Property rights, deforestation, and community forest management in the Himalayas: An analysis of forest policy in British Kumaun, 1815-1949

Under what conditions can one expect to see a sustained system of community management of forests in operation? Considerable theoretical scepticism has been expressed by economists and others about the viability of any such institution. In this view, such institutions will inevitably result in a tragedy of the commons. However, evidence from around the world has accumulated in recent years which suggests that common property institutions do exist, and in some cases, have existed for a long time. Using archival sources in India and the U.K., this thesis explores the fate of community management of forests in a region of the central Himalayas known as Kumaun. Kumaun was under British administration over the period 1815-1949. The forests of the region were not under formal state management till the 1860s. In fact, there is evidence of customary cooperative arrangements--informal local institutions--before the arbitrary takeover of forests by the new administrators. The new property regime had a disruptive effect on local institutions and precipitated much deforestation, especially since the state did not have the logistical wherewithal to enforce the new forest rules at a time when local arrangements had lost credibility. Two schools of thought emerged within the state bureaucracy to address the emerging crisis of rapidly diminishing forests. The centralizers argued for more effective supervision and an increase in state power in order to protect the forests. The devolutionists, by contrast, canvassed for decentralized management by user communities. Several decades of experimentation with centralized methods failed to protect forests effectively and caused much political protest. The government ultimately had to resurrect local institutions in the 1920s. In the beginning this was a failure, since community management had lost all credibility in the eyes of local users. However, persistent efforts by government officers finally paid off and the new system of van panchayats (village forest councils) finally solved a problem which the state, on its own, could not