions

Map 1: Pilot Co-management sites. Source: Hijaba Ykhanbai 2011. (Cartography by Marcel Morin)

POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

96 (steppe, mountain-steppe, steppe-forest, and management) group; to set up a community forest). They also represent different forms fund; to involve young people in community of social organization based on history, socio- activities as a way to train the new generation economic conditions and ethnic background of herders; and, to make useful information (see map). (for example, related to markets and prices, Co-management processes establish related to weather dynamics) available effective roles and responsibilities for through newspapers and other means of the stakeholders who manage, directly Co-managementcommunication. Design or indirectly, livestock (privately owned), land and water (state owned), and other natural resources (e.g., wildlife). The main The research team developed a holistic stakeholders are herders and herder groups, and bottom-up research and development local leaders, local government authorities, approach combining insights from pasture/ and the state. In the case of transitional rangeland ecology, livestock management and economies such as Mongolia’s where the breeding, natural resource economics and role of the state is being redesigned through rural sociology (including gender analysis). complex processes of political consultation, Methods used included resource mapping, negotiation and struggle, the implementation vegetation monitoring, surveys and interviews, of co-management approaches requires participant observation as well as methods both time and a clear stipulation of what from participatory action research (Ykhanbai the government will and will not do to 2011). Since no examples were available for support such agreements (Ykhanbai et al. how to introduce and test novel approaches 2004, Ykhanbai 2011). Implementing co- for collaborative management and learning in management includes activities that address Mongolia, the team adopted an experimental, material, socio-economic and institutional “learning by doing” approach. New ideas and dimensions of pastoral livelihoods and methods were implemented at the field level associated vulnerabilities. They cover the in the four sites, then systematically monitored sumdrafting (discussion, negotiation) and signing and evaluated. These ideas and methods were of co-management agreements with the adapted as the work progressed; over time, the and local governors and its members to methodological basket expanded and the team ensure access to community pasture areas. became more experienced in using it. This makes use of site-appropriate seasonal pasture shifting methods at the community Participatory rural appraisal tools used at the level to allow for the restoration of degrades start allowed herders and other stakeholders grassland; to protect wells and rivers, or to better understand one another and identify accumulate snow and rain water (in small opportunities to work together. Herders reservoirs); to clear forest, using stumps and government staff jointly identified and or dried branches for fuel use, and forest discussed local priority problems using restoration or transplantation of trees from resource and area mapping, historical analysis, densely wooded area; and to create salt- social network analysis, problem matrix marshy areas as a drinking source for livestock scoring, among others. The herders also (Vernooy 2011). described and analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of their pasture management Co-management also requires the practices, the pros and cons of their seasonal development of a variety of skills: to design pastures, and the challenges related to the and formulate contracts with community use of water sources, public services and members; to register each family and infrastructure. Priority issues identified by the members as belonging to the community and herders during these assessment exercises (co-management) group; to register forest were different in accordance with the different and other natural resources in the community ecological and socio-economic characteristics area as belonging to the community and (co- of the study sites. Women played an active POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

97 Plate 2: Women and men herders speak out about co-management.(Photo credit: Hijaba Ykhanbai)

role and were supportive of proposed co- management ‘community’ based on the notion management measures—envisioning the of collective consultation and planning and improved livelihoods that could result and informed by traditional social and cultural how their needs and interests could be more relationships (photo 2). The majority of meaningfully involved. herders expressed a strong interest and effectively decided to combine forces to create Over time, the co-management communities such co-management communities, with six became a useful learning mechanism to adopt of Ostrom’s design principles appearing to and adapt new practices of herding and underpin1. their initial establishment: farming, forms of decision-making and service provision. After some experiences were built Clear group boundaries but based on the up, insights and lessons were generated and 2. flexibility to bring new members in at when feasible, “translated” to national level any time; policy suggestions/recommendations through Rules governing the use of common direct involvement of research team members 3. goods adapted to local needs in policy and law making processes. The and conditions; experiences and lessons learned from the four Assurance that those affected by the sites have served to formulate and implement 4. rules can participate in modifying several new policies and laws concerning the rules; natural resources management. For example, 5. A local system that effectively monitors lessons learned from pasture co-management the behavior of community members; were more recently used to develop forest 6. The use of graduated sanctions to co-management policy and law. In addition, correct rule breakers; and, at local levels there have been important Accessible mechanisms for dispute changes in how the government operates and resolution. Theimplements role of co-managementpolicies and laws. communities Women played an active role from the beginning and, after many years of top-down governance, perceived that they were now In our applied research, after the first being given a chance to let their voices be participatory meetings and discussions heard and taken seriously (Ykhanbai et al. were held at the local level, the herders then 2006b). It was the wealthier herders that were consulted with each other about the possibility less enthused and less willing to join these of forming a new kind of natural resources ‘communities’ and the co-management system. POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

98 These herders thought they had nothing to for seasonal pasture and forest are clearly discuss “on equal terms” with their poorer agreed to (and specified on topographic counterparts, who typically had less access to maps), all regulatory measures described good pasture land and whose voices were not and rights and responsibilities concerning normally heard in decision-making arenas. It protection and use rights identified. The took time for them to understand how they co-management agreements are evaluated could also benefit from improved pasture annually and, if necessary, revised and re- management. approved. These are tri-party contracts that stipulate the rights and obligations between The research team proposed that the herders and the co-management community; communities be made up of herders who between the co-management community and live in the same area, watershed, mountain, the bag (sub-district) governor; and between or valley, residing close to a commonly the co-management community and the sum used pasture, and willing to restore their governor.Sum traditional pasture management system. Local herders would be formally recognized as the The (district) Level Co-Management custodians of the pasture and forest resources Team consists of representatives of all and associated water resources. The herders stakeholders. These teams aim to facilitate themselves appreciated this approach, happy and monitor co-management arrangements that their kinship and clan bases would be among the concerned stakeholders.sum They recognized. Thesenukhurlul discussions resulted in are also responsible for the scaling-up of the widespread formation of formal herders’ co-management activities in the . A communities ( ) i.e., groups of some team, usually 8-14 strong, brings together 10–15 herding households in selected areas, representatives of herder and community with management goals to include livelihood groups, non-government organizations, improvements, shared labor and improved local governors, local school and other pasture and naturalkhot resourcesail management.sakhalt leaders, and the researcher group. The team ailCommunity members agreedneg to nutgiinkhan operate as an normally meets twice a year, or more if economic unit ( ), a social unit ( deemed necessary. It discusses the sum level ) and an ecological unit ( ), co-management activities and consensual with common interests drivingnukhural collective decision-making process. Each year, activities efforts to improve pastoral livelihoods and are evaluated and, based on the results, new conservation in Mongolia. The would annual plans discussed, drafted and agreed be mobile in time and space as they follow upon. their animals in the search of green pastures. Ostrom’s eighth and final design principle The second step in the formation of the new builds responsibility for governing the community groups was the establishment common resource in nested tiers from the of workable relationships with authorities lowest level up to the entire interconnected and agreement as to the actions necessary to system. This was put into practice step by step make co-management work. In this way, the through subsequent stages of the research seventh of Ostrom’s design principles was put process. After several years of building in place: rule-making rights of community up experience at the community level, co- members are respected by outside authorities. management communities formed sum level All communities of herders will sign associations. These associations worked to contracts with local government on pasture promote novel rotational grazing schemes, use, according to the Land Law (2002), the introduction of more productive grassland Environmental Protection Law (2005), Forest species, intensified hay and fodder production, Law (2007) provisions, and according to the and better coordinated livestock movements new Community-Based Natural Resource throughout the season (Vernooy 2011; Management Procedure, developed by the Ykhanbai et al. 2006a; Ykhanbai 2011). The team in 2006. In these contracts, boundaries associations also promote a range of income- POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

