Evolution of Common Resource Tenure and Governing: Evidence from Pastureland in Mongolia Plateau

Land tenure is to define who hold the land as well as the relationship between tenant and the lord. Most fundamentally tenure and changing tenure is capturing the value of the resource. The nature of the resource and changing relative scarcity are essential to induce or lead evolution of land tenure. Pasture resources have been held in open access and communal tenure for much of the long history on Mongolia Plateau because of the abundant resource with low population density. Historically pasture tenure in this region has been evolving from open and semi-open access to communal tenure (control) to more private ownership, although other forces like political system can only cause temporary departure from the general patterns. Presently the variety of tenure arrangements largely reflects the scarcity of the pastoral resources: Mongolia is still primarily adopting semi-open access with community governing although state is viewed as sole ownership, while Inner Mongolia is more directing privatization of at least the use rights.