Rural Common Property Resources-Contributions and Crisis

Contributions and Crisis N S Jodha Common Property Resources(CPRs) in developing countries continue to be a significant component of (he land resource base of rural communities. This is more so in the relatively high-risk, low-productivity areas such as the arid and semi-arid tropical regions of India. Historically, (i) the presence of factors less favourable to rapid privatisation of land resources; (ii) community level concerns for collective sustenance and ecological fragility; and (Hi) dependence of private resource based farming on the collective risk sharing arrangements, constituted circumstances favourable to the institution of common property resources in these areas, CPRs in turn contribute to the production and consumption needs of rural communities in several ways. However, notwithstanding their private contributions CPRs are faced with a serious crisis, as reflected by their area shrinkage, productivity decline, and management collapse.