99 Plate 3: Discussing a fodder experiment. (Photo credit: Ronnie Vernooy)

generating activities, such as joint hay and season to season, and are heavily dependent fodder making, hunting, vegetable growing, on the weather. Their livelihoods are centered making hand-made felt, quilted rugs and other on livestock-dependent income sources, handicrafts, making farm carts for community and yet they must deal with scarce natural need and for sale, harvesting forest products, resources, which, in many parts of the and the processing and marketing of dairy country, have become seriously degraded. products. More recently, some co-management After the ‘opening up’ of Mongolian society groups have initiated the establishment of and economy in theand early 1990s, herders community shops where local products can have become both more independent be sold at greater profit than through sales (individualized) more vulnerable as via middlemen. Since 2011, co-management protection by the State was withdrawn groups have also started to integrate localized (employment, social security, health care, weather forecasting data in their operations education services were no longer certain) through the novel use of information and and the country moved quickly to a free communication technologies. The data allows market development model. Parallel to great herders to improve their decision making societal change, the impacts of climate change for key livelihood activities throughout the have become more visible, first observed and year. Herders have made multiple use of felt by herders about a decade ago. In the last these forecasts, such as the timing of pasture decade, severe weather events, in particular rotation, planting and harvesting of crops, storms, drought, and extremely harsh winters making hay and fodder (Photo 3), and the have been on the rise. The unpredictability of planning of seasonal movement (Vernooy, such events, even for a largely nomadic society CONCLUSIONSYkhanbai and Tsogt 2013). where vulnerability is a part of everyday life, has become a major issue facing many in the country.

The challenges of managing the risk that Based on more than ten years of Mongolian nomadic pastoralists face are experimentation and experience, the co- numerous and complex. Herders move from management efforts we have helped to POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

100 instigate have led to more productive 2013). This lesson from the field points to pastureland, healthier herds, and increased how collective action theory and entitlements incomes at the pilot sites. The co-management theory can converge in practice. results and lessons learned have also led to changes in national policies and As we have argued elsewhere (Vernooy 2011), laws governing forests, water use, and Mongolia could serve as an inspiring example environmental practices. A survey carried to other countries in the region. Neighboring out in 2011, indicates that in some areas co- countries in Central Asia, currently undergoing management has helped to reduce the loss of a similar process of transition, have started animals due to the disastrous winter of 2009- to study and learn from the Mongolian 2010. It was the devastation that that winter experience to overcome their own “tragedy of caused that increased awareness among many the commons.” Researchers in Kyrkyzstan and herders of the necessity to adapt conventional Kazakhstan are trying to adapt Mongolia’s co- practices. Co-management was seen as one management practices to the more sedentary possible way forward. This year (2013), our forms of pastoralism found there. In several collective efforts will culminate with the villages, herder-farmers, formerly belonging allocation of pastureland to organized herders to state farms, have come together with local communities being included in the draft government representatives to establish Land Law the Mongolian Parliament is set to small management groups to jointly plan approve in its spring session. This represents sustainable forms of livestock management, a great opportunity to legalize traditional land while maintaining individual ownership of use rights of herders in Mongolia. resources. Yet when we began this applied research, Yet despite the early successes and potential it was Elinor Ostrom’s insights about for replication elsewhere, effective adaptation viable forms of collective action and design practices and institutions are still urgently principles for the equitable and sustainable of need in Mongolia. Co-management was management of the commons that inspired introduced across the country as a response us to work directly with herders, government to changing ecological, socio-economic and staff and other stakeholders. One very political conditions, and to reduce pressure important lesson that we learned was that on the natural resource base. Co-management for co-management to work, it is essential takes considerable time and effort to be for herders’ livelihoods to be improved in introduced, tested and integrated into local very concrete ways, particularly in the short practice as well as national policy/law; only term given the time it often takes to observe after ten years of experience are we beginning and reap the benefits from improved natural to see how collective action for natural resource management practices. This can be resource management can strengthen the achieved through creating and maintaining adaptability of herders and improve their sustainable access and use of resources futures. A start, however, has been made, and beyond pastures, in particular for those it seems apparent that risk can be managed more vulnerable of households. Examples more effectively for nomadic societies through include the introduction of technologies that joint actions and efforts, especially in light of add value to local produce (dairy and felt the high interdependency of people with their products in particular), that establish small- natural resource base. Mongolian herders, scale garden plots (potatoes, vegetables), that never afraid of exploring new terrain, are create new forms of market access at local showing the way. Their involvement, along and national levels, and that provide novel with that of other stakeholders, represents credit, veterinary and meteorological services. a third way of co-management, not totally More recently, experimentation with localized dependent on the state, yet neither totally weather forecasting services show promise to dictated to by the market. It is a ‘way’ that, strengthen the foresight capabilities of herder we feel, is very much a practical realization of households and communities (Vernooy et al. many of Ostrom’s ideas and recommendations. POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

