The Prospects of Elinor Ostrom’s Common-Pool Resource (CPR) Governance in Kumrat (Kohistan): Success or Failure?

Abstract

This research article studies the prospects of community-centric tendencies for managing environmental resources among the people of Thal (Kumrat) in Kohistan, Upper Dir. It probes into the locally employed system of governance vis-à-vis the neo-Hobbesian design for the sustainability and conservation of the environment. It analyses the community’s approach to sustainability amidst the challenges of developing ecotourism in the destination and the prospects of the community’s livelihood that is deeply enmeshed in their immediate environmental resources. The fundamental question at its heart is whether or not, and to what extent, the decentralized mechanism of governance is successful. Such governance encompasses mechanisms for self-monitoring, graduated sanctions and conflict resolution. This study undertakes Elinor Ostrom’s Common-Pool Resources (CPR) approach both as a theoretical model and a standard with which decentralized governance on the part of the community is compared and evaluated.