ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the blurry distinction between communal, municipal and individual property rights, along with the relative variability of the uses of land. Reports of several procedures demonstrate the necessity for an intimate knowledge of the social characteristics of local communities and the physical features of relevant territories. As highlighted by Ostrom, the tension between individual and collective interests is a frequent cause of misunderstandings, misuses and conflicts. The alternate use of the same lands by several groups and/or for different activities is a known and recurring fact. Gleaning, the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers’ fields, constitutes, for instance, a good example of this practice. The Amerindian example recalls Christine Rendu’s analysis of the arrangement of “compascuité”, made in the light of the analysis of the term “transhumance”. In addition to the vague and unstable boundaries, established by perceptions that are visual, audible, and olfactory, there are also physical boundaries in these spaces.
