Environmental Sciences Commons^™

Institutions For Managing Ecosystem Services, Jennifer H. Allen, Jenny Duvander, Ida Kubiszewski, Elinor Ostrom

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Two decades of research into the management of what economists call common-pool resources suggests that, under the right conditions, local communities can manage shared resources sustainably and successfully. These revolutionary findings challenge the long-held belief in the "tragedy of the commons." Instead, we have found that tragedy is not inevitable when a shared resource is at stake, provided that people communicate. In many places—from Swiss pastures to Japanese forests—communities have come together for the sake of the environment and their own long-term well-being. Common-pool resources have two features: first, they are shared resources whose use by one person makes them …