In a world faced with environmental degradation, climate change and resource depletion, the work of Nobel Prize winning economist Eleanor Ostrom offers a way to deal with problems through collective action. Ostrom explained how communities around the world can manage shared resources sustainably and equitably, challenging the common perception of the inevitable "tragedy of the commons."
The tragedy of the commons, a concept popularized by the work of Garrett Hardin in 1968, states that people who share a common resource but act out of self-interest will inevitably overuse and deplete common resources, such as pastures, forests, and fisheries. The conventional solution proposed to avoid this tragedy was state regulation or privatization. However, Eleanor Ostrom, through her careful empirical research, has demonstrated that there is a third way: the commons can be effectively managed by the people who use them, through collective action and self-governance.
Ostrom's journey into the world of the commons began with her groundbreaking research on irrigation systems in Los Angeles, where she observed that farmers successfully managed water resources through self-organized systems, without the need for outside authorities. This observation led her to research similar community-managed systems around the world, from the highlands of Nepal to the lobster fisheries of Maine.
Through her research, Ostrom has identified several key factors that contribute to the successful management of shared resources. These include clearly defined boundaries, rules adapted to local needs and conditions, collective decision-making processes, effective monitoring and sanctions of rule-breakers, conflict resolution mechanisms, minimal recognition of rights to organize by external authorities, and ventures nested into a larger common pool.
Ostrom's work challenges us to rethink our ways of governing and the potential for communities to sustainably manage shared resources without relying solely on top-down approaches or market mechanisms. She showed that with the right conditions, collective action can lead to outcomes that are not only sustainable but also equitable, preserving resources for future generations while meeting the needs of the present.
Her insights are particularly relevant today as we face global challenges that require joint solutions, from climate change to water scarcity. Ostrom's legacy teaches us that the key to solving these problems lies not only in technological advances or policy reforms, but in empowering communities to take action and manage their resources through shared governance and collaboration.