Common property regime of the Huaorani Indians (modern), Ecuador

Contemporary Huaorani Indian society is scattered into approximately two dozen villages located in an area that encompasses the Napo, Orellana, and Pastaza provinces in the Ecuadorian Amazon region.  The case study involves a time period from approximately 1996 to the late 1990s and catalogues an action situation involving approximately 1,500 to 2,000 individuals and an unknown number of households who depend on domestic crops, gathered wild fruits, nuts and tubers, as well as hunted game and fish.  These common pool resources are increasingly being supplemented with cash income from oil company work, tourism, and the sale of arts and crafts and timber.  Forest resources are both stationary and transient in nature. 

The original case study author focused on the Huaorani’s common property regime and institutional performance.  The case study has subsequently been used in comparative analyses regarding Ostrom's Design Principles (see bibliography).