CLOSING THE COMMONS - COOPERATION FOR GAIN OR RESTRAINT

Research concerning the value of communal resource management is limit ed in two respects. First, while many studies present evidence that co mmunal management is common among traditional societies, a strong theo retical basis is lacking to explain why individuals participate in mon itoring and sanctioning efforts. Second, few studies have actually dem onstrated resource conservation. There are several ecological and econ omic reasons for thinking that groups may find it harder to design app ropriate conservation measures than to prevent free-riding. However, i f groups can surmount these problems, communal management may have adv antages over privatization or government control. These arguments are illustrated using results from a pilot study of the communal managemen t of mother-of-pearl shell (Trochus niloticus) in the Kei Islands of E astern Indonesia. It is found that villagers successfully cooperate to defend access to and regulate their own harvest of trochus. In doing so, they are able to prevent fi ee-riding, and to provide themselves w ith a long-term source of cash income. However, it is here argued that their aim is ''gain rather than restraint.''(2)