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Open access lands and natural resources, sometimes referred to as “non-property,” exemplify lack of specificrights, or unenforceable rights. In contrast to common property regimes, open access resources have nonamed and known group that claims them, and no specific institutional arrangements designed to ensureproper governance of the resource. Also unlike common property, in open access areas by definition noparticular individual or group has authority to exclude anyone from using the resource. Open access iscommon in marine contexts, where access to resources beyond a specified distance from land may be freeand unrestricted to all. Open access areas may include rangelands, forests, or wetlands. It is important to notethat common property, public property, or private property may at times “slip into” open access status wherelocal institutions, governments, or individuals responsible for governing and maintaining them lack the abilityto effectively monitor and enforce rules of resource use. For instance, protected areas legally falling understate jurisdiction often experience open access situations (and are hence characterized as “paper parks”), dueto lack of effective mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement.In some circumstances “hybrid” property regimes exist. These regimes combine varying elements of therights regimes of private, public and common property systems. The defining characteristic of hybridproperty regimes is that the strands of the property rights bundle are shared among private and publicentities. Hybrid property rights regimes include co-managed natural resources or community-based naturalresource management, in which use and management rights are shared between government agencies andcommunity-based organizations.As generally perceived, private, public, and common property regimes are idealized forms of propertyregimes. Even the hybrid models generally ignore many ideological, legal, and social aspects systemicallyembedded in property rights systems. As a result, the property regime types presented above—private, public,common, and open access—have been somewhat dryly referred to as the “big four” (Wiber, 2005).Nevertheless, if used sensibly, this taxonomy of property rights regimes is a useful tool for analyzing propertyissues and implications involved in program or project development contexts.In addition, multiple forms of property rights often coexist in any given location (Coward, 2006). In otherwords, individuals may hold rights to private lands, and at the same time, have rights to resources held incommon such as collectively managed fisheries resources in a state-owned wetland. 9 It is important to notealso that property rights are impermanent and often change over time. As Coward notes, property rightsarrangements are made and remade, particularly when there are shifts in political or economic power.2.2 TENURE SECURITY AND ENFORCEMENT OF PROPERTY RIGHTSTenure security is characterized by enforceability of property rights, and refers to the degree to whichindividual or group rights to land and natural resources are recognized and protected. A lack of securityimplies insufficient capacity to defend a property right against competing claims, encroachment, or eviction.Insecurity of property rights invites conflict, discourages investment, 10 and in some instances createsdisincentives for sustainable land and natural resource stewardship, for instance by instigating land clearing inefforts to legitimize land claims (see Unruh et al. 2005). Numerous factors play a role in determining the levelof tenure security. As summarized in Box 4, these include the legitimacy of the property rights, institutions9Such coexisting property rights are best illustrated in a “communal” tenure system not unusual in the non-Western context. In acommunal tenure, individual property rights are often derived from the property rights of a community, such as a lineage, a village, oranother social group (Bruce, 2004). In such a case, rights of individual landholders can be limited by the community from which thoserights are derived.10A good summary of the economic advantages obtained through security of tenure is provided in Place, Roth and Hazell, Land TenureSecurity and Agricultural Performance in Africa: Overview of Research Methodology, in Bruce and Mighot-Adholla, Searching for Land TenureSecurity in Africa, Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1994 (sponsored by the World Bank).8 ROLE OF PROPERTY RIGHTS IN NRM: GOOD GOVERNANCE AND EMPOWERMENT OF THE RURAL POOR
