The Struggle to Govern the Commons

Human institutions-ways of organizing activities-affect the resilience of the environment. Locally evolved institutional arrangements governed by stable communities and buffered from outside forces have sustained resources successfully for centuries, although they often fail when rapid change occurs...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2003-12, Vol.302 (5652), p.1907-1912
Main Authors: Dietz, Thomas, Ostrom, Elinor, Stern, Paul C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Husbandry
Conflict management
Ecological sustainability
Ecology
Economic aspects
Ecosystems
Emotional Response
Environment
Environmental conditions
Environmental economics
Environmental education
Environmental law
Environmental policy
Evaluation
Fisheries law
Fishery economics
Global environmental change
Governance
International aspects
Marine resources
Methods
Natural resource management
Natural resource policy
Natural resources
Review
Social aspects
Social Capital
Social Networks
Sustainable development
Tragedy of the Commons
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Summary:Human institutions-ways of organizing activities-affect the resilience of the environment. Locally evolved institutional arrangements governed by stable communities and buffered from outside forces have sustained resources successfully for centuries, although they often fail when rapid change occurs. Ideal conditions for governance are increasingly rare. Critical problems, such as transboundary pollution, tropical deforestation, and climate change, are at larger scales and involve nonlocal influences. Promising strategies for addressing these problems include dialogue among interested parties, officials, and scientists; complex, redundant, and layered institutions; a mix of institutional types; and designs that facilitate experimentation, learning, and change.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1091015