101 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Vernooy, Ronnie.The 2011.Solutions “How Mongolian herders are transforming nomadic We acknowledge the financial and technical pastoralism”. 2(5): 82-87. support of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada (1999- Vernooy, Ronnie,The Solutions Hijaba Ykhanbai and Jamba 2012) and the contributions made by all the Tsogt. 2013. “Mongolia’s nomadic weather Mongolian team members who contributed readers”. 4(1). Available at: http://thesolutionsjournal.com/node/2261Community-based Co- their ideas, time and energy. Hijaba Ykhanbai, management of Natural Resources in Mongolia: formerly with the Ministry of Nature, Ykhanbai,Ten Years of Hijaba. Experience 2011. Environment and Tourism, coordinated the research and former IDRC program officers, . Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: John Graham and Ronnie Vernooy, provided ADMON Publishing House. scientific and project management support Ykhanbai, Hijaba, Bulgan Enkhbat, Ulipkan through regular field visits to all research Beket, Ronnie Vernooy and John Graham. sites, training of research team members, 2004. “Reversing grassland degradation and facilitation of workshops and conferences Mountain Research improving herders’ livelihoods in the Altai and joint writing and publication activities. Development Mountains of Mongolia”. Opinions expressed in this article are those of 24 (May 2004): 96-100. Rtheeferences authors only. Ykhanbai, Hijaba and BulganCommunities, Enkhbat. 2006. Securing Pastoralism Livelihoods“Co-management and Natural of pastureland Resources: in Action Mongolia.” in Post-socialist Mongolia: Herders’ Livelihood ResearchIn:. Tyler, andStephen Policy R Change(ed.), in Asia StrategiesBulgan, Enkhbat. in the Context 2010. of Climate Change and Market Uncertainties (pp. 107– 128). Bourton on Dunsmore: ITDG / Ottawa: . MS thesis, Chiang Mai, International Development Research Centre. Thailand: Chiang Mai University. Ykhanbai, Hijaba, B. Narantulga, Ts. Odgerel, B. Fernández-Giménez, Maria, E. 2002. “Spatial Binye and Ronnie Vernooy. 2006a. “Unlearning and social boundaries and the paradox of Human Ecology old habits: An evaluation of CBNRM capacity pastoral land tenure: A case study from development in Mongolia”. In: Campilan, postsocialist Mongolia”. 30(1): Using Evaluation Dindo, Arma Bertuso, Wayne Nelles and 49-78. for Capacity Development: Community- basedRonnie Natural Vernooy Resource (eds.), Management in Johnson, Craig.Development 2004.”Uncommon and Change ground: Asia The ‘poverty of history’ in common property discourse”. 35(3): (pp. 221-242). Los Baños, Philippines: 407-434. International Potato Center-UPWARD. Mongolia Statistical Yearbook National Statistics Office of Mongolia. 2012. Ykhanbai, Hijaba, Ts. Odgerel, Bulgan Enkhbat . Ulaanbaatar, and B. Naranchimeg. 2006b. “Herder women Mongolia: National Statistics Office of speak out: Towards more equitable co- Governing the Commons: Mongolia. managementSocial and of grasslandsGender Analysis and other in Natural natural The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Resourceresources Management: in Mongolia”. LearningIn: Vernooy, Studies Ronnie and ActionOstrom, Elinor. 1990. Lessons(ed.), from Asia . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University (pp. 181-206). New Delhi, Press. India: Sage / Ottawa, Canada: International Ostrom, Elinor.Science 2009. “A general framework Development Research Centre / Beijing: China for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological Agriculture Press. systems”. 325(5939): 419–422. Mongolia Dzud Appeal United National Mongolia Country Team. 2010. . Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: United Nations. POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

102 Recognition of the Role of Collective Action among Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in the Convention on9 Biological Diversity Diego Pacheco Recognition of the Role of Collective Action among Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in the Convention on Biological Diversity Diego Pacheco1

Abstract9

The Eleventh Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 11 of the CBD), held in Hyderabad-India (8-19 October 2012), made an unexpected posthumous tribute to Elinor Ostrom by recognizing the importance of collective action and self-organized institutions in natural resource governance. This proposal was made by the Plurinational State of Bolivia, and Parties negotiating at the COP11 have considered that the Bolivian proposal enriches the current framework of the CBD. The COP11 declared its support for the underlying concept promoted by Elinor Ostrom, summarized in her own words as “we will all be the poorer if local, self-organized institutions are not a substantial portion of the institutional portfolio of the twenty-first century” (Ostrom, 1994). This paper explores the context of such recognition for both developing and developed countries in the context of the CBD and future implications for the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components. Keywords: conservation of biodiversity; common-pool resources; collective action; self-governing institutions.

1 Rector of the University of the Cordillera (Universidad de la Cordillera-La Paz, Bolivia). Head of the Bolivian delegation at the CBD and alternate head at the UNFCCC. Email: [email protected]

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104 Introduction

twenty-first century, the Bolivian delegation suggested reviewing the major insights of The Eleventh Conference of the Parties of Elinor Ostrom and particularly the role of the United Nations Convention on Biological collective action and institutional development Diversity (COP 11 of the CBD), held in in local organizations. Hyderabad-India (8-19 October 2012), has recognized in several of its decisions the The process of negotiation undertaken by theoretical contribution of Elinor Ostrom. In Bolivia resulted in an explicit recognition particular, in the development of the second from signatory countries to the CBD of the generation theories of collective action, by research outcomes of Elinor Ostrom on identifying the importance of self-organized common property theory and, in particular, institutions in natural resource governance. her claim that self-organized institutions The need to incorporate the theoretical play an important role in biodiversity contribution of Elinor Ostrom in the discussion conservation and sustainable use. Therefore, of the CDB was raised by the delegation of the CBD decided to move forward the process the Plurinational State of Bolivia, stating that for recognizing that the collective action of indigenous peoples and communities have indigenous and local communities be included been ignored as the main stewards of Mother as part of a conceptual framework regarding Earth and nature, whilst public and private biodiversity and development. Furthermore, resources have been identified as the only that it should be considered in the contributors to the conservation of biological establishment of baseline information and the diversity. In order for the CBD to recognize reporting framework for the mobilization of the importance of self-organized institutions financial resources oriented towards achieving for conserving biological diversity and the the CBD’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets (http:// sustainable use of its components in the www.cbd.int/sp/targets/).

