Effects of urbanisation on the use of lakes as commons in the peri-urban interface of Bengaluru, India

Abstract

Common pool resources located in the peri-urban interface (PUI) of rapidly growing cities in the global South are being severely impacted by rapid urbanisation. The rapid increase in urban land uses has transformed agricultural landscape around fresh water lakes that are part of the urban ecological commons of the south Indian city of Bengaluru. The marked land degradation has adversely impacted water availability for local citizens and livelihoods of traditional users. Changes in institutions for management and a transformed social demography that follows rapid urbanisation have made collective action challenging. This has had implications resulting in weakened protection of these urban commons. By using insights from equity and ecology, the impacts of urbanisation on collective access and management of the commons, essential for sustainable and equitable urban growth in the global South, were analysed successfully.