Title: Property rights regimes in protected areas and the development of local communities: what is the way forward? The case study of Sariska Tiger Reserve in India

Authors: Maria Costanza Torri; Thora Martina Herrmann

Addresses: Department of Geography, Université de Montréal, Pavillon 520 Côte-Ste-Catherine, 520, Chemin de la Côte-Ste-Catherine, Montréal (Qc), H2V 2B8, Canada ' Department of Geography, Université de Montréal, Pavillon 520 Côte-Ste-Catherine, 520, Chemin de la Côte-Ste-Catherine, Montréal (Qc), H2V 2B8, Canada

Abstract: The property rights regime forms the backbone of India's national conservation strategy, but its success in social terms has not been always evident. In particular, the consequences of the creation of protected areas, in which forests within these boundaries were nationalised resulted in local populations losing customary access rights. The paper analyses the implications of two approaches to management of protected areas. First, it analyses the current property rights regime for conservation of natural resources and the socioeconomic development of local communities in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India. Second, it reviews an informal community-conservation initiative for a local forest in which local villagers in conjunction with local NGOs, manage forest resources. We draw on this analysis to make recommendations for achieving greater effectiveness in meeting conservation and rural development objectives.

Keywords: political ecology; protected areas; property rights; national conservation strategy; India; environmental protection; local communities; access rights; forests; socioeconomic development; forest management; resource management; forest resources; rural development; rural areas.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEPDM.2014.067576

International Journal of Environmental Policy and Decision Making, 2014 Vol.1 No.2, pp.97 - 122

Received: 10 Sep 2011
Accepted: 24 Jan 2012
Published online: 28 Feb 2015 *

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