Why Does Polycentric Governance Work for Some Project Sites and Not Others? Explaining the Sustainability of Tramline Projects in the Philippines

Why are some tramlines, as human-made common pool resources, sustained while others are not, even under a similar polycentric governance structure? Do the institutional design principles of the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework explain these different outcomes? The National Tramline Program is a national rural infrastructure development project started in 2009 by the research institute of the Department of Agriculture in the Philippines. Using originally collected survey data and employing mixed methods, we examine the determinants of the operational status of tramlines by comparing successful and failed cases. Building upon the IAD framework and polycentric governance for common pool resource management, we demonstrate that in addition to the farmers’ commitment to collective actions, the institutional characteristics of micro-institutions, namely, the democratic selection of a leader for the farmers’ associations, are key to sustaining tramlines. Furthermore, case studies of both success and failure illustrate that the active involvement of municipal local governments and the presence of coordination among related agencies at various levels are essential for maintaining tramlines as human-made common pool resources.