Creating new commons

Intervening in the market to provide new common property resources
Governing common pool resources

Description

Creating new commons involves establishing shared resources—such as land, knowledge, or digital platforms—managed collectively by communities to address issues of access, sustainability, and equitable use. This strategy remedies problems of resource depletion, exclusion, and privatization by developing governance structures, usage norms, and stewardship practices that ensure long-term benefit for all stakeholders. The essential action is to facilitate collective ownership and management, fostering resilience and social cohesion while safeguarding resources for future generations.

Context

The governance of natural resources used by many individuals in common is an issue of increasing concern to policy analysts. These include communal tenure in meadows and forest, irrigation communities and other water rights, and fisheries. Both state control and privatization of resources have been advocated, but neither the state nor the market has been uniformly successful in solving common-pool resource problems.

Claim

In contrast to the propositions of the 'tragedy of the commons' argument, common-pool problems sometimes are solved by voluntary organizations rather than by a coercive state.