Spontaneously organized institutions of collective action and the institutional
effects of exogenous development interventions are both known to have a pro-
found effect on development outcomes.
1
Despite an in-depth academic under-
standing of the institutional foundations of development and natural resource
management (NRM) development interventions continue to have a strong tech-
nological bias. Development and conservation interventions continue to be
carried out with an uncritical view to equity and the possible negative repercus-
sions of interventions on certain social groups and environmental sustainability
while local institutions (rules and structures) remain largely invisible to outside
actors.
2
Yet the shortcomings lie not only
with practitioners but also
with research.
Research on the institutional dimensions of development and NRM continues
to emphasize the characteristics of existing institutions of collective action or
institutional constraints on development rather than on ways to build stronger
institutions where these are absent to address local development priorities