Common property and natural resources in the Alps: the decay of management structures?

Local-authority and collective forms of ownership still tend to dominate in the Alpine regions. This article concentrates on collective ownership or common property in the Alps and poses the question as to its importance with respect to the sustainable use of natural resources in the mountain regions. The concept of common property or collective ownership is explained in the first part of the article, and the advantages and disadvantages of this ideal type of regulatory system, at least as presented in the literature, are explored briefly. Based on empirical examples in Switzerland, the second part of this article will demonstrate how common property regimes have changed, despite the basically unchanging nature of property rights. This article and, in particular, the selected case studies, question the results of studies carried out by Netting, who examined the management of Alpine meadows and pastures, and forests in the Valais village of Törbel. Netting demonstrated that a differentiated collective property order for forests, meadows and Alpine pastures is no historical anachronism and can produce entirely valid results. The third part of the article is therefore concerned with recent trends and emerging management forms for forests, water courses, and Alpine meadows and pastures.