Pastureland governance from a perspective of property rightA case study of Yanchi County

This paper contributes to the heated debate on land use by focusing on more vulnerable grassland regions that have previously been studied. The research focuses on individual and cooperative pastureland governance from a perspective of property right. It shows the limitation of the theory of tragedy of commons and its incorrect use for pastureland governance in some academic researches. The study seeks to improve policy towards sustainable use of grassland by deeply examining grassland property rights in use and the characteristic of communities and suggests that property regimes should not be designed without taking into consideration the properties of the biophysical systems. Institutional diversity should be encouraged for the sustainable use of grassland and longterm development of local communities.