The commons - resources of collective ownership and collective responsibility: concepts, problems and the question of their management

Abstract

The commons, or common pool resources, are natural, manmade and socio-cultural resources that belong to all because no one can be excluded from using them. At the same time, however, use by one user reduces their quantity available to other users. The commons are involved in all production and consumption activities and suffer from over-exploitation and bad management that frequently lead to their destruction – the well-known "tragedy of the commons". In this way, socio-economic welfare within a healthy environment – i.e. of local and global sustainable development – is not achieved. The paper offers a review of the international literature with the aim to present the various definitions and diverse forms of the commons, the problems that they face and the question of their management. The discussion reveals the centrality of three issues: the socio-culturally contingent nature of the concept of the "commons", the importance of considering several resources as common pool resources in order to analyze and resolve realistically environmental and spatial problems and, finally, the need for an ethos and spirit of collective responsibility as the main prereq-uisite for the prudent use and conservation of the commons.