Plate 1: The author presenting at the Workshop “Scaling up Biodiversity Finance: Summary from a Dialogue Seminar held in Quito, Ecuador 6-9 March 2012”, organized by the Resilience and Development Programme (SwedBio) at Stockholm Resilience Centre and SCBD. Hyderabad, 9 October 2012. (Photo credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bolivia)

POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

105 The CBD subsequently declared its support “payment for environmental services”. for the underlying concept promoted by Elinor Ostrom that, in her own words, “we A high-level panel on Global Assessment of will all be the poorer if local, self-organized Resources, charged with implementing the institutions are not a substantial portion of Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, the institutional portfolio of the twenty-first has stated that several hundreds of billions of century” (Ostrom, 1994). As Elinor Ostrom dollars (US) a year will be needed to achieve herself would probably have wanted, India the Aichi targets (UNEP, 2012). The CBD is thus become the place where collective action thus struggling to identify sufficient public of self-organized institutions was recognized and private sector financial flows to help by the international community as playing meet their stated biodiversity conservation a critical and prominent role in meeting the goals and objectives, and to this end they have objectives of the CBD. developed a set of indicators for resource mobilization and a preliminary reporting This paper explains how and why the framework to measure and determine how Plurinational State of Bolivia, using Ostrom’s conservation funding can be sourced and lead, succeeded in having the role of collective used. Yet in this most pragmatic of strategies, action recognized and incorporated into the contributions being made by indigenous the CBD via the Convention’s conceptual people and local communities are overlooked framework, the indicators of resource and thus our basic understanding of the mobilization, and in the preliminary reporting economy of biodiversity incomplete. With the framework of financing for biological diversity. role of collective action by indigenous and As a result, indigenous peoples’ and local local people’s institutions ignored, their role communities’ institutions will no longer be in conserving biodiversity and ensuring the invisible on this particular stage but rather a sustainable use of its components is rendered constitutive part in the future history of global largely invisible on this most global of policy THEconservation TRADITIONAL policy. VIEW OF THE CBD stages. REGARDING THE CONTRIBUTION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND LOCAL The Economy of Ecosystems and Biodiversity, COMMMUNITIES or TEEB (UNEP, 2009), was developed as a global framework to better address some of these issues – based on the idea that by expanding markets into nature, and assigning Until COP11 took place in Hyderabad in economic value to a range of ecosystem 2012, international negotiations about services, positive incentives could be created biodiversity conservation were understood as for conserving biodiversity components being primarily driven by public and private (TEEB, 2010). For the proponents of TEEB, financial incentives. The role of collective this approach stimulates the environmental action and stewardship of indigenous and awareness of policy makers by following local peoples’ institutions in the conservation the rationale of the dominant political and and use of biodiversity was largely ignored. economic capitalist model (Ibid.). For the This reflected the position taken by developed Bolivian government, however, this is simply countries that looked to shift most of their the first step towards the commodification of responsibility for conserving biological nature, and subsequently its trade in financial diversity onto the shoulders of the developing markets (Bolivia 2013). world. This was partly due to the fact that these States could no longer allocate The Plurinational State of Bolivia challenged significant amounts of public financing for this the interpretation of the CBD that it was the purpose. Instead, private funds needed to be private and public sectors that formed the mobilized through the economic valuation of two mutually exclusive parts of the economy ecological biodiversity and using the approach of biodiversity, advocating instead for an of “payment for ecosystem services” or approach that would also recognize the POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

106 collective action of indigenous peoples and through markets. In the case of common-pool local communities. They were also adamant resources, exclusion may not be feasible given that such recognition extend to both monetary the costs of denying users access. In such and non-monetary elements—a crucial cases, it is necessary to have recourse to some distinction in light of current emphasis of form of collective action so that sanctions can developed countries on prioritizing only the be used to prevent overuse. economic valuation of ecosystem services and to strengthen the role of the private sector Since environmental functions mostly in mobilizing finance for conservation and encapsulate public or common-pool resources, stemming biodiversity losses. In order to markets are arguably poorly placed to capture the distinctive nature of public, private contribute significantly to biodiversity and collective action, Bolivia suggested a focus conservation and the sustainable use of its on institutional economics and, in particular, components. The CBD attempted to give the views held by Vincent and Elinor Ostrom markets a prominent role at a time of financial concerning the distinctive nature of goods and crisis in the public sector of developed services, and to Elinor Ostrom’s research on countries, and yet given the distinctive OSTROMIANcollective action ENLIGHTENMENT: and common-property THE theory. characteristics of biodiversity-related goods and services this is not the most appropriate ROLE OF COLLECTIVE ACTION BEYOND approach. Rather, there appears a clear need MARKETS AND STATES to broaden the conceptual framework of the TEEB to include the collective action of indigenous people and local communities According to Vincent and Elinor Ostrom there because of the Convention’s primary concern are more than private and public goods and with biodiversity and thus common-pool services. Specifically, four types of goods and resource management issues. services can be identified according to their distinctive characteristics of jointness of use, When referring to environmental goods or consumption, and exclusion, namely: public and functions, such as those performed and goods, private goods, common-pool resources provided by biological diversity, it is important and toll goods (see figure below: types of to recognize that common-pool resources are goods) (Ostrom, 2002). characterized by the difficulty in excluding others from their use or consumption. This According to the Ostroms (2002), most can result in a threat to the resource through governmental services constitute a public overuse and, if unchecked, eventual depletion, good and the patterns of organization that or what is known as the “tragedy of the can mobilize coercive sanctions are necessary commons”. Theories of collective action, for the operation of a public economy or however, have concluded that individuals governmental institutions. For private are capable of self-organization through goods and services, for which exclusion is the mobilization of collective action, and feasible, alternative use should be organized crafting appropriate institutions and rules to Jointness of Use or Consumption

Alternative Use Joint Use Feasible Private goods Toll Goods Exclusion Common-Pool Public Goods Infeasible Resources Table 1: Types of Goods and Services. Source: Vincent and Elinor Ostrom, 2002

