Analyzing current theoretical and empirical research, this study examines the mismanagement of natural resources. Focusing on local ecosystems, it asks how they can be most efficiently and equitably protected in terms of private, public or community management.

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This wide-ranging book, based on a report to the Food and Agriculture Organization in 1993, is an attempt to bridge the gap between the enormous amount of empirical literature documenting efforts at managing local-level resources and the quickly growing body of theoretical knowledge dealing with natural resource management. By building a unifying framework, the authors aim to better define the conditions of success or failure of various forms of resource management at the village level. Contrary to a common view according to which mismanagement of such resources is to be ascribed to direct users falling prey to The Tragedy of the Commons', they convincingly argue that there are other important potential explanations, such as lack of awareness about ecological effects of human activities, poverty and heavy discounting of future income streams, uncertainty over future property rights and prices of natural products, and availability of more attractive income opportunities.
This book is intended for faculty and graduate students in environmental economics and development economics, and policy-makers and NGOs concerned with common property management and local-level community institutions.