Includes bibliographical references and index.

Explaining deforestation : the role of local institutions / Clark C. Gibson, Margaret A. McKean, and Elinor Ostrom -- Common property : what is it, what is it good for, and what makes it work? / Margaret A. McKean -- Small is beautiful, but is larger better? Forest-management institutions in the Kumaon Himalaya, India / Arun Agrawal -- Successful forest management : the importance of security of tenure and rule enforcement in Ugandan forests / Abwoli Y. Banana and William Gombya-Ssembajjwe -- Optimal foraging, institutions, and forest change : a case from Nepal / Charles M. Schweik -- A lack of institutional demand : why a strong local community in Western Ecuador fails to protect its forest / Clark C. Gibson and C. Dustin Becker -- Indigenous forest management in the Bolivian Amazon : lessons from the Yuracarâe people / C. Dustin Becker and Rosario Leâon -- Population and forest dynamics in the hills of Nepal : institutional remedies by rural communities / George Varughese -- Forests, people, and governance : some initial theoretical lessons / Clark C. Gibson, Elinor Ostrom, and Margaret A. McKean -- Appendix : International forestry resources and institutions research strategy / Elinor Ostrom and Mary Beth Wertime.