1. Introduction to the Theory of HES Collective Action in Human-Environment Systems Prof. Stefanie Engel Chair of Environmental Policy and Economics Universitätstr. 22, CHN K76.3 sengel@ethz.ch

2. 2 The Chair of Environmental Policy and Economics  Group of economists (environmental economics, new institutional economics, behavioural economics) and political scientists  Typical Questions: -What would be an ‘optimal‘ environmental outcome (i.e., desirable from societal perspective)? (Valuing tradeoffs, impacts of policy process and information) -Why (under what conditions) do individual decisions differ from societal ‘optimum‘? (Focus on economic incentives and social preferences) -Which policies are suitable to move individual decisions closer to ‘optimum‘? -How are policies formed? Which processes are suitable to define and implement ‚optimal‘ policies (Governance)? Soc. Indiv.

3. 3 Focus in this class  Social dilemmas (‚Tragedy of the commons‘)  Solution requires collective action  ‚You would not be sitting here today if it was not for some of our ancestors learning how to undertake collective action to solve social dilemmas‘ (adapted from Ostrom 1998)  2 guiding examples in this class: (i) Management of local commons (e.g., community forest management, irrigation management, fisheries) (ii) International cooperation on global commons (e.g., climate change)

4. 4 Beispiel: Entwaldung und Walddegradierung Worldwide change in forest ecosystems 2000-2005 (FAO, 2006) Deforestation and degradation of > 20 Mio. Ha/yr Mostly in developing countries Important impacts for climate (20% of global emissions), biodiversity, local livelihoods etc. Variety of complex economic, political and social causes Ex. 1: Community forest management

5. 5 Conventional Approach  ‚Fences and Fines‘  Government control and regulation Problems in developing countries with:  Monitoring & enforcement  Social justice  Corruption ‚Participation/Co- Management‘   (Partial) Transfer of rights & responsibilities to local communities Idea:  ‚Sense of ownership‘ leading to incentives for self-regulation & sustainable use

6. 6 Role of collective action (cont.)  Behavior of each resource user affects environmental outcome (e.g., forest quality)  Environmental outcome affects all individuals‘ livelihoods  Everyone better off if collective resource use is reduced, but each user considers only own costs and benefits, not impact on others (‚Tragedy of the commons‘) HUMAN SYSTEM ENV. SYSTEM

7. 7 Role of collective action (cont.)  Solution requires collective action -Everyone reducing extraction of fuelwood (‚Appropriation problem‘) -Contributing to afforestation, monitoring activities (‚Provision problem‘)  Under what conditions can we expect communities to agree on management rules and to abide by them? -Will depend, among other factors, on characteristics of users and resource HUMAN SYSTEM ENV. SYSTEM

8. 8 Ex. 2: International cooperation in climate change mitigation Stabilisation levels, probability ranges for temperature increases, and associated impacts

9. 9 Impacts of Climate Change (Stern, 2006)  Developing countries most vulnerable due to geographic exposure, low incomes, and greater reliance on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture  „Climate change will have some positive effects for a few developed countries for moderate amounts of warming, but will become very damaging at the higher temperatures that threaten the world in the second half of this century“  Benefits at higher altitudes: higher agricultural yields, lower winter mortality, lower heating requirements, potential boost to tourism  More vulnerability in lower latitudes: reduction in water availability and crop yields  At higher temperatures: extreme weather events, risk of large-scale shocks

10. 10 Major GHG emitters  Kyoto protocol as a highly imperfect attempt for collectively mitigating climate change No binding targets for major contributors like China, India, Indonesia Binding targets not ratified by US (ratification by Australia only Dec 2007) Targets not achieved by Canada etc.

11. 11 Exercise Topics for Module ‚Collective Action in HES‘ Task: Summarize and compare analyses empirically assessing the success factors and hindering factors of collective action for: Group 1: Community forest management in India and Nepal Group 2: International agreements on climate change and ozone layer (Kyoto, Montreal)

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13. 13 Ex: Change in cereal production in developed and developing countries with 3°C warming – simulation with three climate models (Parry et al., 2005)

14. 14 Major GHG emitters