Local Institution and Leadership Influence at the People-Protected Area Interface: A Case of Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, India

This study examines how Village Defence Party, a community-based institution around Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, shapes conservation outcomes through institutional coherence and leadership practice. Drawing on Institutional Collective Action (ICA) theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), we combine participatory rural appraisal techniques with inferential tests to assess coordination, motivations and risk attitudes. We document a rule-bound organisational structure and routine patrol practices that evidence effective inter-institutional coordination. TPB constructs, such as subjective norms and perceived behavioural control, significantly predict flood patrol participation, while qualitative narratives highlight cultural reverence and moral obligation as motivational content. Leaders function as boundary spanners under ICA dilemmas, leveraging NGO/state support, social capital and cultural norms to set expectations, and sustain vigilance beyond mandates regarded as hallmarks of collaborative governance.