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Local government and rural development in the bengal Sundarbans: An inquiry in managing common property resources

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  • Harry Blair

Abstract

Of the three strategies available for managing common property resources (CPR)—centralized control, privatization and local management—this essay focuses on the last, which has proven quite effective in various settings throughout the Third World, with the key to success being local ability to control access to the resource. The major factors at issue in the Sundarbans situation are: historically external pressure on the forest; currently dense population in adjacent areas; a land distribution even more unequal than the norm in Bangladesh; and a decentralized local government structure initiated in the mid-1980s. The first three factors have encouraged the local population to view this CRP as a frontier to be exploited,rather than as a resource to be preservedfor sustained yield. Thus to the extent that the new local government structure proves to be democratic and responsive to popular needs, it would most likely accelerate destruction of the Sundarbans, using the area as a cheap and easy way to provide some livelihood to the rural poor and landless. Accordingly, decentralization cannot be a viable strategy for preserving this unique forest resource; only a strong central control can ensure its survival into the next century. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1990

Suggested Citation

  • Harry Blair, 1990. "Local government and rural development in the bengal Sundarbans: An inquiry in managing common property resources," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 7(2), pages 40-51, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:7:y:1990:i:2:p:40-51
    DOI: 10.1007/BF01530435
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wade, Robert, 1987. "The Management of Common Property Resources: Finding a Cooperative Solution," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 2(2), pages 219-234, July.
    2. Conyers, Diana, 1986. "Future directions in development studies: The case of decentralization," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 593-603, May.
    3. Jnanabrata Bhattacharyya, 1990. "Uses, values, and use values of the Sundarbans," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 7(2), pages 34-39, March.
    4. Florence McCarthy, 1990. "The role of foreign assistance and commercial interests in the exploitation of the Sundarbans," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 7(2), pages 52-60, March.
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    1. Jnanabrata Bhattacharyya, 1990. "Uses, values, and use values of the Sundarbans," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 7(2), pages 34-39, March.
    2. Harry W. Blair, 1996. "Democracy, Equity and Common Property Resource Management in the Indian Subcontinent," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 27(3), pages 475-499, July.
    3. Ronald Herring, 1990. "Rethinking the commons," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 7(2), pages 88-104, March.

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