Background The theory was best expressed by Garrett Harding in
his book: The Tragedy of the Commons. If nobody owns or manages the
property, then the individual will attempt to maximize his/her own
gains, and there is no encouragement for resource improvement.
Slide 3
Managing Common-Pool Resources
Slide 4
What is the theory behind the use of CPR?
Slide 5
Slide 6
The oceans cover about 71% of the Earth's surface and have over
95% of all water on Earth. The four oceans are the Atlantic,
Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans. The oceans provide food, natural
resources, recreation and life-saving medicines. The oceans also
affect the climate. Preserving the ocean ecosystems protects all
life on Earth. Pollution of the oceans comes from many sources, the
most visible being oil spills. Other less obvious sources of
pollution include polluted runoff, toxic waste, invasive species
and marine debris.
Slide 7
Sources of Ocean Pollution
Slide 8
What are some CPR? The Seas and Oceans The Atmosphere Space The
Poles?
Slide 9
Another way of thinking of this What is rational for me as an
individual may not, when everyone behaves this way, end up being
rational at all. The sum total of Individual Rationality is
Collective Insanity The sum of individual advancement may be the
destruction of the resource responsible for the advancement.
Slide 10
Consequence Effective land management requires either: (a)
Collective ownership and management of the resource (b) Private
ownership and control of the resource. But not no ownership and
management.
Slide 11
Here is an Attempt to Apply Ownership
Slide 12
Another example
Slide 13
But, are there alternatives? There are many examples in history
of the collective management of resources
Slide 14
Recent Collective Action
Slide 15
What are the rules for CP Management?
Slide 16
What are the BIG CP Problems for the Future? First, and
foremost, global atmospheric change (Global Warming)
Slide 17
Global Atmospheric Change ONLY a collective response will deal
with thisno one country can fix it. Yet, we saw that the attempt to
do something, via the Kyoto Protocol, did not work because of
National Interests and Differences We cannot own the atmosphere,
like a piece of territory, because it moves around, so we must find
a collective solution.
Slide 18
Global Sea-Level Rise We saw the picture of Antactica earlier,
and it is estimated that all the glaciers will be gone by 2040. All
that threatens to cause the seas to rise
Slide 19
The Law of the Sea
Slide 20
Go Away and Leave Me Alone
Slide 21
Conclusion Prof. Caldwell said we are moving out of the first
generation of environmental problems, which countries could deal
with themselves (e.g. EPA, Clean Water Act) We are now entering the
second generation of problems that are global and individual
countries can NOT deal with alone. Sovereign Law yields to
International Law, and who will administer and enforce it?