Her Work and its Contribution to tHe tHeory and PraCtiCe of Conservation and sustainable natural resourCe ManageMent Policy Matters iuCn CoMMission on environMental, eConoMiC and soCial PoliCy issue 19 aPril 2014

POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

50

generation after generation of appropriators 

to the rules in the use” (1990: 90). Rather 

than acting as a checklist for deciding the 

robustness of local institutions, the design 

principles are better understood as guides to 

help analyse the relative success or failure of 

institutional arrangements for CPRs (Ostrom 

1999).

The usefulness and validity of Ostrom’s design 

principles has been shown in their application 

in CPR studies over the past two decades. Cox 

et al. (2010) analysed 91 such studies and 

found that Ostrom’s design principles are 

well supported empirically. The principles 

also have their limitations, with some (e.g., 

Singleton and Taylor 1992; Tucker et al. 

2007) arguing that issues such as external 

socioeconomic factors and urban connections 

have not been adequately considered given 

their clear impact on CPR management 

regimes.

METHODOLOGY

For this study, qualitative research was 

used to assess the management of Eritrea’s 

traditional woodland enclosures. The village 

of Lamza was selected due to its strong 

resource management tradition and limited 

government involvement. Lamza is located 

about 8km south of the national capital of 

Asmara, and had a resident population of 430 

(128 households) in 2012.

Four focus group discussions were conducted, 

numbering between 4 and 6 participants per 

group and representative of adult men and 

women of different ages. Each focus group also 

contained participants representing a variety 

of socio-economic backgrounds. To help 

provoke discussion on a range of issues related 

to the access, management and protection 

of their enclosures, several exercises were 

carried out, including resource mapping, plant 

resource valuation, and seasonal resource 

availability. In-depth interviews (with open 

ended questions) were also conducted 

with the village administrator and other 

selected village elders. To obtain a detailed 

understanding of how individual households 

interact with resources from the enclosure, 

and abide by set rules, a semi-structured 

questionnaire was also conducted with ten 

(8 male and 2 female) randomly selected 

household heads.

The data collected were analysed against 

Table 1: Design principles that characterise long enduring CPR institutions. (Source: Ostrom 1990:90)

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Clearly defined boundaries and users

Congruence between appropriation and provision rules and local conditions

Collective choice arrangement;

 those affected by operational rules should be allowed to 

participate and modify the rules.

Monitoring;

 monitors who actively audit common pool resource conditions and users’ 

behaviour are users and/or are accountable to them.

Graduated sanctions;

 sanctions to violation increase proportionally relative to the 

severity of crimes

Conflict resolution mechanism;

 Low cost, readily accessible and rapid mechanism to 

settle conflicts

Rights to organise;

 rights and legitimacy of users to devise their own institutions is 

recognised by outsiders

Nested Enterprises 

(for CPRs that are part of larger systems)

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POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

51

Ostrom’s design principles. The strength of the 

hiza’ti

 system in fulfilling the criteria of each 

design principle was then evaluated. 

EVALUATING THE HIZA’TI SYSTEM 

USING OSTROM’S DESIGN PRINCIPLES

The hiza’ti system in Lamza was established 

about 120 years ago. It was widely held that 

a community leader named Kentiba Zere had 

initiated the practice of restricting access to 

local woodlands in fear that Italian soldiers 

(Eritrea was a colony of Italy at the time) 

would cut down trees for timber. Subsequent 

administrators continued to restrict access to 

these areas, devising several rules and bylaws 

to help govern resource use and access. The 

village has several specialised grazing areas 

for small ruminants, for suckling sheep and 

goats and free grazing areas for all kinds of 

livestock. Compared to these other grazing 

lands, the hiza’ti area is strictly managed and 

reserved mainly for oxen. 

The hiza’ti is located north of the village and 

covers about 130 ha (Map 2). The dry-weather 

road, which leads to the village, bisects the 

enclosure. Each side is open in turn for grazing 

for approximately two months each year. The 

hiza’ti

 is rich in plant species. Elders estimate 

that there are 35 types of tree and shrub 

species within the hiza’ti. 

How does the hiza’ti system perform against 

Ostrom’s Design Principles for community-

based natural resource management?

Design Principle 1:  Clearly defined 

boundaries and users

The hiza’ti has clear boundaries, both in terms 

of resource and resource users. Distinctive 

features such as a river, a basaltic dyke and 

other features separate Lamza’s hiza’ti from 

the land of neighbouring villages. Village 

houses form the southern border. Use rights 

of any resource within the hiza’ti belong solely 

to residents of Lamza village. Since everyone 

knows each other very well, it is very easy for 

users to identify one another. Residence status 

is gained by birth or through marriage to a 

resident, and non-residents are prohibited 

Map 1: Location of Lamza, Eritrea (Cartography by Marcel Morin)

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