Disturbances, robustness and adaptation in forest commons: Comparative insights from two cases in the Southeastern Alps

Paola Gatto and Nevenka Bogataj

Forest Policy and Economics, 2015, vol. 58, issue C, 56-64

Abstract: Exposure to disturbances of different nature and scale can represent a threat for the survival of rural communities but also a stimulus to adjustment. Disturbance, robustness and adaptation are here examined through the lens of Forest Commons, as a typical institution, developed by communities in the southeastern Alps since several centuries. The paper relies on Commons' theory and further developments and carries out a historically-embedded analysis of disturbances, robustness and adaptation in Forest Commons of Slovenia and Veneto (Italy). Data have been drawn from multiple sources, following an approach based on an area scale and later on case-studies. The analysis focuses on evidence of Forest Commons' reactions to disturbances induced by political changes and State actions. Ostrom's design principles are used to test robustness of eight selected cases and identification of their adaptation patterns. The paper concludes by confirming Forest Commons as robust and adaptive social-ecological systems and thus useful in Community Forestry conceptualisation. However, thanks to its cross-border analysis, it also points out future research needs for their better understanding.

Keywords: Social-Ecological Systems; Slovenia; Italy; Adaptation; Community forestry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S138993411500060X
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:forpol:v:58:y:2015:i:c:p:56-64

DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2015.03.011

Access Statistics for this article

Forest Policy and Economics is currently edited by M. Krott

More articles in Forest Policy and Economics from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().