Case Studies of Social-Ecological Systems

Titlesort ascending
Type

Land-cover and Forest in Nepal (II)

Case
Between 1978 and 1992 dramatic forest conversion occurred in two adjacent sub-basins of the Kair Khola watershed in the Chitwan District of Nepal. However, the form of conversion differed significantly. In the Kair sub-basin dense forest was most often converted to maize-based agriculture, while in the Shakti sub-basin dense forest most often became degraded forest. This study undertook a village-level investigation of forest governance to determine whether community and institutional...
09 Aug 2016

Land-cover and Forest in Nepal (I)

Case
Between 1978 and 1992 dramatic forest conversion occurred in two adjacent sub-basins of the Kair Khola watershed in the Chitwan District of Nepal. However, the form of conversion differed significantly. In the Kair sub-basin dense forest was most often converted to maize-based agriculture, while in the Shakti sub-basin dense forest most often became degraded forest. This study undertook a village-level investigation of forest governance to determine whether community and institutional...
09 Aug 2016

Lakes Entrance Scallop Fishery

Case
The Lakes Entrance scallop fishery is located in Bass Strait outside the city of Lakes Entrance in eastern Victoria, Australia and as far south as Tasmania in depths of 10-30 fathoms . The original case, which was published in 1982, catalogs the management of both Lakes Entrance and nearby Port Phillip Bay fisheries following a decline in scallop stocks in the early 1970s. The shared resources relevant to the commons dilemma faced by the community include scallop stocks and their productivity (...
09 Aug 2016

La Campa Municipio Community Forests, Honduras

Case
The La Campa municipio community forests are located in the Department of Lempira, western Honduras.  The community forests encompass an unknown geographical area that is characterized by a mountainous landscape, steep slopes and poor soils.  The case study involves a snapshot in time from 1993 to 1998 and catalogues an action situation involving approximately 8,000 community members organized in an unknown number of households who depend on subsistence crops (maize, beans, banana),...
09 Aug 2016

Kurnool-Cuddapah canal large-scale irrigation system in Andhra Pradesh, South India

Case
 The Kurnool-Cuddapah (KC) Canal Irrigation System draws water from Tungabhadra river through the Sunkesula Dam on flows through Cuddapah and Kurnool districts in state of Andhra Pradesh in South India providing water to around 120,000 hectares and servicing around 250,000 farm households (check). It was originally built by the Dutch for navigation purposes and later sold to the British and used for irrigation purposes. It was modernized somewhat around 1950s. The main canal is largely a "...
09 Aug 2016

Kottapalle open-field husbandry and canal irrigation, Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, South India

Case
Located in the Nowk valley in Kurnool district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in South India, Kottapalle has an area of 4,600 acres. The village is in the tail-end of a 20-mile irrigation canal. The original research was conducted from 1980 to 1982. The state Irrigation Department is responsible for regulating water allocation between each outlet between each village from the canal. The local council is responsible for distribution of water to fields in the village.  Also,...
09 Aug 2016

Knowledge Commons

Case
This study focuses on knowledge commons. It outlines the connection between academic digital databases, such as the Digital Library of the Commons (http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/), the Workshop Research Library (https://ostromworkshop.indiana.edu/library/), the Polycentricity Database (https://polycentricity.com/), and the SES Library that are organized around Elinor Ostrom's vast research agenda, e.g., common pool resources, SES framework, polycentricity, resource users, providers, and the...
11 Mar 2020

Kheri irrigation system, Sonjo village, Ngorongoro district, Tanzania

Case
The case of Kheri Irrigation takes place in Sonjo village of Kheri and its adjacent farmlands within the Ngorongoro district of the Arusah region in Tanzania. The resource appropriated is water flowing from a stream, three springs, furrows, and sluices that supply water for irrigation and domestic uses. The boundaries of the location are defined by the village settlement and the land owned by the village people. There are a total of 101-200 formally organized appropriator teams. After Gray's (...
09 Aug 2016

Kenya Community Water Projects

Case
Community-based water governance systems from the Mt. Kenya region in central Kenya.This study focused on women's participation and contributions to water governance in central Kenya as an outcome of a national gender quota, requiring no more than two-thirds of a publically-elected to consist of a single gender.
11 Mar 2020

Kampong Mee Trawl Fishery, Malaysia

Case
Kampong Mee is a fishing community that is located near the urban areas of Penang and several other fishing ports in Malaysia. The original case, which was published in 1977, catalogues approximately 2,000 inhabitants and 150 boats; the resource unit is demersal fish. Overfishing is the main common pool resource problem. In an attempt to limit overfishing, six co-operatvies were established. Co-operative committee heads are appointed by the government and were established to manage the...
09 Aug 2016

Jambudwip Marine Fishery, India

Case
Jambudwip, an island in the Bay of Bengal, is located about 7 miles to the southwest of Bakkhali in the South 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. The original case, which spans from 1967-1968, catalogues an action situation involving approximately 243 fishermen in the village; the resource unit are demersal and midwater fish species. The boundary is based on traditional use and technology limitations. Two distinct types of institutional arrangements exist among the...
09 Aug 2016

Irrigation watercourse, "Area One", Pakistan

Case
The resource appropriated from this watercourse in Area One (actual names of communities were removed in the case study) is water for irrigation. Area One is a large irrigation system managed by a government bureaucracy. There are no formal organizations at the watercourse level, though informal arrangements exist in all watercourses for mobilizing farmers to carry out maintenance on a communal basis. The system as a whole is not managed effectively. There are over 5000 total appropriator teams...
09 Aug 2016

Irrigation watercourse, "Area Four", Taiwan

Case
The resource appropriated from this watercourse in Area Four (actual names of communities removed in case study) is water for irrigation. At the beginning of the study, the authors describe a moderate shortage of biological and physical resources withdrawn compared to the number of units available. Area Four has irrigation associations run by full-time officials, although there used to be farmers' representative committees, but at the time of the study they were temporarily suspended. There are...
09 Aug 2016

Irrigation watercourse in Punjab Province

Case
 The irrigation system being studied is located in the state of Punjab in Pakistan. The resource appropriated is water for irrigation. The authors find that farmers operate their irrigation system under a contradictory system of de jure and de facto rules. Illegal trading of water among farmers occurs frequently. Farmers use extra-legal means to obtain increased water supplies through bribes to Canal Department officials. Farmers organize predominately around brotherhood or kinship groups...
09 Aug 2016

Irrigation water management in the Chancay-Lambayeque Basin, Peru

Case
The resource appropriated from the Chancay-Lambayeque Basin is water for irrigation. There are two groups of farmers. One groups is located upstream the main canal of the system, and the second groups downstream. Upstream users are freeriding from the canal: They do not pay for the infrastructure maintenance, and at the same time they appropriate water without any formal regulation. Downstream farmers are members of an irrigation association and follow their rules. The national water law...
09 Aug 2016