Common Resource Management Research Articles

Access to water in the context of the international watercourse: A theory of the community of interest

Securing free and equal access to water for individuals is foremost an objective of international water law. This article analyses the community of interest theoretical framework for the creation and implementation of rules that can achieve this objective. This theory is in line with the natural unity of the watercourse that traverses political borders between states. However, legal doctrine is not unanimous concerning its practical value, state practices largely evade it, and case law only provides declarative support without indicating precise contents of community rights and obligations. It seems that practical application of the community of interest theory is only possible through meticulous and systematic application of positive legal rules based on limited territorial sovereignty theory, in the spirit of joint management and use of common water resources.

EFFICIENT USE OF COMMON RESOURCES IN CONDITIONS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Many of the challenges facing humankind, such as climate change, water scarcity, inequality, and hunger, can be resolved not only at a global level by promoting sustainable development but, first of all, at a local level. Local communities in many countries have been seeking to improve sustainability. They are the policy makers and catalysts of change that unify the global goals with their own local ones. In light of the theoretical background, this article uses the example of Ukraine to extend the analysis of the effective management of common resources proposed by Elinor Ostrom by introducing obstacles and opportunities for local communities working toward sustainable development. Considering the experience of European states, the foundation of the transformation of the conditions of sustainable development is a citizen as an individual, guided by his or her own “taste of life” in accordance with the state- and community-guaranteed right to choose one’s own place in life. Under the relevant conditions, it is expedient to look for effective tools that would exert influence on central and local governments, and the possibilities of transforming the entire system of public administration by focusing on the role of the community and its opportunities for the effective use of shared resources. The duplication of the process of consolidation without development of a social state only destroys the remnants of local self-governance and, as a consequence, all other branches of power in general. The aim of paper is to use the example of Ukraine to extend the analysis of effective management of commons by introducing obstacles and opportunities that local communities face on their path toward sustainable development.

Reflections on the potential of virtual citizen science platforms to address collective action challenges: Lessons and implications for future research

Rural communities in Africa are facing numerous challenges related to human health, agricultural production, water scarcity and service delivery. Addressing such challenges requires effective collective action and coordination among stakeholders, which often prove difficult to achieve. Against the background of the increased availability of information and communication technologies (ICTs), this article synthesizes the lessons from six case-studies reported in this Special Issue. The cases investigate the possible role of digital citizen science platforms (labelled EVOCAs: Environmental Virtual Observatories for Connective Action) in overcoming the challenges of integrating heterogeneous actors in collective management of common resources and/or the provision of public goods. Inspired by the seminal work of Elinor Ostrom, our expectation was that such platforms could help operationalize communication and information-related design principles and community conditions that are known to enhance the capacity to address environmental challenges.This article presents some cross-cutting insights and reflections regarding the nature of the challenges identified by the diagnostic studies, and on the relevance and significance of Ostrom’s framework and analysis. It also reflects on the plausibility of our original ideas and assumptions by assessing what the various studies tell us about the significance and potential of key components of an EVOCA-type intervention: i.e. environmental monitoring, ICT, connective action, citizen science and responsible design. At the same time, we draw lessons for follow-up research and action in our research program and beyond by identifying several issues and themes that merit further investigation.Based on the case-studies, we conclude that many collective action challenges are of a more complex nature than originally anticipated, and often cannot be resolved within clearly demarcated communities. While this complicates the realization of Ostrom’s communication and information-related design principles and community features, there may still be a meaningful role for digital citizen science platforms. To help address complex challenges, they must be oriented towards fostering adaptive and systemic learning across interdependent stakeholder communities, rather than focusing on the self-betterment of the communities alone. Such digital platforms need to be developed in a responsible manner that ensures complementarity with already existing patterns of communication and ICT-use, that anticipates dynamics of trust and distrust among interdependent stakeholders, and that prevents typical problems associated with the sharing of information such as privacy infringement and undesirable control over information by outsiders.

Strategi Adaptasi: Kisah Desa Kawa dan Desa Morodemak dalam Menghadapi Perubahan Populasi dan Ekologi

Population growth in coastal areas, especially as a result of migration, has put pressure on the environment, both the built environment and the community management environment in implementing sustainable livelihood strategies. This paper wishes to explain two models of community adaptation in two distinct areas, namely Morodemak Village on the north coast of Central Java, which began to recede in the management of common resources, and Kawa Village in Seram Barat coast, which is still strong in maintaining the tradition of coastal and terrestrial territorial management as a common resource. The research methodology used in this research is qualitative approach, with semi structured interview and focus group discussion. From the results of the study, it was revealed that people were able to reshape their resources based on ecological and social changes, as their adaptation strategy in sustaining sustainable livelihoods.

