Publisher's Synopsis
Published in association with the Southern African Sustainable Use Specialist Group (SASUSG) of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). - Natural resource governance is central to the outcomes of biodiversity conservation efforts and to patterns of economic development, particularly in resource-dependent rural communities. The institutional arrangements that define natural resource governance are outcomes of political processes, whereby numerous groups with often-divergent interests negotiate for access to and control over resources. These political processes determine the outcomes of resource governance reform efforts, such as widespread attempts to decentralize or devolve greater tenure over land and resources to local communities. - This volume examines the dynamics of natural resource governance processes through a range of comparative case studies across east and southern Africa, in an effort to better understand the factors that account for the different outcomes of reform efforts in different contexts. These cases examine issues such as land tenure, tourism development, wildlife conservation, and participatory forest management, and are drawn from the work of both academics and field practitioners from across the region.
