Sustainability of Common Forests in Northern India

Trustees Of Boston University, Boston

Investigators

Abstract

The purpose of this project is to empirically evaluate the roles of poverty, commercialization, population pressure, and property right/resource management mechanisms on the sustainability of local forest resources in the middle Himalayan region in Northern India. It will involve collection and analysis of data from approximately 100 villages in the two states of Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. The first stage will involve estimating individual household-level 'demand' for common forest resources, as a function of household demographic and economic characteristics, and village level variables such as prices of complementary and substitute products, market access, property rights system, and local governance/enforcement mechanisms. These demand systems will be used to obtain reduced form estimates for aggregate village use of common forest resources as a function of village characteristics. The second stage of the project will investigate determinants of local governance and enforcement mechanisms.