Self-organization: the governance of CAO fisheries from perspective of the global commons

Abstract

The Central Arctic Ocean (CAO) is a global commons, and fishes in the CAO are common property resources. If humanity does not manage this region well, then this will lead to a Tragedy of the Commons, an old problem in human society. However, the two existing means of commons governance, privatization and government control, are not appropriate for the CAO. This study's findings indicate that CAO fisheries management will most likely result from a process of self-organization. The openness of the CAO and the imbalance of powers, interests and responsibilities among the states that are involved will lead to a process of self-organized governance of CAO fisheries. There are four stages in this process: competition, synergy, establishment of governing principles and mechanisms, and expansion and evolution of influence. The outcome of CAO fisheries governance will be the result of compromise among the parties as no one actor is in a dominant position. Citation: Pan M, Wang M. Self-organization: the governance of CAO fisheries from perspective of the global commons. Adv Polar Sci, 2016, 27: 159-162, doi: 10.13679/j.advps.2016.3.00159