What is a commons?
From medieval times, commons referred to any resource used together with others–grazing land, forests, water use. From modern times it has been described as any common pool natural resource, such as fishing rights, irrigation, pastures. The “tragedy of the commons” as described by Garrett Hardin in 1968 is that if not well managed, commons will be overused, depleted, perhaps destroyed.
What are the ways to govern a commons?
This traditional understanding of management or commons required either government or private control. Rule making and compliance is their responsibility. In the 1970’s, Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom studied diverse common-pool resources groups around the globe. She demonstrated that humans can cooperate around shared resources under certain conditions (Ostrom’s Cored Design Principles) and successfully avoid the “Tragedy of the Commons.” These core design principles, if adapted to specific contexts predicted successful management of the shared resource.
Core Design Principles
So these core design principles (CDPs) apply to natural resources?
Yes, but there’s more. David Sloan Wilson, noted evolutionary biologist, worked with Ostrom to generalize the CDPs to any commons, any common purpose or resource that needs collective trust and collaboration. Examples might include creating sustainable energy use, regional actions to reduce groundwater pollution, reducing violence in our communities, promoting equitable healthcare access, etc.
What might be some examples of commons in central New Hampshire (capital area)?
I can think of a few examples:
- Educating children–using community resources to oversee and coordinate K-12 education.
- Health care access–assuring equitable health care access for area residents
- Creating a sustainable region for energy use, natural resources, transportation and living.
And my interest–
- Ending homelessness–achieving functional zero homelessness in Concord and Merrimack County…Stay tuned for more on this.
NH Collective Health Impact 