Is it possible to govern such critical commons
as the oceans and the climate? We remain
guardedly optimistic. Thirty-five years ago it
seemed that the “tragedy of the commons”
was inevitable everywhere not owned privately or by a government. Systematic multidisciplinary research has, however, shown
that a wide diversity of adaptive governance
systems have been effective stewards of
many resources. Sustained research coupled
to an explicit view of national and international policies as experiments can yield the
scientific knowledge necessary to design appropriate adaptive institutions.
Sound science is necessary for commons
governance, but not sufficient. Too many
strategies for governance of local commons
are designed in capital cities or by donor
agencies in ignorance of the state of the
science and local conditions. The results are
often tragic, but at least these tragedies are
local. As the human footprint on the Earth
enlarges (144), humanity is challenged to
develop and deploy understanding of largescale commons governance quickly enough
to avoid the large-scale tragedies that will
otherwise ensue