Mountain Commons: Changing Space and Status at Community Levels in the Himalayas

This paper deals with the imperatives of nature-society interaction in the Himalayas as seen through CPR (Common Property Resources). It specifically looks at the process and factors that characterize the dynamics of the above interactions, with particular reference to the changing status and governance of CPRs at community levels. The paper puts together the synthesis of observations and inferences of different studies by ICIMOD and others in mountain regions, particularly in different parts of Nepal, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China and Pakistan. Rural CPRs (providing sustenance supplies and services) as an important component of a community’s natural resource base, manifest the institutional arrangements evolved by the communities to facilitate their adaptations to nature. The above process can be more clearly illustrated with reference to specific characteristics of mountain areas, called mountain specificities. However, over time, the situation of CPRs in terms of their extent and status, governance and management as well as contributions to community sustenance, has changed. The paper attempts toindicate potential lead lines for searching options for rehabilitation of CPRs, based on a closer under- standing of the factors contributing to their decline.

Living with or Eradicating Poisonous Snakes in Densely Populated Caribbean Islands—A Socio-Ecological Challenge for the French West Indies

The lancehead (Bothrops lanceolatus) is a poisonous snake endemic to Martinique, an island in the Lesser Antilles arc. Today, this snake is on the verge of extinction. The recorded number of snakes killed yearly between 1970 and 2002 decreased by 97%. Despite the production of an antivenom in 1993, the local authorities set up a financial reward to encourage the eradication of lancehead snakes. Today the local population still perceives the snake as a threat, due to its fatal venom and its fierce behaviour. The case study of the lancehead in Martinique highlights the need to develop integrated strategies to conserve species of poisonous snakes on densely populated islands. This requires innovative, cross-sectoral strategies that involve decision-makers working along with multi-disciplinary scientists. Approaching the complexity of ecosystems through the socio-ecological prism implies, conversely, linking up the domains of science and technology, life and environmental sciences, and human and social sciences, through interactions based on sharing common