the comedy of the commons?
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The Comedy of the Commons?. Common Property Resource Management Leah S. Horowitz, Ph.D. [email protected]. Themes today. Open-access vs. common property Privatisation State ownership Common property theory Common property resource management (CPRM) Problems faced by CPRM systems - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
The Comedy of the Commons?
Common Property Resource Management
Leah S. Horowitz, Ph.D. [email protected]
Themes today Open-access vs. common property Privatisation State ownership Common property theory Common property resource management (CPRM) Problems faced by CPRM systems Case study #1: Cree Indian fisheries as CPRM
systems Case study #2: Grasslands management in the
Highlands of Ethiopia
Open-access vs. common property Hardin, Garrett 1968.
The tragedy of the commons. Science 162: 1243-1248.
William Forster Lloyd compared the English
labor market to a grazing commons
people keep adding cows, having babies
overexploitation, oversaturation
Hardin’s angle individual self-interest “rational” economic behavior “Freedom in a commons brings ruin for all.” Two solutions
State control privatization
Requirements for privatization Divisibility Equity of
distribution Long-term interest State enforcement
State ownership Enforcement External
management Resentment Creating
“open-access” systems
Common property theory Hardin’s unjustified assumptions
resource users are selfish common resources are open-access
Common property ≠ open access Common property resources
restricted to a group governed by rules
References McCay, Bonnie and James M. Acheson (eds.) 1987. The
question of the commons: the culture and ecology of communal resources. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Ostrom, Elinor 1990. Governing the commons: the evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ostrom, Elinor, Thomas Dietz, Nives Dolsak, Paul C. Stern, Susan Stonich, and Elke U. Weber 2002. The drama of the commons. Washington: National Academy Press.
Common property resource management (CPRM)
Created under conditions of scarcity
Advantages less bureaucratic
inefficiency local experience adaptability acceptance cost-effectiveness
Requirements for CPRM Small user group Exclusivity Social network Expectations Cultural factors
values ideologies moral code
Communities are systems of social relations
Disadvantages Intra-
community disputes
Difficulties in setting rules
Inequitable resource distribution
Problems faced by CPRM systems Technological
innovation Commercialization Education Changing belief
systems Government
opposition
Case study #1: Cree Indian fisheries as CPRM systems
Berkes, Fikret 1987. Common-property resource management and Cree Indian fisheries in subarctic Canada. Pp. 66-90 in B. McCay and J.M. Acheson (eds.) 1987. The question of the commons: the culture and ecology of communal resources. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Chisasibi territory, Canada
Beaver and goose management Trap-lines and goose
territories “Beaver boss” or “goose-
shooting boss” responsibility to manage the
harvesting activity community can punish him
Fish management Abundant Only used for food Management
fishing territories inexhaustible disrespectful to manage
scientifically follow proper procedures, show
respect code of ethics
Threats to the Cree CPRM systems Improved access Increased
population Technology Loss of traditional
knowledge
Case study #2: Grasslands management in Ethiopia
Ashenafi, Zelealem Tefera and N. Leader-Williams 2006. Indigenous common property resource management in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Human Ecology 33(4): 539-563.
Guassa area, Ethiopia
CPRM of the Guassa area “Pioneer fathers” forbid settlement, 17th c. Qero
headmen responsible for protecting their area parishes with headman esquire restrictions on who and when patrols punishments
The socialist revolution 1975: all rural land
to the state Guassa Committee Peasant
associations by-laws patrols punishments
Problems with the new management Ineffectiveness
lack of ownership interference drought weak enforcement immigration market overexploitation illegal use
Socioeconomic changes increased land pressure villagization
One community member’s perspective It was a taboo and an insult in our forefathers’
time to sell Guassa grass. How can someone sell something that is not his own property? We got the Guassa from our forefathers and we should hand it to our children as we received it. The situation is different, now the Guassa grass has become a commodity to sell and buy in the market. (A 67-year-old informant from Tesfomentier Peasant Association)