India’s commons—collectively owned land administered by the government—make up as much as 25 percent of the nation’s territory. The government legally owns these lands, but lacks the reach, incentive, and real-time information to effectively manage them. Local villagers, who rely on common lands for their food and livelihoods, lack legal land tenure and thus have limited incentive to invest their time and resources in sustainable management. As a result, commons tend to be neglected to the point of degradation.

The key challenges lie in moving beyond the ‘technical’ mindset of planting trees or arresting soil erosion and towards diving into the deeper structural issues of property rights and local self-governance arrangements.

Degradation is compounded by climate change, increasing crop failures, fodder scarcity and extreme water stress, heightening the vulnerability of rural communities. At the same time, common lands are disappearing due to illegal land grabs or legal sales. India’s commons have shrunk by more than 30 percent over the last 50 years as a result of inadequate stewardship and protection. When managed sustainably, these forests, pastures, and so-called ‘wastelands’ (non-revenue-generating land) offer critical ecosystem services, including enriching nutrient and moisture content, improving biomass and biodiversity, and capturing and storing carbon.

Read the full article on common lands in India by Anna Zimmermann Jin at Skoll