We need to facilitate the self-governance of local commons, but provide safeguards at various levels
This year is defined by a pandemic, record-breaking forest fires, floods and droughts in various places, and the rapid melting of Arctic ice. The disruption of our environment is one of the main factors causing these events. To cope with these events, we need to increase our efforts in managing our interactions with the environment on a global scale.
Governing shared resources
When we want to manage shared resources, we need to balance both private and public interests. Each individual farmer may benefit from turning on the pump to irrigate his/her land, but on a larger scale, it contributes to declining groundwater levels and electricity blackouts. In 1968, biologist Garrett Hardin popularised the notion of the tragedy of the commons, which implies that communities cannot manage…