Common Pool Resource (CPR) Problems

Topics

	Tragedy of the commons
	Property rights
	Approaches to managing CPR problems
	Over population and unsustainable resource use
	Consumption behavior
	Affluence and Poverty

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	Perhaps the best example of a CPR problem is over fishing. See this interesting article from the Seattle Times (11/11) looking at the magnitude of the fisheries problems around the world. It is also a local problem. Read this Star News article (1/12) for a discussion of an attempt to try and protect our local sport fishermen in North Carolina.
	The lobster fishery in Maine is an excellent example of self-regulation of a fishery, albeit with a few problems. See this interesting article from September ''09 about the Lobster wars that sometimes occur.
	Of course Hardin's main argument was to warn of the dangers of overpopulation (Click here for a few articles on over population).
	Think technology will save us? Think again. As this article reminds us, neo-Malthusian view is alive and well (10/07). The UN assures us that assures us that ecosystems are at a tipping point (CNN - 5/10), although the UN also estimates that going green is likely to cost the planet an additional $76 trillion over the next 40 years (Fox News 7/11). And we thought the debt problems in the U.S. and Europe were bad
	Many nonprofits and advocacy groups also use science to try and shape public opinion and government policy. See this short article (9/07) describing how Pew Charitable Trusts attempts to influence fisheries policy.

The following agency websites may prove useful as we move through the semester.

	Video Clip - Hans Rosling gives brilliant insight into the world’s explosively changing population, in its physical, economic and political health. To say nothing about his basic mission of teaching the use of statistical methodology.
	Video: "Reinterpreting the fisheries crisis" by Ray Hilborn, University of Washington
	Updated estimates of U.S. and world population
	United Nations Population Fund and its recent report State of the World Population 2001 report Footprints and Milestones: Population and Environmental Change
	Population Council
	ZPG.org (Zero Population Growth.org)
	PLANetWIRE.org (a reporter's guide to population and environmental issues)c

	Perfect Storm (2000) starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg: While the book is better, the movie does give some insight into the life of a fishermen and the exploitation of common pool resources. The swordfish is a highly migratory species and preventing their overexploitation is a major challenge.
	Dances With Wolves (19??) starring Kevin Costner: One of the sub themes in the movie is the hunting of buffalo. The movie illustrates how the Indians relied on the buffalo for their subsistence living while the settlers killed buffalo for their own economic gain. The end result was the over harvesting of this common pool resource. The movie won an Academy Award for . . .

Some general books examining CPR problems include

	Lorax
	*Marc Reisner. Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water* (New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1993)**: The book gives a revealing account of the relentless quest for the West's most precious resource - water. It illustrates the political corruption and intrigue surrounding efforts to divert and dam rivers and the billion dollar battle over water rights. It also describes the bitter rivalry between the government's Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE).
	*Linda Greenlaw. The Hungry Ocean* (New York, NY: Hyperion Books, 1999)**: A New York Times national Best Seller, the book gives some insight into what drives a swordfish captain and what it is like to fish the open seas harvesting common pool resources. It also reveals insights on what it is like to be a women in a field dominated by men.

Some good books and readings on using institutional analysis to understand CPR problems include:

	Ostrom, Elinor. 1990. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press
	Ostrom, Elinor, Larry Schroeder, and Susan Wynne. 1993. Institutional Incentives and Sustainable Development. Boulder, CO: Westview Press
	Elmore, Richard F. 1985. “Forward and Backward Mapping: Reversible Logic in the Analyses of Public Policy.” in Kenneth Hanf and Theo A. J. Toonen (eds.) Policy Implementation in Federal and Unitary Systems; Questions of Analysis and Design. Boston, MA: Maartinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 33 - 70.
	Kiser, Larry L. and Elinor Ostrom. 1982. “The Three Worlds of Action: A Metatheoretical Synthesis of Institutional Approaches.” in Elinor Ostrom (ed.) Strategies for Political Inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. pp. 179 - 222.
	Komesar, Neil K.. 1994. Imperfect Alternatives: Choosing Institutions in Law, Economics, and Public Policy. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

Page last modified 08/17/11

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