••••Box 4. Elements of Tenure SecurityTenure security is characterized by:Legitimacy,Institutional backing,Clarity, andExcludability.available to support legitimate property rights (Meinzen-Dicket al., 2004), clarity of rights, and excludability of these rights(Lawry, 1990).Legitimacy. A leading factor in property rightsenforceability is the degree of legitimacy of the propertyrights system in which the claimed rights are anchored. Ahigh degree of legitimacy encourages voluntary complianceon the one hand, and discourages challenges to recognizedrights on the other. A high degree of legitimacy reduces the need for repressive responses and elaborateinstitutions for dispute resolution. Property rights gain legitimacy through laws and associated institutions (seeTable 1). A diverse set of laws and institutions may legitimate property rights claims; however, these typicallyinvolve customary law enforced by a local governance unit such as village institutions and elected orappointed institutional or village authorities. The statutory system is defined in written laws (de jure) enactedand enforced by a central or regional government. 11 Customary property rights regimes are often referred toas non-formal (de facto) systems. These typically incorporate unwritten rules, often characterized by propertyrights systems of considerable complexity. Customary property rights systems, which have evolved along withthe societies in which they are rooted, often enjoy a degree of legitimacy in the eyes of local people that farexceeds that of (imposed) statutory laws. Indeed, in many parts of the non-Western world, it is the customaryrights that legitimate property rights in rural areas. For instance in West African countries, Toulmin (20052006) notes that rights to only 2-3 percent of land may be formally recognized under statutory law. A majorityof those parcels are localized in urban or other commercialized areas. Various sets of laws (formal and nonformal)may contradict each other resulting in overlapping claims and at times conflict.TABLE 1. SUPPORT FOR ENFORCEMENT OF CUSTOMARY PROPERTY RIGHTS TOVILLAGE LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES: THE ROLE OF LEGITIMACYRights HolderCOMMUNITYCOUNCIL OFELDERSHEADS OFHOUSEHOLDSHOUSEHOLDMEMBERSType ofRightsownershiprightstransfer rightsmanagementrightsuse rightsBasis for LegitimacyTraditional authoritystructures of community;shared history andtraditionsTraditional authoritystructures of communityTraditional authoritystructures of communityand householdsTraditional authoritystructures of householdbacked up by communityChallenges to LegitimacyGovernment claims to manage reserves,waterways, watersheds, fisheries and wildlife,as well as otherwise “vacant” lands;development of land marketsHereditary posts losing power and authority;fragmentation of authority as it shifts fromcommunity-level toward households andnuclear familiesHousehold fragmentation and assertion ofclaims to portions of family common lands onpart of nuclear familiesMoney economy develops creating livelihoodoptions for household members beyondfarming; encourages land markets)Institutional Backing. Institutions are necessary to enforce the specific legal system that provides legitimacyto a set of property rights. These institutions (associated with each legal system) are responsible for makingand modifying rules of the regime; monitoring compliance with those rules; sanctioning persons who infringerules; mediating any resulting conflicts; disseminating information about results of monitoring; sanctioning;resolving disputes; and mobilizing resources, leaders and staff to conduct all these functions. The11Other sets of laws and rules regarding property rights may apply depending on the context and the specific site. For instance, Meinzen-Dick et al. (2004) identify religious or “project” laws that may apply to specific areas.ROLE OF PROPERTY RIGHTS IN NRM: GOOD GOVERNANCE AND EMPOWERMENT OF THE RURAL POOR 9
Page 5 and 6: CONTENTSACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
Page 7: SUMMARY Property rights and the rol
Page 10 and 11: Secure property rights are an impor
Page 12 and 13: Use rights. The most observable typ
Page 14 and 15: engaging in timber harvests beyond
Page 19: espective resources is manageable,
Page 22 and 23: ends or to finance violent conflict
Page 24 and 25: 3.0 PROPERTY RIGHTS IN ACTION:ILLUS
Page 26 and 27: environmental and development goals
Page 28 and 29: modification of the policy environm
Page 30 and 31: exclusive rights to resources, ofte
Page 32 and 33: positioned themselves to prepare fo
Page 34 and 35: No clear pattern emerges regarding
Page 36 and 37: achieved by resolving discrepancies
Page 38 and 39: jurisprudence is common in African
Page 40 and 41: 3. Be aware of the characteristic f
Page 43: REFERENCES ROLE OF PROPERTY RIGHTS
Page 46 and 47: Fernandez-Gimenez, Maria. 2006. Lan
Page 48 and 49: Ribot, Jesse C. 2004. Waiting for D

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