Case Studies of Social-Ecological Systems

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Type

Ayvalik-Haylazli Lagoon Fishery

Case
The Ayvalik-Haylazli lagoon fishery is located on the Turkish Mediterranean coast near the town of Adana. The resource units are demersal fish (mullets, groupers, and snappers). The original case, which spans from 1976-1978, catalogues an action situation involving 103 registered fishermen from three neighboring villages. As of 2011, the fishery and its adjacent waters are harvested by 397 registered fishermen from three neighboring villages. There are user group organizations (...
09 Aug 2016

Baccalaos Cove Cod Fishery, Canada

Case
The fishing community, Baccalaos Cove, is located in the Placentia Bay on the eastern shore of the Burin Peninsula of Newfoundland, in the eastern part of Canada on the Atlantic coast. The original case, which spans from 1977-1979, catalogues an action situation of approximately 300 fishermen; the resource unit is cod. Depending on the season, different allocation techniques are used for assigning fishing spots; lottery system in summers and "first-in-time, first-in-right" process in the fall....
09 Aug 2016

Baghmara Ko Kulo, Sikharpur Village Panchayat, Sindhupachok District, Nepal

Case
This case is part of the original Nepal Irrigation Institutions and Systems (NIIS) database developed in the 1980's by a team of researchers under the direction of Dr. Elinor Ostrom at Indiana University. In addition, this case is also part of a longitudinal study that has repeatedly investigated 19 farmer-managed irrigation systems (FMIS) in the Indrawati River Basin that participated in an innovative intervention designed to improve irrigation performance not only by improving physical...
09 Aug 2016

Balinese Subak irrigation system

Case
The rice paddies and irrigation system of this case are near Tihingan village, in the Klungkung district of Bali, Indonesia ‐ 45 km northeast of Denpasar. The original case spans from 1957 to 1959, and it catalogues an action situation involving 455 rice farmers who are members of an organization that regulates irrigation and planting cycles (a subak). The subak system in Bali represents a longstanding tradition for irrigation, dating back to at least the 12th century (some estimates suggest as...
09 Aug 2016

Ballynakill Harbour multi-use co-operative, Connemara District, Ireland

Case
Ballynakill Harbour is located on the northwest part of Connemara, a region on the west coast of Ireland. Use of the harbor has moved from predominantly single-use, involving commercial and domestic fishing, to multiple uses including: fishing for shrimp, white fish, and salmon; as well as finfish and shellfish aquaculture, oyster farming, and marine tourism. The case study focuses on the activities of the North Connemara Marine Co-operative which was formed through collective action between...
09 Aug 2016

Banggai Cardinalfish, Indonesia

Case
The Banggai Cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni) is a species endemic to the Banggai Islands of Indonesia. It has been overfished due to its popularity as an aquarium fish, and is currently listed as "Endangered" on the IUCN Red List. The system lacks appropriate soft public infrastructure to regulate and monitor extraction and trade of the species.
09 Aug 2016

Barabaig communal grazing system, Hanang plains, Tanzania

Case
This case was part of a study to determine whether the institutional design principles of Ostrom where, in fact, related to "governance success" by Cox et al.  In that analysis, this case was classified as a success.
09 Aug 2016

Barrio San Antonio irrigation system, Tabaco City, Philippines

Case
The Barrio San Antonio irrigation system is located at the northern foot of Mount Mayon approximately 7 km west of the city of Tabaco, Albay province, in the Philippines. It also faces Mt. Masaraga on the west and Mt. Malinao on the northwest.  No jeepneys nor buses exclusively ply the Tabaco-San Antonio route but it is accessible to different towns of the Albay and Camarines Sur because of public transportation. Vehicles that travel this route go between various towns of Camarines...
09 Aug 2016

Besi Kulo, Kot village Panchayat, Sindhupalchok District, Nepal

Case
This case is part of the original Nepal Irrigation Institutions and Systems (NIIS) database developed in the 1980's by a team of researchers under the direction of Dr. Elinor Ostrom at Indiana University. In addition, this case is also part of a longitudinal study that has repeatedly investigated 19 farmer-managed irrigation systems (FMIS) in the Indrawati River Basin that participated in an innovative intervention designed to improve irrigation performance not only by improving physical...
09 Aug 2016

Bhanjyang Tar Ko Kulo, Bansbri and Bhote Panchayat, Sindhupalchok District, Nepal

Case
This case is part of the original Nepal Irrigation Institutions and Systems (NIIS) database developed in the 1980's by a team of researchers under the direction of Dr. Elinor Ostrom at Indiana University. In addition, this case is also part of a longitudinal study that has repeatedly investigated 19 farmer-managed irrigation systems (FMIS) in the Indrawati River Basin that participated in an innovative intervention designed to improve irrigation performance not only by improving physical...
09 Aug 2016

Biodiversity, resilience and the control of ecological-economic systems: the case of fire-driven rangelands

Case
This paper advances a model to assess how grazing pressure in rangelands may lead to change in the ecological state of the range with a particular focus on fire-dependent semi-arid rangelands. The impact of management decisions on fire-dependent grasslands, such as active fire suppression policies or the incidental fire suppression effect caused by allocating higher stock densities, serve to reduce the build-up of fuel loads, inhibit fire and its regulating effect on shrub growth. The loss or...
12 Oct 2021

Bison Management in the Jackson Hole Valley, Wyoming, USA

Case
The Bison management case in the Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) is a new case that will be integrated into the Common Pool-Resource (CPR) database. The Jackson Hole Valley (JHV) is a prime example of an iconic place. The natural environment surrounding the town of Jackson, Wyoming, is the resource system upon which wildlife and human settlements rely. This natural environment provides numerous streams of goods and services to all wildlife and many interested subgroups. For many of these...
09 Aug 2016

Bondar Parhudagar irrigation system, Lintong ni Huta, Balige subdistrict, Indonesia

Case
Bondar Parhudagar Irrigation system is one of the six small irrigation systems located in Lintong ni Huta of The subdistrict of Balige in Indonesia. The resource appropriated related to the social dilemma is water for irrigation .  The original case was reported in 1979 and catalogues an action situation involving less than 10 members that belongs to one family (descendants of the founder of the irrigation system). This case study is part of the original Common-Pool Resource (CPR) database. A...
09 Aug 2016

Brander-Taylor model and variations

Case
Brander-Taylor Easter Island Model and its variations. Brander and Taylor (1998) summarizes the background of the model as the following. Easter Island (also called Rapa Nui) is a small Pacific island over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from the coast of Chile, with a population (as of the early 1990's) of about 2,100. For the past two centuries, Easter Island has been regarded as a major archaeological and anthropological mystery. In particular, the Polynesian civilization in place at the time of...
09 Aug 2016

Cadchog irrigation system, Bontoc municipality, Philippines

Case
Cadchog Irrigation takes place in the Bontoc municipality, Mountain Province, Philippines. The resource appropriated is water for irrigation. At the beginning of the period, there was an apparently balanced supply of biological and physical resources withdrawn compared to the number of units available. The irrigation system can generally provide enough water to the appropriators. There is no formal organization to manage this system, although two women have been appointed as leaders. There are...
09 Aug 2016