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107 sustainably manage their shared resources stronger recognition of and support (Ostrom, 1990). In this sense, the collective for community-based approaches action of indigenous peoples and local to pursuing the human benefits of communities becomes an additional key area biodiversity conservation, including to consider in conserving biodiversity as a food security and poverty alleviation. common-pool resource. While we are aware of the critical role of local communities in the stewardship The lesson here for conservation is that there and sustainable management of natural is much more at work than a simple dichotomy resources, we often tend to take their between markets (private) and state regulated efforts for granted. Not only do I (public) economies, and that recognition of think that we need to acknowledge local people’s collective action in developing this important contribution to the sustainable resource management institutions conservation and sustainable use of is critical. As Elinor Ostrom stated (1994: 1): biodiversity, I am also convinced that The twenty-first century is just there is a lot that we can learn from around the comer. Will the local, their approaches. (Opening remarks self-organized communities that have at the COP 11 of Braulio Ferreira, governed and managed many natural Executive Secretary of CBD). resource systems continue into the The Executive Secretary of the CBD, and next century? Or will they slowly Parties negotiating at the COP11, concurred disappear—relics of a dying past? So many have disintegrated during that the Bolivian proposal enriched the the past century that some scholars current framework of the CBD. It received worry that they will all be destroyed. additional and explicit support from the Will all common-property institutions Indian Government and other Parties to the be taken over by states or by markets? HOWConvention. the CBD WILL incorporate Can indigenous resource governance collective action INTO ITS and management regimes really FRAMEWORKS cope with the problems of a modern age? Are these locally developed institutions, which rely on knowledge The COP11 took a consensus decision to acquired over time, effective, or does add the collective action of self-organized modern science provide better ways institutions for the conservation and use of of managing local resources? biodiversity to the existing roles being played During the Informal Dialogue on CBD strategy by public and private finance. This implies that for resource mobilization, held in Geneva in the reporting framework, previously limited to September 2012, and then at COP11 of the public and private funding, must now undergo CBD, held a month later, the Plurinational State a review process in order to incorporate some of Bolivia suggested an alternative approach form of valuation of the collective action of that was built around many of the theoretical indigenous people and local communities in and applied lessons generated by Ostrom’s biodiversity conservation, and that this would groundbreaking scholarship—specifically the include both monetary and non-monetary role that collective action by indigenous people aspects. and local communities can play in helping to Nevertheless, this is simply the first step achieve stated biodiversity targets. In doing so, in recognizing the prominent and critical the Bolivian proposal strengthened the current framework of action of the CBD. The proposal role of collective action by indigenous received support at multiple levels, including and local communities, and how that can the following remark: lead to self-organized institutions for the sustainable management of natural resources I believe we need to promote and a reduction in the acceleration of the POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

108 destruction of valuable natural resources. The action including by indigenous second step is to develop a methodological and local communities and non- approach to effectively evaluate (monetary market based approaches for the and non-monetary) local and indigenous achievement of the CBD objectives; efforts alongside those of public and private and requests the Executive Secretary finance. This is needed before the reporting to prepare for that review, based on framework can be formulated worldwide information received from Parties on as part of the CBD reporting process. The its application, funding needs, gaps conceptual framework developed by Elinor and priorities. (Paragraph 23. XI/4. Ostrom around common property governance Review of Implementation of the looks set to contribute greatly to this endeavor. Strategy for Resource Mobilization, This task will be undertaken by the Expert including the establishment of Group on Biodiversity for Poverty Eradication CONCLUSIONtargets). and Development, as follows: The Expert Group on Biodiversity for Poverty Eradication and Development The Bolivian government is clear that will “Develop a conceptual framework collective action is of critical importance and guidance on how to assess the in the assessment of monetized and non- role of collective action and the efforts monetized efforts towards biodiversity of indigenous and local communities conservation and use. It is a view that has in conserving biodiversity, garnered support from a number of other considering the critical role of Parties to the Convention. An appropriate indigenous and local communities methodology will demonstrate in quantifiable in the stewardship and sustainable terms the contribution of developing countries management of natural renewable to the conservation of biodiversity and how resources, including exploring the that contribution is split between collective role of non-market-based approaches action, and public and private financial flows. in this endeavor. (Paragraph 4(d). This is not withstanding the more qualitative Elements of terms of reference for contribution that collective action makes with the Expert Group on Biodiversity for respect to the vision and principles of many Poverty Eradication and Development developing countries, by means of valuing XI/22, Biodiversity for poverty the role played by indigenous and local eradication and development). communities in the conservation of global biodiversity. The third step needed to effectively incorporate the role of collective action For the Bolivian delegation at the CBD, the in the reporting framework of countries insights of both Vincent and Elinor Ostrom for conservation financing is related to were critical in enabling them to successfully the work being carried out by the Ad Hoc negotiate the recognition of collective action Open-ended Working Group on the Review of indigenous peoples and local communities of Implementation of the Convention, as in the Convention. It was the Ostrom’s established in the following COP11 decision: pioneering research and theory-building that Requests the Ad Hoc Open-ended has provided a scientific foundation to enable Working Group on the Review of Bolivia and others to promote the role of self- Implementation of the Convention governing institutions of indigenous peoples at its fifth meeting to further and local communities among biodiversity review the preliminary reporting conservation negotiators and policy-makers, framework as well as the baseline and thus ensure that their presence becomes information for each of the targets, ever more visible as the twenty-first century including the role of collective unfolds. POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

109 References The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Ecological and Economic Conceptual framework for the FoundationsTEEB. 2010. Intergovernmental Policy-Science Platform on BiodiversityBolivia. 2013. and Ecosystem Services . London and Washington: Earth Scan. TEEB-The Economics of . La Paz, Ecosystems and Biodiversity for National Bolivia: Ministerio de GoverningRelaciones the Exteriores. Commons: andUNEP. International 2009. Policy Makers-Summary: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Responding to the Value of Nature Ostrom,Action Elinor. 1990. . Geneva: . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University UNEP. Press. Neither Market nor State: Governance of Common Pool Resources in the UNEP. 2012. “Review of implementation of the Twenty-FirstOstrom, Elinor. Century 1994. strategy for resource mobilization, including the establishmnent of targets”. Document , Washington, D.C.: IFPRI. presented at the COP11 of the Convention of Ostrom, VincentPolycentricity and Elinor Ostrom. and Local 2002. Public Biological Diversity, Hyderabad, India, October Economies“Public goods and public choices”. In: Michael 8-19, 2012. McGinnis (ed.), (pp75-106). Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.

