A commentary piece revisits Garrett Hardin’s “The Tragedy of the Commons” and Elinor Ostrom’s subsequent theories on cooperation for managing common-pool resources. Ostrom’s work demonstrated that, under specific conditions, humans can cooperate to avert collective failure in resource management.
The article argues that this framework helps explain why reducing greenhouse gas emissions remains challenging, drawing parallels to the degradation of natural heritage. It suggests that community-based conservation can be an effective climate investment, citing Ostrom’s insights into successful cases of collective natural resource management.
Source: Mongabay