Institutions and Sustainability Marco Janssen School of Sustainability Center for Behavior, Institutions and the Environment Arizona State University

Collective action problems A situation in which there is a conflict between what is preferred by the individual and the group. Rooted in rational choice theory. Mancur Olson (1965) Logic of Collective Action

Commons: Resources that are shared in common (for example: a community)

Failures to sustain the commons

Tragedy of the Commons Famous essay by Garrett Hardin (1968) in Science. When people share a common resource they will keep extracting resources which provide individual benefit while costs are shared by group. Only way out to avoid the tragedy is strict regulation by external authority or privatization of resource.

But what about the empirical evidence? Many examples of successful self-governance of common resources. Since 1980s systematic comparison of case studies. Self-governance is possible and can be very effective and efficient

What does this mean? If people are able to self-govern their commons, don’t overrule their institutions. Community approach can work in the right conditions. But community approaches are not the solution to everything, sometimes we need to use governmental regulation or privatization.

Domesticated animals People have to solve when and where animals can graze. Movement of animals during the year. If private property movement is restricted.

Lobster fisheries in Maine Lobster fisheries almost collapse in the 1920s but is now a very sustainable fisheries by developing local institutions.

Water management in the Netherlands Since the year 800 development of local water boards. Technology (windmills) Floods Trial and error

Institutional Analysis and Development Framework The IAD framework is a tool that helps to systematic analyze collective action and the commons, with a focus on institutions.

Action situation Focal analysis for the study of institutions Situation where multiple actors interact

Action Arena Action situation + participants = action arena

Institutional Analysis and Development Framework

Rules in use Rules in use vs Rules on paper Rules need to be known Rules need to be understood

Compare commons in different locations

Why are some communities successful in governing their commons and not others?

Design principles 1. Clearly defined boundaries 2. Proportional equivalence between benefits and costs 3. Collective-choice arrangements 4. Monitoring 5. Graduated sanctions 6. Conflict-resolution mechanisms 7. Minimal recognition of rights to organize 8. Nested enterprises

Design Principles Design Principles are not a blue print Still hold in meta-analysis studies (Cox et al. 2010; Baggio, 2016). No study using primary data. Configurations of design principles in specific social-biophysical context.

Collective action in human history focused on local scale By trial and error, and learning from others, communities have found ways to solve complex collective action problems.

But the world is changing

Polycentric Governance V. Ostrom et al (1961) on governance of municipalities. Both local level initiatives and higher level governance. Diversity of solutions tailored to context. Fit between problem and solution. In recent years new interest in Polycentric Governance applied to Climate change: Clubs, urban initiatives,

Irrigation as a fruitfly for SESs Decade of focus on (small-scale) irrigation systems (case studies, experiments, models). Importance of connection between resource users and public infrastructure providers. Asymmetry affect power differences. Inequality affects cooperation and robustness. Role of market integration.

Coupled Infrastructure Systems Creation, maintenance and distribution of affortances.

Political Economy of Coupled Infrastructure Systems (PECIS)

Summary Communities are able to govern their common resources. Research focuses on the social and biophysical conditions that lead to success and failure. No panaceas, but protocols to diagnose the problem. Hot topics: polycentricity & coupled infrastructure systems More info see https://sustainingthecommons.asu.edu/