Strategies for legal recognition and protection

III

1. Introduction

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1 Why this guide on commons? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1.2 Scope, audience and structure of the guide . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.1 What do we need to know when dealing with commons? . . . . . . . 9 2.2 Why should we secure tenure rights to commons? . . . . . . . . . 13 2.3 What do the Guidelines say about tenure rights to commons? . . . . . . 15 Contents Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI Acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VIII Executive Summary – The guide in a nutshell . . . . . . . . . . . . IX

3.1 Strategies for legal recognition and protection

. . . . . . . . . . 24 Strategy 1: Legally recognize legitimate tenure rights to commons and their rights holders by devolving the authority and responsibility to govern the commons, conditioned by legal requirements for inclusive, accountable and sustainable governance . . . 24 Strategy 2: Strengthen or establish a legal framework focusing on procedural rules to accommodate the complexity, diversity and lexibility of tenure rights to commons . 29 Strategy 3: Agree on rules for the utilization of commons, map their boundaries and register them based on a negotiated and inclusive local process . . . . 32 Strategy 4: Establish a transparent policy-making and law-making process that enables communities and civil society to participate . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Strategy 5: Carry out advocacy work to support tenure rights to commons . . . 38 3.2 Strategies for implementation by states and rights holders . . . . . . . 41 Strategy 6: Strengthen or progressively develop inclusive and accountable community governance structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Strategy 7: Support the empowerment of marginalized and vulnerable groups within communities to make efective use of community institutions . . . . . . 45 Strategy 8: Strengthen or develop implementation capacities of state oicials and devolve human and inancial resources . . . . . . . . . . . 46 3.3 Strategies to support the enjoyment of rights . . . . . . . . . . 51 Strategy 9: Ensure access to justice, recognize and integrate local-level mechanisms, and enable legal advocacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

2. Commons and the Guidelines