Prospects for Localizing Co-management

Abstract

Since the institutionalization of biodiversity conservation in the 1980s, co-management has been employed as an economic policy for regulating the joint use of natural resources. However, barriers to its effectiveness may at times arise, as when imported initiatives are poorly acculturated to local needs. Inspired by contributions on the commons, globalization, and critical policy studies, we examine lapses in co-management and related natural resource governance practices, using a systematic review of policy publications on nature-reliant communities in the global South and North. The conclusions propose options through which a “localized co-management” may help enhance the inclusion of local/indigenous people in making decisions concerning the use of natural resources. ARTICLE HISTORY Received 17 November 2020 Revised 26 February 2021 Accepted 26 April 2021