ABSTRACT
Environmental degradation and inequitable access to natural resources are, to a large extent, the result of political choices and processes and cannot be addressed without significant and durable changes in the distribution of power in society. Thus, making co-management “work” at the local level requires overcoming constraints on local conservation and development that have to do with the regional, national and international contexts and are shaped by a variety of forces, processes and instruments. Crucial determinants of such contexts are national legislation and policies.