Violencia, transgresión y bienes comunes en Copiapó (siglos XVII y XVIII)

We present an analysis of the conflicts based on the access to common resources in the Copiapo Valley in the 17th and 18th centuries. During that period the Spaniards occupied indigenous territories, and, as a result, its native inhabitants lost the access to places of extraction of resources such as pitch, wood or water. This article studies three cases where the established relations around the uses of the common goods was not met. As a method of nalysis, the article is based on the design principles established by Elinor Ostrom in the management of common resources in the organization of successful institutions throughout the history.

HRM Practices and its impact on organisational commitment: A study of construction employees in India

The construction industry is one of the largest global employment sectors and accounts for a significant share of the world's gross domestic product (GDP). In India, it is the second largest sector after agriculture. A critical feature of this industry is a complex, dynamic and risky work environment. The construction projects rely on skilled workers supported by an efficient management framework. At the backdrop of increasing investments and growth in construction projects in India, the construction establishments are facing enormous challenges due to the massive gap between supply and demand of talented professionals. In such situations, an employee's commitment towards the organisation is highly essential for efficient performance. This study aims to examine whether the employee perceptions about common human resource management practices have an impact on the organisational commitment of construction employees in India. HRM practices which may have a considerable effect on the employee commitment, such as recruitment and selection, performance management, career management, training and development, workforce diversity management, management policies and grievance handling are examined. The study was conducted through a questionnaire survey including a combination of a standard model of organisational commitment and a few self-structured questions. The results show a highly significant and positive relationship between organisational commitment and employee perceptions of human resource management practices prevalent in the construction organisations. ‘Performance Management’, ‘Training and Development’ and ‘Management Policies and Grievance Handling’ were found to be the most significant factors affecting the organisational commitment of construction employees. The results of the study could be used as guidelines for improving HRM policies in construction organisations.

Sociologia e gestão ambiental: considerações a partir de uma Reserva Extrativista Marinha

In Brazil, Extractive Reserve is an environmental conservation unit. It is subject to a comanagement regime by residents, resources users, representatives of public and private agencies and civil society. This paper aims to understand how these actors interact to build this institution in a participatory way. It applies the sociological concepts of social networks, social and cultural capital, habitus and field, common resources management and interactive governance to the experience of the Caete-Taperacu Extractive Marine Reserve, in Braganca municipality, Para State. The research employed a qualitative methodology, including document analysis about fisheries in the Amazonian seashore, semi-directive interviews with local fishermen and observations in meetings at the Association of Residents and Users of the Reserve during the year 2012. The social networks among users, especially fishermen, were incomplete, denser at the local level and with few external links, hence the contradiction between inshore fishery management and distant fishery deregulation. Yet, the growth of awareness of caring for the environment in the new territory is evident. The local committees, assemblies and the joint designing of rules and plans foster the interactive learning, despite the capital inequalities of the involved actors. Keywords: co-management, participation, extractive reserve.

Common pool water resources management considering a regulator interference: A game theory approach to derive managerial policies for Urmia lake, Iran

AbstractAn increased need for water, combined with a scarcity of water resources, has resulted in serious challenges regarding water resource management. Those issues have always been a major concern of most research regarding the management and operation of water resources. Various qualitative and quantitative methods, Game Theory (GT) being an example, have been proposed for managing common pool water resources. This study adopts GT to address a case of common pool water resource management, including consideration of the interference of a regulator. Urmia lake in north‐western Iran was chosen as an illustration of a common source of water shared between two provinces acting as littoral stakeholders to the lake. Due to a non‐cooperative behaviour of the stakeholders, the lake is most likely to dry up. To change the game situation, a regulator was inserted into the game as a third player. The game among players is investigated in terms of two static and dynamic game methods. Two strategies are defined for each player. The equilibrium point will be achieved according to the strategies adopted by the players. For static games, a low‐level equilibrium under non‐cooperation conditions is obtained. Dynamic games among players are more likely to occur, rather than static games. The equilibrium of high‐level productivity will be obtained under cooperative conditions among the players.

Leadership as Important Factor for Agricultural Development in Albania

An important challenge for the development of the Albanian agriculture remains the small surface and farm fragmentation. A chance for enhance with a sustainable impact is the agriculture development based on the principles of collective action. The objective of the study is measurement of the importance of leadership perceived by farmers and farmers’ willingness to cooperate among main agricultural activities in Albania. The study will investigate farmers in two important agricultural sectors – vegetable production in greenhouses and apple production. Study measures the impact of leadership as a factor which increases farmers’ potential for collective action, illustrated by vegetable producers in greenhouses and apple producers. Results of the research show that leadership is an important factor for development of collective action in Albanian agriculture. The results are especially important for agricultural sectors of vegetable production in greenhouses and apple production, but they can also be useful for undeveloped agricultural regions. Promotion of leadership in farming communities will have benefits beyond agriculture by promoting good management and maintenance of common resources.

