COMMON PROPERTY RESOURCES

ECONOMIC REFORMS  AND COMMON PROPERTY RESOURCES :ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

-Edited by Suvrangshu Pan

Regal Publications,F-159 ,Rajouri Garden,NewDelhi-110027 , Price- 1080/-

Common Property Resources constitutes an important component of the natural resource endowment which contributes significantly to the rural economy and provides sustenance to local communities in rural areas. The book is based on the papers presented in a National Level Seminar organised by the Department of Economics, Kashipur Michael Madhusudan Mahavidyalaya, Purulia, West Bengal in collaboration with Mahatma Gandhi College, Lalpur,Purulia,West Bengal and sponsored by UGC. It consists of 16 selected papers.

The name of my paper is “The Conceptual Fallacy of Common Property Resources”(page 20-32)

According to the author,the conceptual framework of commons is debatable since whether common property resource will be open access or inclusive property right is subject to traditional or conventional use by community as described by the researchers.Hardin’s tragedy of common is applicable only to open access resources where no property rights.The author believes that everybody’s  property is nobody’s property .It is wrong to assume that coomon property is the same as open access(ie open access is charecterised by an “absence of well-defined  property rights which can lead to people ‘free riding ‘ and over exploitating resources”).The tribal right over forest as common property resources is nullified and negated by the Forest Policy of 2006 and also defined by Forest Conservation Act,(1980) and Wildlife Protection Act(1972).It was recognised that all the natural resources are owned by the government on property right act. Yet, traditionally we explain and extend research work on common property resources by which joint forest management,community forest management,water-shed management and so on .. can enrich sustainable development and propoor developmental policy or conversely reduces climate change induced proverty ratio.

Author argued that in India,common property resources include,village pastures and gazing ground,village forests and woodlots,protected and unleased government forests,waste lands,common threshing ground,watershed drainage,pond and tanks,rivers,rivulets,water reservoirs,canals and irrigation channels etc which have been surveyed by NSSO,during 1998(54^th round) taking the concept of excluding property rights but including accessibility as conventional use since the pre-British India.So,we cannot refrain from its conceptual fallacy.Author told that there is confusion between resource system and property regimes in India.The author was concluded with a decent manner by saying that CPR means there is no property regimes and open access is constraint.There are several forest acts of 1864,1878, 1894,1927,1952,1988 but no acts tell about forest rights for the tribal.