ABSTRACT
Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) is essentially an institutional process concerned with restructuring the governance and allocation of natural resource use. CBNRM combines the twin goals of environmental conservation and rural development because localized institutional arrangements can facilitate both aims. Economic institutions such as property rights and contract law are important for adding value to natural resources and increasing benefits from sustainable use. Of equal importance are political and organizational rules, norms and arrangements that empower rural people to control their own lives through effective and meaningful participation and governance.
