POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS OF INTEGRATED NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT: A REVIEW OF CONCEPTS AND ISSUES

Ifdal

A. Introduction
One of the reasons for the degradation of natural resources is the degradation of institutions that once provided for their use. Traditional production systems may be replaced by new institutions, or alternatively institution building may use elements of traditional institutions if these are still relevant for the solution of resources management problems in hand.
Institutions are the rules of the game in a society or more formally are the humanly devised constraints that shape human action (North, 1990). They set the ground rules for resource use and establish the incentives, information, and compulsions that guide economic outcome. Organizations are networks of behavioral roles arranged into hierarchies to elicit desired individual behavior and coordinated actions obeying a certain systems of rules (Cernea, 1987).
Organizations and institutions are not mutually exclusive, organizations come into existence and how they evolve are fundamentally influenced by the institutional framework. In turn, the organizations influence how the institutional framework evolves. Thus, in this study, the term of institutions is used to encompass both the rules and the roles structures (organizations).
An ideal institutional framework for rational natural resources management has been proposed by Bottrall (1992). It shows why there are gaps between the ideal and reality. The ideal framework includes the following characteristics:
• A decentralized and accountable structure that is coherent and consistent at each layer of administration, from national through provincial level to local.
• Self-management of independent bodies and self-financing at user and higher levels of activity, according to users’ ability to pay.
• Government has an enabling rather than a controlling role, with key responsibilities for capital investment, supporting legislation, data collection and processing, and support for basic technical research and development.
• A comprehensive and consistent legal code which clearly defines rights and responsibilities of individuals, groups, agencies and government bodies. A set of procedures for de jure and extra-legal arbitration of disputes and established enforceable penalties for misuse and degradation of natural resources.

B. Understanding and Identifying all forms of Institutions Related to Natural Resources Management
For the purpose of this study, the term “institutions” includes both the rules, and the organizations governed by such rules as well. Basically, institutions are the rules underlying organized human actions which can be in the form of written laws, or unwritten norms, conventions and traditional practices accepted by the society. These rules define and fashion the behavioral roles of individuals and groups in a given context of human interaction, aiming at specified set of objectives. In this sense, it is a cyclic phenomenon in which institutions are primarily determined by human action, and once established they in turn determine the scope and character of subsequent human action for desired objectives. Likewise, the behavioral roles determined by an initial set of rules, in turn, may face the need for a certain periodic changes in such rules. This cyclic nature allows for a dynamic process in institution-building to cope up with inevitable change.
However, in popular usage “institutions” are usually regarded as “organizations. The connotation becomes much more common in the use of the term “institution building” which more often refers to the building up of new organization (parastatal bodies, additional units in existing agencies, farmer organizations, etc.) and so often, the importance of rules is ignored in view of pre-occupation on organizational development.
At the diagnostic phase of the study, all form of institutions related to natural resources development will be identified. This study will focus its attention on the key of the natural resources related institutions including (1) natural resources laws; (2) policies, rules and practices, (3) organizations and their internal rules and procedures.
1. Laws Related to Natural Resources
Law has been described as a system of ‘norms’ that is expectations which are coupled with sanctions in order to produce particular effects. It is the primary means through which a modern state exercises power. Laws form the framework through which policies are exercised. The power of institutions has to be defined by law; they have to be given the competence to act.
This session will give more attention on reviewing and analyzing the following topics:
a. Existing legislation, rules and regulations concerning various types of natural resources (water, forest, and marine, etc.)
b. Existing legislation, rules and regulations concerning different uses of natural resources (irrigation, domestic, industrial/commercial, etc.)
c. Property rights over natural resources (Basis for general rights on different natural resources including water rights, traditional rights or hak adat/ulayat, private rights, and state rights)
d. The problem of legal pluralism on natural resources management
2. Natural Resources Policies, Rules and Practices
Policies are formulated as the outcomes of a series of negotiations; but this is not enough in itself to explain how the agenda is formed, or how it is proceed with.
a. Core elements of a policy (Spicker, 1995:4)
(1) Its origin
(2) Its goals
(3) The process of implementation
The political process does not finish with the formation of policy; policies still have to be put into practice, or implemented. Implementation is not a simple procedure, in which policies produce a clear, unambiguous response; practice can equally be a forum for conflict, negotiation and the exercise of power.
(4) The results
3. Natural Resources Organizations/Administration
i. Internal Rules
ii. Operational Rules
iii. Rules-in-use
iv. Management Practices
C. Analyzing Institutional Arrangement for Natural Resources Management
In analyzing the structure of an institutional arrangement, attention is focused on identifying (Ostrom et al 1993):
a) the type of action that actor can take;
b) the type of information available to them;
c) how actions lead to the outcomes;
d) how rewards and punishments are allocated in light of the outcome achieved and the actions taken
1. Institutional Performance Assessment
Five key indicators for institutional performance assessment:
b. Economic efficiency
c. Equity through fiscal equivqlence
d. Redistributional equity
e. Accountability
f. adaptability
2. Institutional Arrangements
a. Centralized Institutional Arrangement for Natural Resources Management

b. Decentralized Institutional Arrangement for Natural Resources Management
c. Polycentric Institutional Arrangement for Natural Resources Management

D. External Factors Affecting Natural Resources Policy and Institutions
Five main external factors can be identified as either constrains or enabling situations that affect the natural resources management. The overall political system and national economic policies play a significant role in fashioning the institutional framework for any given social context, and the natural resource which is embedded in that context are naturally affected by these two external factors. Similarly, the overall legal framework and the general “law and order” situation in a country, particularly the social conditions that determine how the laws and rules are applied and adjudicated have a significant effect on natural resources management institutions.
In some instances, the culture, traditions and practices inhibit the effective functioning of natural resources management institutions.

a. Political Systems

b. National Economic Policy
Development strategies in the resources dependent economies are either efficient or sustainable due to the failure to appreciate the critical role of natural resources (natural capital) in economic development (Barbier ….) Natural resources management is usually accorded a low priority on the development agenda, and even basic facts about the natural asset base are ignored. If government is to be convinced that sustainable and efficient management of their natural resources base is essential to economic development, then they must perceive the role of natural resources in supporting the economy as a whole.

c. Legal Framework
d. Social Conditions, Culture, Traditions and Practices
e. Physical System and Resource Base

E. Institutions for Integrated Natural Resources Management
1. How can governmental and other institutions be modified to better account for and respond to the natural resources-related impacts of
2. What institutions are most effective at




FIGURE 1.
Conceptual Framework Underlying the Policy and Institutions Related to Natural Resources Management


POLICY AND INSTITUTIONS SOURCES
Compiled by
Ifdal

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