Policy implications of common pool resource knowledge: A background paper on Zimbabwe.

Abstract

There are five major factors in the Zimbabwean context which influence the profile of Common Pool Resource use. Any effective policy must deal with these “drivers” of change. Resource/demand ratios are the first of these. “Demand” may flow from several sources but a primary factor is human population size which has increased by a factor of 27 since the beginning of the 20th century. The status of Common Pool Resource supply is difficult to quantify but data are advanced which suggest that a trend towards increased pressure on Common Pool Resources exists, even if this is temporarily relieved by resettlement. Tenure changes effected by resettlement are a second driver, creating new Common Pool Resource regimes with both institutional dangers and opportunities for innovation. The commoditisation of Common Pool Resources is a third driver of change which is increasingly manifest. National macroeconomic performance is the forth driver of change identified and the analysis concludes that current negative economic trends have fostered an urban-rural drift placing greater pressures on local resources and institutions. Information and knowledge transfer is identified as a fifth driver of change, largely with positive results in stimulating innovation in resource management.