This study examines the organization of the village society in Benestad, in southern Sweden, during the period from 1886 to 1928. The study focuses on the commonly owned resources in the village and how the landowners there came together and shared the resources. By studying the records of the societies’ meetings, and in particular the cases that concerns the common resources, a categorization has been done.   The results of the study show that the landowners in Benestad shared pasture lands, milk carriage and other resources with one another. Overall, the village society had a strong organization with at least two yearly meetings about the commonly owned resources. Not everyone was however welcomed to the meetings and the wives and children had to trust their housemaster to also consider their interests. By comparing the results with Elinor Ostrom’s theory of eight design principles that unites all stabile institutions that handle commonly owned resources, one can say that the village society in Benestad was a stabile establishment. In fact, the society is still active - even if the landowners nowadays deal with other matters than those of the milk carriage.

Möjligheterna för skogsbruket och rennäringen att samexistera har sedan den industriella skogsindustrins början varit en infekterad fråga. Under 2000-talet startades projektet att införa renbruksplaner (RBP) i Sveriges samebyar med syfte att förbättra relationen mellan parterna i samråd, vilket upplevs ha uppfyllts. Renbruksplan är rennäringens motsvarighet till skogsbrukets skogsbruksplan och är ett informations- och dataverktyg med en kartläggning över renarnas betesmarker. Den här uppsatsen undersöker varför projektet med renbruksplaner har lyckats genom att använda Elinor Ostroms teori om förvaltning av en gemensam resurspool. Syftet är att illustrera möjliga förklaringsfaktorer till varför samverkan mellan skogsbruket och rennäringen upplevs ha förbättrats i och med införandet av RBP. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys har Ostrom designprinciper för självstyrande och hållbar förvaltning hittats i fem rapporter publicerade av Skogsstyrelsen i projektets slutskede. Totalt fanns det stöd i rapporterna för att sex av åtta designprinciper applicerats i och med införandet av RBP. Två av dessa, Ostrom designprincip om tydligt definierade gränser och konfliktlösningen mekanismer, kan identifieras som möjliga förklaringsfaktorer. Att dessa två principer har införts har underlättat kommunikationen mellan parterna vilket lett till större förståelse för varandras branscher och situation. / Whether forestry industry and reindeer husbandry could harmoniously coexist in northern Sweden has been debated since modern forestry started. A unique context grants indigenous people in Sweden, the Sami people, exclusive right to use land for reindeer husbandry. In the beginning of the 2000s a project was launched to create Land Use Plans for the reindeer husbandry (in Swedish Renbruksplan, RBP), which aimed to improve the relation between reindeer owners and the forestry industry. Hence, the Land Use Plan for reindeer husbandry is primarily a program for mapping reindeer graze lands. The project is considered successful for the reindeer owners as well as for the forestry. This thesis investigates why the land use plans have improved the relations between the two stakeholders by applying Elinor Ostrom´s theory about governing commons. The aim is to illustrate possible explanatory factors to why collaboration between forestry and reindeer husbandry is found to have been improved with the introduction of the land use plans. Using a qualitative content analysis, examples of Ostrom’s design principles of autonomous and sustainable management were identified in five reports published by the National Board of Forestry in the project's final phase. In total, the reports supported that six of eight design principles had been implemented since land use plans were introduced. Two of these, clearly defined boundaries and mechanisms of conflict resolution, can be identified as possible explanatory factors for the success of the project. In conclusion, the introduction of these two principals have facilitated communication between the two stakeholders, which have ensued better understanding for each other’s situations and industries.