the role of property rights in natural resource management, good ...

SUMMARY Property rights and the role they play in sustainable natural resource management, good governance andempowerment of poor communities is gaining significant attention in development and environmentalprogramming. Literature and practical experience are increasingly drawing attention to property rights as animportant consideration in rural empowerment and sustainable management of land and natural resources.Moreover, development agencies are increasingly recognizing property rights as a critical factor determininghow land and natural resources are used and managed, and how benefits from these resources are distributed.The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of critical property rights concepts for non-propertyrights specialists involved in design and implementation of natural resource programs. This paper has foursections. Section 1 defines property rights in the context of land and natural resources. It illustrates whypractitioners should consider property rights when pursuing sustainable natural resource management, goodgovernance, and socioeconomic empowerment objectives. Section 2 is an overview of critical concepts inproperty rights, specifically, the notion of “bundles of rights”, the range of property rights regimes (e.g.,private, community, state), the nature of property rights and factors critical for security of rights. Section 2also provides an overview of the kinds of property rights frequently encountered in the non-Western context,as well as property rights reforms that many states and donors are currently implementing in the naturalresource and governance arena. Section 3 begins with a short series of key observations for natural resourceprogrammers about property rights reforms. It then explores five important challenges to achieving the bestfit between property rights systems and environmental or development objectives, drawing from a variety ofland and natural resource sectors and issues such as agriculture, fisheries, forest resource use and biodiversityconservation. Specific topics addressed comprise managing and channeling changing market incentives;harmonizing with government policies, with a focus on decentralization and devolution; building oncustomary property rights regimes; balancing equity and efficiency; and enforcement of property rights in achanging world. 1 Section 3 also analyzes specific policies, experiences and interventions where considerationof property rights has, or could have, successfully informed and strengthened a natural resource program.Finally, Section 4 summarizes key principles in land and property rights reforms with implications for naturalresource management, governance and livelihood security in rural areas.1While this piece serves as an introduction to property rights for natural resource specialists, ARD’s Land Tenure and Property RightsFramework and associated tools may be used for guidance on operational integration of land and property rights issues into broaderdevelopment, including natural resource, programs (ARD, 2005). The LTPR Framework places land and property rights concerns withinthe context of governance viewed broadly, economic growth, natural resource management, and poverty reduction. The associatedmaterials include: an assessment tool for identifying land and property rights issues in any given location, a survey of land and propertyrights concerns in USAID presence countries, and an assessment of the severity of property rights issues in each of these USAID presencecountries.ROLE OF PROPERTY RIGHTS IN NRM: GOOD GOVERNANCE AND EMPOWERMENT OF THE RURAL POOR iii