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Patronage or Participation? Community‐based Natural Resource Management Reform in Sub‐Saharan Africa
Author(s) -
Nelson Fred,
Agrawal Arun
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
development and change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1467-7660
pISSN - 0012-155X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-7660.2008.00496.x
Subject(s) - decentralization , natural resource management , accountability , wildlife , corporate governance , natural resource , politics , state (computer science) , institutional analysis , value (mathematics) , common pool resource , political science , economic growth , development economics , public administration , economics , sociology , ecology , social science , finance , algorithm , machine learning , computer science , law , biology , microeconomics
This article examines the institutional factors that account for the outcome of efforts to decentralize control over natural resources to local communities. It focuses on the political nature of institutional processes associated with decentralization in sub‐Saharan Africa through a comparative analysis of wildlife management reforms in seven east and southern African countries. Institutional reforms are largely dependent on state authorities' patronage interests, which in turn are shaped by the relative economic value of wildlife, the degree of central control over commercial utilization, and the accountability of governance institutions. Our findings have a range of practical implications for the design of CBNRM initiatives and institutional reform strategies.