 Based on traditional tenure patterns, rules of protection and utilization as well as enforcement are essential aspects of the Qero system.Further organization of the user community into parishes gave the Guassa area the status of consecrated land, under the protective patronage of the parish, which reinforced the Qero system with the prestige, power, and authority of another important local level institution.In the process, the Guassa common property resources became a kind of sacred entity.