'Community-based sustainable development' has become a central approach to rural development and natural resource management. But this emerging consensus tends to overlook both ecological variability, and the potential for conflict within local communities. These factors point to the importance of local institutions in managing environmental conditions and risk, influencing who has access to and control over resources, and arbitrating contested resource claims. With contributions based on new research in India, Ghana and South Africa, this Bulletin shows how an approach based on the notion of 'environmental entitlements' can assist in practical efforts to achieve community-based sustainable development.