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110 Are Ostrom’s Design Principles Sufficient10 for Design? Arun Agrawal and Jesse Ribot Are Ostrom’s Design Principles Sufficient for Design? Arun Agrawal1 and Jesse Ribot2

Elinor Ostrom’s (1990) design principles for on the principles to evaluate sustainable common pool resource institutions have found forestry among the Algonquin of Canada in a receptive10 audience among both researchers the context of inadequate state commons and decision makers (Design Principles). Using management policies. Nagendra, Ghate a set of 14 studies of long-term commons and Rao (this volume) show how the IFRI governance, reflecting on resources that database launched by Ostrom has been ranged from forests to fisheries to irrigation, essential for demonstrating the potential Ostrom condensed in simple, everyday for self-governance of resources in India’s language ten key features associated with the forests and cities. Pacheco (this volume) long-term survival of resource institutions. applies the principles to show the viability Applied in many analytical investigations of self-organized indigenous institutions for to understand how resource commons are sustainable biodiversity use, which Bolivia is managed, these Design Principles have arguing should form a central application of repeatedly emerged as being relevant to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). effective resource governance (Alidina 2005, Gachenga (this volume) shows their utility Dayton-Johnson 2000, Lane 1998). Although in analyzing adaptability of customary law Ostrom herself did not view the Design water management in Kenya. From Mexico, Principles as being sufficient for effective Pacheco-Vega (this volume) explores how governance, she did view them as essential Ostrom’s principles have been used by the elements that help account for the success country’s commons scholars to fight Hardin’s of institutions (1990:90). The regularity tragedy narratives, while Merino (this volume) with which scholars have found some subset show how they can assist in developing a of these principles to stand the acid test of better understanding of the relationship that empirical application suggests that they are indigenous Mexican society has with nature. a convenient starting point for analyzing Finally, Kauneckis (this volume) takes a resource governance. more theoretical approach to examine how the Design Principles have influenced more A number of the studies included in this recent research on, and analysis of, commons special issue demonstrate again, using institutions. examples from diverse settings and resource types, that the elements of Ostrom’s design Each of these studies finds the elements of principles are present across enduring Ostrom’s framework present and in operation commons — and of great use in their in their cases. The authors use the Design evaluation. Ykhanbai and Vernooy (this Principles to assess areas of strength and volume) use them to analyze co-management weakness in the commons systems they are arrangements for community-state-market studying. The principles are thus a clear Mongolian pastoral systems, while Haile anchoring point to analyze whether an existing (this volume) shows how they help assess institutional arrangement has the features traditional hiza’ti forest enclosures in that will likely lead to positive commons Eritrea. Van Schie (this volume) draws management outcomes. They also enable

1 2 Professor, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan. Email: [email protected] Professor of Geography and Director of the Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy Initiative, University of Illinois. Email: [email protected]

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112 analysts to assess institutional configurations They appear to be concrete principles of and make preliminary judgments about design. But they are far too abstract to whether a given common-pool resource guide specific judgments about the kind of institution is likely to endure. In conjunction institutions that will yield positive outcomes with her later work (Ostrom 2011), they help in a given context. Applying them to design sort through a bewildering variety of real- new institutions requires recourse to other world contexts, institutional arrangements, elements in Ostrom’s oeuvre. By themselves, user group characteristics, and resource the Design Principles are not enough to features to enable systematic thinking about move from the abstract to the specific, from the governance of commons. They bring principle to practice. researchers a long way towards understanding An example will make the point clearer. the interactions among users, resources, Consider the design principle related to institutions, and outcomes. local enforcement of rules. As an abstract Thus, we agree that Ostrom’s Design Principles summary of whether local populations have enable researchers, and also practitioners, the right and the power to enforce the rules to identify and assess existing commons. In for using and managing the commons, the principle turns out to be quite useful. Scholars this postscript, however, we ask a differentdesigning question: In what ways and to what extent are examining any specific commons dilemma can the Design Principles also useful in examine the facts of the case to assess whether new institutions to govern the commons? the powers of enforcement are locally vested, Ostrom’s distillation of regularities in and analyze the association between this institutional empirics is a tour de force when abstract principle and outcomes of interest. it comes to moving from the concrete to the Local enforcement can be viewed as being abstract. But to what extent is this distillation present if there Ostrom’s of key governance features also adequate to are local guards, distillation of or if the rules for design new institutions and organizations regularities in to manage the commons—to move from the enforcement are abstract principles to concrete functioning locally devised, or institutional commons? if the guards are appointed locally empirics is a This is no idle question. Part of the lure of the in specialized tour de force Design Principles is precisely their relevance roles, or if specific when it comes to practice. Since the middle of the 1980s, local individuals governments in developing countries have are selected to moving from pursued scores if not hundreds of distinct permanently the concrete to decentralization measures to devolve control as guards, or if the abstract. But over forests, irrigation systems, pastures, and households that fisheries to local users. Hundreds of NGOs rely on a resource to what extent is have sought to involve local communities in sequentially this distillation... managing resources. And given the simplicity monitor and also adequate with which the Design Principles are stated, enforce rules, or the hope is evident that project managers, if guards are paid to design new decision makers and policy analysts in NGOs by locally raised institutions and and in government agencies can use them to resources, and organizations shape new resource management institutions indeed, for many and revise existing institutions for better other versions to manage the outcomes. of what makes commons... enforcement local But, as stated, the Design Principles do not (Agrawal and provide sufficient guidance to design new Waylen 2013). But projects for managing common pool resources. it is quite unclear POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

113 Functioning what the choice for Lankina 2008). commons, and local enforcement should be when it If the Design Principles are not useful by the specificity comes to deciding themselves to decide about how to design of each of their which of these new resource governance institutions, for what might they then be useful when it operating choices makes the most sense comes to designing institutions and resource elements, in translating management organizations? We offer three emerge through the principle of answers. a negotiated local enforcement Firstly, it is useful to recognize that the design into practice. By iterative social principles are not, nor perhaps were they itself, this design intended to be, a blueprint for institutional endeavor. principle is not design. They are better viewed as heuristic enough to know devices or guidelines about where to start what to do in when crafting new institutions or choosing any given effort existing institutions for resource governance. to design the enforcement mechanism in a project. Secondly, even if the Design Principles cannot be translated directly into a concrete design Nor is it of use to say that any one of these for managing a resourcenot system, they are specific choices will do. Indeed, the specific extremely useful to decide what resource choice that local users and mangers made managers should do when crafting when deciding on enforcement was likely institutions. It may be hard to decide how a result of many other factors that are not exactly sanctionsnot should be graduated.reverse But, a part of the suite of Design Principles: a designer can avoid creating a sanctioning income and wealth of users, stratified social system that is graduated or that is statuses among users (e.g. caste, class, graduated. Or, even if the choice of what to do gender), available assets and capitals, levels to make enforcement local throws open more of literacy, group size, nature of the resource doors than it may be possible for a project system, value of harvested units, possibilities designer to explore, it certainly allows the of accessing higher-level decision makers, designer to close a large number of doors. levels of conflict among users—and the list Knowing what not to do is extremely useful. goes on. Indeed, choices over any particular It narrows down the field of possibilities design principle are likely similarly affected by drastically for anyone interested in creating other features of the user group, the resource, and implementing a program of resource the macro-governance context, and other management. institutional choices. Ostrom’s approach of identifying abstract institutional features Finally, one might argue that the Design as Design Principles is extremely useful Principle are not and should not be used to when it comes to analyzing the institutional substitute for the inventiveness that local characteristics associated with resource users and managers necessarily display in outcomes. It is less effective when it comes to iteratively selecting from among a multitude converting design principles into institutional of possibilities the ones that are useful for choices, combining and aggregating different them. Viewed thus, the abstraction inherent institutional choices into an institutional in the design principles is simultaneously arrangement, and judging which institutional a plea for faith in the capacities of the local arrangement is best suited for the social and users and managers. It is not necessary to seek ecological conditions and dynamics in which to make them more concrete or to develop institutions play a regulating and moderating the knowledge necessary for making them role. The principles do not inform us about applicable across a wide variety of contexts. the politics and constraints that shape The urge towards concretization may be the institutional choices (Ribot, Chhatre and natural managerial impulse. But it is perhaps POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