Leadership as Important Factor for Agricultural Development in Albania

An important challenge for the development of the Albanian agriculture remains the small surface and farm fragmentation. A chance for enhance with a sustainable impact is the agriculture development based on the principles of collective action. The objective of the study is measurement of the importance of leadership perceived by farmers and farmers’ willingness to cooperate among main agricultural activities in Albania. The study will investigate farmers in two important agricultural sectors – vegetable production in greenhouses and apple production. Study measures the impact of leadership as a factor which increases farmers’ potential for collective action, illustrated by vegetable producers in greenhouses and apple producers. Results of the research show that leadership is an important factor for development of collective action in Albanian agriculture. The results are especially important for agricultural sectors of vegetable production in greenhouses and apple production, but they can also be useful for undeveloped agricultural regions. Promotion of leadership in farming communities will have benefits beyond agriculture by promoting good management and maintenance of common resources.

Leadership as Important Factor for Agricultural Development in Albania

An important challenge for the development of the Albanian agriculture remains the small surface and farm fragmentation. A chance for enhance with a sustainable impact is the agriculture development based on the principles of collective action. The objective of the study is measurement of the importance of leadership perceived by farmers and farmers’ willingness to cooperate among main agricultural activities in Albania. The study will investigate farmers in two important agricultural sectors – vegetable production in greenhouses and apple production. Study measures the impact of leadership as a factor which increases farmers’ potential for collective action, illustrated by vegetable producers in greenhouses and apple producers. Results of the research show that leadership is an important factor for development of collective action in Albanian agriculture. The results are especially important for agricultural sectors of vegetable production in greenhouses and apple production, but they can also be useful for undeveloped agricultural regions. Promotion of leadership in farming communities will have benefits beyond agriculture by promoting good management and maintenance of common resources.

Social capital, collective action, and communal grazing lands in Uganda.

Recent scholars have found that collective action can be harnessed to sustainably manage common property, contrary to longstanding hypotheses that without effective external regulation community members will exploit communal resources. Researchers have also found that social capital, in addition to biophysical conditions and community attributes, is an important element of successful collective action. However, few studies exploring this topic have specifically examined communal grazing land, which is a critical component of rural livelihoods in many parts of the developing world. To address this gap, we explore the role that collective action plays in maintaining communal grazing lands through bridging, bonding, and linking social capital. In cases where the community does have communal grazing lands, we also explore the role of social capital in determining the condition of the land and the inclusiveness of access. Our analyses draw upon a community-level dataset composed of Uganda RePEAT survey data linked with high resolution gridded socio-environmental data. We observe that strong community bonds are associated with higher odds of successful collective action. However, increased links to external market forces may decrease the odds of successful collective action. These findings provide additional evidence for the complex relationship between social capital, collective action, and common property natural resource management.

Sustainability of the concrete industry: Current trends and future outlook

Achieving sustainability of all human actions has been recognized as an urgent and top priority since the warnings of anthropogenic climate change are overwhelming. However, the precise goal, aim and method of shifting the global paradigm towards sustainability are still contested. Among all human activities, the concrete industry has one of the largest environmental footprints, not only because concrete is the second most used material in the world, but also because the production of cement for concrete is highly energy-intensive and inevitably releases large amounts of CO2. In this paper, a historic and theoretical background to the environmental problems, arising from the production and use of concrete, is presented. The specific problems it poses are recognized as natural resource consumption, CO2 emissions, and waste generation. A technical discussion based on Life Cycle Assessment analyses is presented alongside a societal interpretation within the framework of common resource and externality management. Possible technical solutions in the form of recycling waste concrete and replacing cement with industrial by-products are presented and finally, a necessity for a shift towards a holistic and environmental paradigm is highlighted.

THE COLLECTIVE ACTION ON GOVERNING THE COMMONS IN THE SURROUNDINGS OF PROTECTED AREAS

Abstract This work has as its theme the common natural resources and the management models that allow new governance systems in the rural areas in the surrounding of protected areas. In this sense, this paper aims to discuss the collective action of social actors in the management of common natural resources in the surroundings of the National Park of Serra da Bodoquena (PNSB). Based on institutional approach for the study of the self-organisation and self-governance in common-pool resources situations developed by Elinor Ostrom, the investigation sought the theoretical explanation of phenomena. The conclusions point out that the expected mobilisation of groups of individuals in the pursuit of common goals is twofold. In this case, the participants of the action arena create different goals and different collective actions according to their interests.

