Governing the commons : A case-study of Rio Limpio National Park, Dominican Republic

Due to scarce natural resources and problems of governing the commons, alternative management of the commons has again emerged. The earlier known governing methods used by international and state conservation are state or private ownership. Governing the commons with local institutions was brought to attention in 2009 by Elinor Ostrom. In this case-study of governing the commons, a national park is the objective. There are many stakeholders, with a focus on the community institution. The co-management of governing the national park between the local institution, the state and the NGO is analysed to find out if sustainable governance can be achieved in Rio Limpio National Park, and if so how? The rules are set on the conditions of the state about the regulations of the national park, although its protection is legitimized by the activities of the local institution. The regulation that prohibits the use of the natural resources within the park is enforced in a situation -where poor people are directly dependant on the natural resources and have few employment alternatives. This creates conflicts between the state, the NGO and the community of the environmental policies. The study has shown that increased benefits of the community, as with social protection and local participation in decision making, will lead to more successful nature resource management as well as sustainable development