114 References better to sound a note of caution whereby the requisite concreteness for a given situation Limits to Governance is best left to those who depend on resources Agrawal, Arun and Kerry Waylen. 2013. locally and whose lives and fates are bound . Paper presented at the up more intimately with the fate of local 2013 DOPE Conference, March 30, Lexington, common pool resources than might be the Kentucky. case for some distant project designers and Alidina, H.M. 2005. “Local levelCoastal fisheries institutional engineers. Managementmanagement in Diani-Chale, Kenya: Current status and future directions”. Common property management institutions— 33(4):459-470. from oligopsonies to pastoral systems—are constantly emerging and changing. Existing Dayton-Johnson, J. 2000. “DeterminantsJournal of of commons management systems can be Developmentcollective action Economics on the local commons: A evaluated and perhaps even guided using model with evidence from Mexico”. Ostrom’s design principles. But functioning 62(1):181-208.Custodians of the commons, and the specificity of each of Commons: Pastoral Land Tenure in East and Lane, Charles R., (ed.). 1998. their operating elements, emerge through West Africa a negotiated iterative social endeavor. We . London, UK: Governing Earthscan. the Commons: believe Elinor Ostrom would have agreed Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action with this conclusion. It is a corollary of the Ostrom, Elinor. 1990. overarching argument about polycentric . governance that is emblematic of Elinor and New York: Cambridge University Press. Vincent Ostrom’s work. Ostrom, Elinor.Science 2011. “A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological systems”. 325: 419-422. Ribot, Jesse, Ashwini Chhatre and Tomila Lankina. 2008. “InstitutionalConservation choice and and Society recognition in the formation and consolidation of local democracy”. 6(1): 1-11

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115

Un son para Lin Ostrom Caña Dulce11 y Caña Brava 11

Plate 1: (Photo credit: Leticia Merino Pérez)

Un son para Lin Ostrom Caña Dulce y Caña Brava

ELINOR OSTROM, te vemos niña, vulnerable, inerme, sin que lo adverso te merme ni te haga soltar los remos, de tu entereza aprendemos que nunca hay que claudicar que hay que aprender a luchar, que hasta lo más conflictivo tiene algo de positivo que hay que hacer fructificar

ELINOR OSTROM, tu infancia no fue una dulce empanada: señalada, criticada, víctima de la arrogancia… ¡nada apagó la fragancia de la flor que siempre fuiste!: de cara al sol, nunca triste, a fuerza de pundonor revertiste a tu favor los golpes que recibiste POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

118 ELINOR OSTROM,¡qué vivo sentimos tu corazón!: confianza, cooperación, el accionar colectivo… cada concepto un motivo para dedicarte una aria, generosa, visionaria, descubriste cómo fluye ¡y el poder que constituye la fuerza comunitaria!

ELINOR OSTROM, lograste ser nuestra, ser mexicana y fue tu grandeza humana lo mejor que nos legaste, no es el Nobel que ganaste lo que te da eternidad, es tu firme voluntad y el no andarte por las ramas ¡es tu inteligencia en llamas y tu generosidad!

ELINOR OSTROM, pudiste demostrarle a todo el mundo el generador profundo de energía que descubriste: en cada individuo viste no un dato aislado, un guarismo, sino comunitarismo y poder transformador frente al monstruo predador que es el neoliberalismo

ELINOR OSTROM, tu vida resplandece con tu muerte mujer sabia, mujer fuerte, ¡invencible!, ¡decidida!, no es ésta una despedida porque viva seguirás nunca te has ido, ¡aquí estás! y el memorial que te hacemos sólo hace que te nombremos ¡y que te queramos más!. POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

119 Caña Dulce y Caña Brava

nace como grupo en el año 2008; debido a la necesidad de interpretar la música que sus integrantes han heredado. El son jarocho les significa un lenguaje común de donde afloran las más diversas emociones a través del amplio colorido poético y musical propio del son tradicional veracruzano. La agrupación ofrece al público una sonoridad definida por las voces femeninas de sus integrantes y muestra una faceta del son jarocho en la cual las mujeres toman un papel importante en esta cultura ya que la música generalmente ha sido interpretada por los hombres. La agrupación se ha presentado en diversos foros y festivales nacionales e internacionales, llevando así su música a países como Canadá, Estados Unidos, Venezuela, Sudáfrica, Corea y Turquía. Adriana Cao Romero, Arpa y Voz Raquel Palacios Vega, Jarana y voz Valeria Rojas, Percusión y Voz Alejandro Loredo Ramírez, Guitarra de Son

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120

Photo Credits

Raymond Aquino Macapagal, Front cover Josie Chummog gathering harvested rice stalks, Batad, Ifugao, Philippines (2011). MFCC, MWHCPD, Assistant Professor, Center for Aroha Te Pareake Mead, International Studies, University of the Philippines - Diliman, Email [email protected] Cover inset Elinor Ostrom. Chair, IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic & Social Policy and Director, Maori Business, School of Management, Victoria University of Wellington. Email [email protected] Raymond Aquino Macapagal, Back cover Golden paddies ready for harvest at the UNESCO World Heritage Batad Rice Terrace Cluster, Banaue, Ifugao, Philippines (2011). MFCC, MWHCPD, Assistant Professor, Center for International Studies, University of the Philippines - Diliman, Email [email protected] Raymond Aquino Macapagal, Page 10 Women harvest each other’s paddies, Batad, Banaue, Ifugao, Philippines (2011). MFCC, MWHCPD, Assistant Professor, Center for International Studies, University of the Philippines - Diliman, Email [email protected] Foundation for Ecological Security - FES Page 11 Elinor Ostroms’s visit to Chintamani, Karnataka, India. James Robson,

