Introduction

Are indigenous land tenure systems a constraint to the adoption of "modern" agricultural technologies Is collective action a viable approach to achieving more sustainable management of natural resources These have been recurring issues for policymakers, social science researchers, and technical specialists in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries management over at least the past century.1 Much hangs in the balance: not only levels of agricultural productivity and the conservation of natural resources, but more important, the welfare of millions of resource-dependent households. Yet the evidence on these issues has been fragmentary, with incomplete understanding of the complex interrelationships between people's rights to land, water, and trees, the way that people organize and work together to achieve common objectives, and the adoption and use of agricultural and natural resource management practices. As a result there is a very real risk that policymakers and planners will develop and implement policy decisions that disrupt, rather than promote, equitable and sustainable agricultural growth. There is also a risk that millions of dollars will be spent on research and dissemination of technologies that fail to meet the needs of key target groups.

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