Managing at the Interface of Common, Community and Private Property

Commons are among the fundamentally difficult areas for planning and management because ownership and use claims are often ill-defined or of questionable legitimacy. The consequences of use may not be borne by the users and knowledge may be fragmented.  Community management approaches can founder on the question of which community (geographical or interest), community heterogeneity, and legitimacy of community decision-making processes and power structures.  Where common property resources (e.g., biodiversity, water, ‘the coast’) overlap or abut private property or private use rights these matters can become sources of conflict.  Multi-stakeholder platforms, community based natural resource management, co-management, collaborative management and cooperative planning have all been advanced as means to address such issues.   Researchers working in this project area are addressing aspects of institutional structures and mechanisms to govern or manage such situations. This project has close links with the Human Dimensions of Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Theme.

Key researchers include: Hamish Rennie, , Ken Hughey, Larry Hildebrand.