In the studies conducted on ethnic differentiation, results show that conflicts as well as synergies exist between groups. Similarly, though there is a growing recognition that households are conglomerates of interests, there is little understanding of the negotiations and the bargaining between gender, age groups and social roles. As CASS scholarship on community based natural resources management increases, much attention is being given to understanding the household as a decision making institution in natural resources management and within that to understand individual roles and bargaining positions. Though this theme was developed in relation to wildlife use by local communities, it has widespread application to many resources that are managed and used by the rural communities. The current approach to this question has been to investigate the conditions that prevail or those that can be introduced which would make it beneficial for people to conserve and manage their resources.
Rules give some interest groups preferential access to resources and therefore exclude other groups.
Property rights create complex incentives for different groups regarding a similar resource. One of the approaches to understand conditions for successful natural resources management is the application of design principles on which property rights are based. The link between design principles and property rights determines the nature of incentives in place. In addition, the benefits must be greater than, or additional to, those that would be obtained from a competing land use. This is an exciting and rapidly growing thematic area within the overall CASS program.