S.T.A.R.T.T. plus: addition of prehospital personnel to a national multidisciplinary crisis resource management trauma team training course.

The Simulated Trauma and Resuscitation Team Training (S.T.A.R.T.T.) course is a unique multidisciplinary trauma team training course deliberately designed to address the common crisis resource management (CRM) skills of trauma team members. Moreover, the curriculum has been updated to also target the specific learning needs of individual participating professionals: physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists. This commentary outlines further modifications to the course curriculum in order to address the needs of a relatively undertargeted group: prehospital personnel (i.e., emergency medical services). Maintenance of high participant satisfaction, regardless of profession, suggests that the S.T.A.R.T.T. course can be readily modified to incorporate prehospital personnel without losing its utility or popularity.

Right Relation and Right Recognition in Public Health Ethics: Thinking Through the Republic of Health.

The further development of public health ethics will be assisted by a more direct engagement with political theory. In this way, the moral vocabulary of the liberal tradition should be supplemented-but not supplanted-by different conceptual and normative resources available from other traditions of political and social thought. This article discusses four lines of further development that the normative conceptual discourse of public health ethics might take. (i) The relational turn. The implications for public health ethics of the new 'ecological' or 'relational' interpretation that is emerging for concepts such as agency, self-identity, autonomy, liberty and justice. (ii) Governing the health commons. The framework of collective action problems is giving way to notions of democratic governance and management of common resources. (iii) The concept of membership. Membership is specified by the notions of equal respect and parity of voice and agency. (iv) The concept of mutuality. Mutuality is specified by the notions of interdependent concern and care.

Managing collective symbolic capital through agro-food labelling: Strategies of local communities facing neoliberalism in Spain

This paper explores the strategic relevance for communities of properly managing collective symbolic capital under a neoliberal context, focusing on the impact of neoliberal policies in the capacity of communities to control the appropriation of value of their agro-food productions. The current economic crisis in Spain increases the pressure on the social and economic reproduction of the lower classes within local communities, and threatens the virtuous balance between the management of common resources and the collective symbolic capital associated with them. Entrepreneurial and institutional logic favors the capturing of collective symbolic capital by local bourgeoisies and transnational companies, while depleting the local common resources that had been exploited sustainably by local communities for centuries. The case study of the cultivation of clams in Carril, Spain, illustrates this process, while the conclusions from previous research on other Spanish agro-food systems are presented to provide a comparative analysis and potential development alternatives based on different strategies for the management of collective symbolic capital.

OpenVirtualToxLab—A platform for generating and exchanging in silico toxicity data

This paper explores the strategic relevance for communities of properly managing collective symbolic capital under a neoliberal context, focusing on the impact of neoliberal policies in the capacity of communities to control the appropriation of value of their agro-food productions. The current economic crisis in Spain increases the pressure on the social and economic reproduction of the lower classes within local communities, and threatens the virtuous balance between the management of common resources and the collective symbolic capital associated with them. Entrepreneurial and institutional logic favors the capturing of collective symbolic capital by local bourgeoisies and transnational companies, while depleting the local common resources that had been exploited sustainably by local communities for centuries. The case study of the cultivation of clams in Carril, Spain, illustrates this process, while the conclusions from previous research on other Spanish agro-food systems are presented to provide a comparative analysis and potential development alternatives based on different strategies for the management of collective symbolic capital.

공유자산의 자치적 관리 모델에 대한 비판적 검토: 부산 가덕도 대항마을의 숭어들이 사례를 중심으로

공유자산의 자치적 관리 모델에 대한 비판적 검토: 부산 가덕도 대항마을의 숭어들이 사례를 중심으로

Governance and Management of Common Property Resources

Millions of people across rural India depend on and share the ‘common’ (community) natural resources like forest, wasteland, grazing land, water resources, etc., for their livelihoods, whereas developing such ‘common resources’ through collective action for the sustainable village development is a challenging task for the rural community. The study analyses the community participation of Hiware Bazar village of Maharashtra in governance and management of common property resources for sustainable village development. This study adopts both descriptive and analytical research methodologies to understand various developmental initiatives and its overall impact of the watershed-plus and other attenuating measures on the social and economic lives of the people in Hiware Bazar. The study uses both qualitative and quantitative data that are collected through primary and secondary sources. The study finds that community-driven common resources management had impacted on rural households through increased employment and income. The social and economic integration of the people in Hiware Bazar led to social, economic and environmental transformations for sustainable development of the village.