Collective Action and Property Rights for Poverty Reduction: Lessons from a Global Research Project

To request a publication, or to order a CD-Rom with publications, project inventory, and bibliography, please email [email protected]. P overty reduction is at the forefront of global discussions, with various parties urgently pushing for policies and programs to enhance the well-being of the world's one billion poor. But a better understanding of the manifestations of poverty and the factors affecting it is required in order to inform these global policy efforts. The United Nations Office of the High Commission for Human Rights defines poverty as " a human condition characterized by the sustained or chronic deprivation of the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary for the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. " Property rights are part and parcel of economic rights and entitlements, and collective action enhances people's choices, capabilities, and power. But many rural poor do not have secure property rights and cannot participate in collective action due to resource and time constraints. Therefore, strengthening the institutions of property rights and collective action is an essential part of improving the livelihoods of vulnerable and marginalized rural groups, including women. Secure property rights are a key poverty-reducing mechanism because they provide the rural poor not only with present-day income streams, but also with incentives to invest in productive technologies and sustainable management of resources in the future. However, many government programs have been implemented without an understanding of the complexity of property rights and have actually reduced tenure security for poor and marginalized groups by allowing elite capture of property, for example. A better understanding of how the poor can protect and expand their access to and control over resources can significantly improve poverty-reduction efforts. There is also a growing recognition of the important role of collective action in poverty reduction. Through formal and informal groups, smallholders can work together to overcome limitations of wealth, farm size, and bargaining power. Collective action is also needed to adopt many technologies and natural resource management practices that operate at the landscape level. In addition, collective action can contribute to poverty reduction through mutual insurance, sustainable management of natural resources, increased opportunities for income generation, and improved provision and access to public services. As with property rights, vulnerable and marginalized groups are often at a disadvantage when it comes to collective action, either because of social exclusion, lack of time to …