This study examines how agricultural frontier expansion and grazing practices develop in the páramos under communal tenure in the northern Ecuadorian Andes and how rules to control them emerge within communal governance. We approach these questions through the lens of collective action and cultural resilience, to understand the evolution of communal governance. We analyze a case study of the Comité de Páramo Ñukanchik Urku, a multicommunal organization created in the 1990s for collective resource management. We use the analytical framework of social–ecological systems (SES) to approach changes of the agricultural frontiers and grazing activities as conservation outcomes resulting from changes in resource units, actors, and governance structures. Through a mixed-method approach combining air photo analysis (years 1956, 1993, and 2008) and qualitative research, we examine spatial patterns of settlement and agricultural frontier expansion, historical grazing practices, and the main elements of current collective páramo management. Our results indicate that: (1) the demarcation of an agreed agricultural frontier as a territorial landmark is a response aiming to control the increase of crops and dwellings at higher elevations, and to limit grazing activities; (2) the authority's legitimation of the Committee and its Board is crucial to develop rules and to enforce them; and (3) legitimation is achieved through conservation knowledge and autonomous decisions to control páramos considered a communal territory. A broader comprehension of the context and history of cultural change is needed to understand the emergence of communal governance of páramos. Cultural-political dimensions are key to the cultural resilience of social systems in SES and to strengthening rules and institutional diversity to manage the commons in Andean communities.

中文翻译：

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厄瓜多尔帕拉莫管理中的变革、集体行动和文化弹性

本研究考察了在厄瓜多尔安第斯山脉北部的公共保有制下的帕拉莫斯的农业边界扩张和放牧实践如何发展，以及如何在公共治理中出现控制它们的规则。我们通过集体行动和文化弹性的视角来处理这些问题，以了解社区治理的演变。我们分析了 Comité de Paramo Ñukachik Urku 的案例研究，该委员会是 1990 年代为集体资源管理而创建的多社区组织。我们使用社会生态系统 (SES) 的分析框架将农业前沿和放牧活动的变化视为资源单位、参与者和治理结构变化导致的保护结果。通过结合航空照片分析的混合方法（1956 年、1993 年、和 2008 年）和定性研究，我们研究了定居点和农业边界扩张的空间模式、历史放牧实践以及当前集体 paramo 管理的主要要素。我们的研究结果表明：（1）将商定的农业边界划定为领土地标是一种旨在控制高海拔地区农作物和住宅增加并限制放牧活动的反应；(2) 委员会及其董事会的权威对制定规则和执行规则至关重要；(3) 合法化是通过保护知识和自主决策来实现的，以控制被视为公共领土的帕拉莫斯。需要对文化变迁的背景和历史有更广泛的理解，才能理解 paramos 社区治理的出现。