Page 23 Zapotec communal lands, Oaxaca, Mexico. Visiting Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, University of Redlands, United States of America and member of IASC. Email [email protected] Raymond Aquino Macapagal, Page 34 Women doing the harvesting by hand, Batad, Banaue, Ifugao, Philippines (2011). MFCC, MWHCPD, Assistant Professor, Center for International Studies, University of the Philippines - Diliman, Email [email protected] James Robson, Page 35 Heading home with the corn harvest, San Juan Evangelista Analco, Oaxaca, Mexico. Visiting Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, University of Redlands, United States of America and member of IASC. Email [email protected] 47, 57, 68 Agnès Joignerez, AQUATERRE Pages 46, Farmers working in the highland ricefields near Andringtra National Park, Madagascar. (Natural Resources & Development), Madagascar, James Robson, Email: [email protected] Page 69 Communal lands, Central Andes of Peru. Visiting Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, University of Redlands, United States of America and member of Rosanne Van Schie, IASC. Email [email protected] Page 79 Economic Development Advisor for Wolf Lake First Nation. Ronnie Vernooy Email: [email protected] Page 91 Mongolia. , Genetic Resources Policy Specialist, Bioversity International. James Robson Email: [email protected] Page 103 View across communal territory of Ayaccocha, Central Peru. , Visiting Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, University of Redlands, United States of Rucha Ghate America and member of IASC. Email [email protected] ( Page 111 Women working during a village meeting, Nagendra, India. Raymond Aquino Macapagal, Page 116 A man Bimmangon Chummog) carrying the rice bundles home, Batad, Banaue, Ifugao, Philippines (2011). MFCC, MWHCPD, Assistant Professor, Center for International Studies, University of the Philippines - Diliman, James Robson, Email [email protected] Page 117 Harvesting pitaya roja on Zapotec communal lands, Oaxaca, Mexico. Visiting Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, University of Redlands, James Robson, United States of America and member of IASC. Email [email protected] Page 121 Agroforestry system, Chinantec cloud forest, Oaxaca, Mexico. Visiting Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, University of Redlands, United States of America and member of IASC. Email [email protected] POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

122 Commission on Environment, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP)

CEESP Themes The work of the Commission is progressed CEESP Theme on Environment, through six Themes, two Specialist Groups Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment and three Taskforces. Three of these Themes/ (TEMTI) SGs are established across other IUCN Commissions. Together they form the diverse perspectives and experiences of the CEESP Objective: provide practical and enabling membership that implement the CEESP information, and relevant policy options Programme priorities: on issues lying at the intersection between economics and environmental and social Development and promotion of a sustainability.CEESP Theme on Culture and Conservation conservation ethic that supports diverse (TCC) knowledge systems and values, delivers rights-based and equitable conservation with improved governance of natural resources Objective: improve knowledge, policy and tangible livelihoods benefits, and and practice through linking cultural and links biological diversity with the cultural biologicalCEESP Theme diversity. on Governance, Equity and dimensions of nature conservation with a Rights (TGER) focus on the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.

Increased use of rights-based approaches Objective: promote better understanding to natural resources management and and action on the practice and theory of governance that promotes social and governance of natural resources, equity, and cultural equity, indigenous and community humanCEESP Themerights. on Sustainable Livelihoods governance, sustainable livelihoods and (TSL) human security.

Nature based solutions to global challenges Objective: improve coherence and (climate change, conversion of forests coordination among initiatives for and farm-land to biofuels projects, food biodiversity conservation, poverty eradication sovereignty, poverty, inequitable economic andCEESP sustainable Them on livelihoods. Environment, Conflict and and social develop-ment) are underpinned by Security (TECS) economic policies that reinforce sustainability, social equity and environmental integrity.

Enhanced capacity of civil society, Objective: focuses on the intersection governments and the private sector to between environmental governance, ensure corporate so-cial and environmental environmental change and conflict and accountability and reduce the negative impact how this impacts on multiple dimensions of of industries on climate change, bio-cultural security. diversity and food security. POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

123 CEESP Theme on Social and Environmental Specialist Group on Sustainable Use and Accountability of the Private Sector Livelihoods (SULi) — a joint CEESP/SSC (SEAPRISE) Specialist Group

Objective: enhanced capacity of civil Objective: highlighting the importance society, governments and the private sector of wild species for providing community to ensure corporate social and environmental benefits; analysing and communicating accountability and reduce its impact on climate change. best-practice in aspects of sustainable use; Inter-commission Themes/ promoting innovation in adaptive responses Specialist Groups to the challenges of sustainable use; and developing practical tools and approaches CEESP Theme on Indigenous Peoples, Local to support sustainability and resilience in Communities, Equity & Protected Areas resource use. (CEESP & WCPA) In addition to the themes and specialists groups above, CEESP has established OBJECTIVE: improved governance of taskforces on Biofuels, Bio-Cultural protected areas through equitable sharing of Conservation, REDD++ and Indigenous costs and benefits and appropriate recognition Peoples. CEESP is actively developing a global ofThe governance Specialist types. Group on Indigenous youth network together with other IUCN Peoples, Customary & Environmental Law Commission Young Professional Groups, & Human Rights (SPICEH) of CEESP/CEL and fostering greater opportunities for intergenerational partnerships with CEESP and IUCN through the CEESP Youth and Objective: focus on indigenous people and Intergenerational Partnership Group. human rights & the intersection of customary and environmental laws.

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POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

124 CEESP, the IUCN Commission on The International Association for the Study Environmental, Economic and of the Commons (IASC), founded in 1989 as Social Policy, is an inter-disciplinary The International Association for the Study network of professionals whose mission is to act as a source of association devoted to understanding and advice on the environmental, improvingof Common institutions Property (IASCP), for the managementis a nonprofit economic, social and cultural factors of resources that are (or could be) held that affect natural resources and or used collectively by communities in biological diversity and to provide developing or developed countries. The guidance and support towards Association’s goals are: to encourage effective policies and practices in exchange of knowledge among diverse environmental conservation and disciplines, areas, and resource types; to sustainable development. foster mutual exchange of scholarship and practical experience; and, to promote appropriate institutional design.