Cooperative Forest Management

From this month's Science Roundup:

Sustainably managing common natural resources, such as fisheries, water, and forests, is essential for our long-term survival. Conventional analysis assumes that groups struggle to manage common natural resources because of free-riders and people who will maximize short-term self-benefits at the expense of long-term sustainability (the so-called "tragedy of the commons").  However, behavioral laboratory experiments have shown evidence that "conditional cooperation" -- individual cooperation contingent upon the cooperation of others -- can produce shared, long-term benefits.

Building on the work of Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom, the authors of a study published in this month's Science combined results from experimental economics labs and surveys of different groups of forest users in Ethiopia with biological assessments of forest health to conclude that "voluntary cooperation in commons management is not a pipe dream but an empirical fact."

Working on the ground in Nicaragua for over five years, we aren't surprised. Thanks to the combined efforts of hotel owners, large landowners, fishermen, partner NGOs, and more, we have seen watched endangered species returning to the dry tropical forests, mangroves, and waters of southwestern Nicaragua. While we work with local governments and MARENA (the Nicaraguan environmental ministry), our coalitions for conservation are voluntary, meaning these individual people and entities are making a choice to cooperate for the long-term benefits of local communities and ecosystems.

The authors warn that such cooperation is fragile, as people are likely to sacrifice short-term self-benefits for long-term sustainability only when they see others making the same sacrifice. Working for over five years to combine cutting edge research in both the natural and social sciences, we provide individual incentives for conservation with community empowerment to create a culture of conservation in Nicaragua.

Among the other factors Ostrom and Vollan suggest contribute to success in managing commons? "Evidence from field experiments shows that resource users responded prosocially to environmental appeals made by park rangers." Another reason to support Paso Pacifico by making a donation to our ranger program.