IDRC supports researchers to attend the 2006 Conference on the International Association for the Study of Common Property (IASCP)

The theme of this year’s Conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property (IASCP), to be held 19-23 June 2006 in Bali, Indonesia, is “Survival of the Commons: Mounting Challenges and New Realities.”

As in previous IASCP conferences, IDRC will be supporting researchers from Centre-supported projects to present their research findings at the conference.

Every two years, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from around the globe gather for the IASCP. The purpose of these biennial conferences is to provide a forum for disseminating research on the management of common-pool resources (CPRs) that are held or used collectively by communities around the world.

The event gives researchers an opportunity to participate in discussions, exchange ideas, and build intellectual capacity around a range of themes linked to the study of CPRs.

CPRs are natural or man-made resources where a large number of people have access to them. For example, an ocean bay where fish are harvested, or a forest where trees are felled for firewood or construction. These natural resources are often essential for human survival, however, their overuse, such as overfishing or felling too many trees, can easily lead to their destruction.

Decades of research on CPRs have shown local communities can manage these resources cooperatively and sustainably. Collaborative arrangements between communities, researchers, and governments have also proven successful for managing and conserving CPRs beyond the small-community setting.

IDRC’s Rural Poverty and Environment Program supports some of this research in developing countries around the world.

In Mongolia, participatory research is being undertaken by the Ministry of Nature and the Environment to promote community-based pasture management to sustainably manage common pastureland in face of the country’s changing economy (Sustainable Management of Common Natural Resources in Mongolia (Ph III).

In Ecuador, research on the social and organizational aspects of water shortages and conflicts in El Angel watershed eventually led to the creation of a space, the Carchi Consortium, where different types of water users from communities and local and national governments were brought together to express their problems or concerns and find solutions based on consensus (Collaborative Watershed Management of Natural Resources).

In Cambodia, other IDRC-sponsored research projects have contributed to the development of legislation that enables community-based management of coastal and inland fisheries and forests (Community Fisheries Management Phase 2; Participatory Management of Coastal Resources; Cambodia CBNRM Learning Institute, and Community Forestry (Cambodia) Ph II).
Several of these research projects are the subject of a new IDRC book Communities, Livelihoods, and Natural Resources: Action Research and Policy Change in Asia, edited by Stephen R. Tyler, to be launched on 19 June at the IASCP 2006 Conference. The book presents research findings from seven years of applied research on community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) in Asia and provides practitioners and policymakers with models of good practice in participatory, community-based resource management.

To kick-off the one-week conference, IDRC is also supporting the policy seminar “The Devolution of Natural Resources,” on 19 June. Devolution of natural resource management from central governments to local community organizations or individuals, has been a growing trend in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Key speakers from China, India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Cambodia, and Viet Nam will discuss their experiences and emerging problems with devolution in their countries.

More information on the IASCP 2006 Conference and IDRC-sponsored “Devolution” seminar can be found at: http://www.iascp.org/bali/iascp06.html

IDRC contact person:
Ms Vivien Chiam
Partnership and Business Development Manager
[email protected]