Lecture 5 - Need for Resource Management

Question 1

Mare Liberum

Answer 1

“freedom of the seas”

Question 2

Common Pool Theory or Tragedy of the Commons (definition)

Answer 2

Phenomena that involves a conflict for resources between individual interests and the common good

Question 3

Garrett Hardin applied economics to CPT to describe what?

Answer 3

How free access and unrestricted demand for a finite resource ultimately dooms the resource through overexploitation

Question 4

According to CPT, who receives the benefits of exploitation?

Answer 4

Benefits of exploitation accrue to individuals, each of which is motivated to maximize his or her own use of the resource (aka benefits are privatized)

Question 5

According to CPT, who pays for the costs of exploitation?

Answer 5

Costs of exploitation are distributed between all to whom the resource is available (aka costs are socialized)

Question 6

Commons (definition)

Answer 6

Any shared and unregulated resource

Question 7

Examples of commons

Answer 7

1) atmosphere
2) rivers
3) oceans
4) fish stocks

Question 8

CPT points out what kinds of problems?

Answer 8

Those that cannot be solved by technical means, such as human values or idea of morality.

Question 9

According to Elinor Ostrom, how can we avoid the tragedy of the commons?

Answer 9

1) understand the nature of the resource
2) recognize when resources are depleted
3) understand nature of the community using the resource

Question 10

Ostrom’s 8 design principles for managing a commons

Answer 10

1) define clear boundaries
2) proportional equivalence of benefits and costs: match rules governing use of goods to local needs and conditions
3) local autonomy: make sure the rule-making rights of community members are respected by outside authorities
4) collective choice: ensure that those affected by the rules can participate in modifying the rules
5) monitoring: develop a system, carried out by community members, for monitoring member’s behavior
6) graduated sanctions for rules violators
7) fast and fair conflict resolution: provide accessible, low-cost means to dispute resolution
8) build responsibility for governing the resource in nested tiers from the lowest level up to the entire interconnected system

Question 11

What are some of the false assumptions of Hardin’s tragedy of the commons?

Answer 11

1) communities are unable to appropriately determine who is able to access the resource (i.e. how many people) and when (i.e. seasonality of harvest)
2) members do not communicate to adjust rules, check that others are obeying rules, etc.
3) communities are unable to adapt to improve the resiliency of the resource
4) members do not trust one another

Question 12

Terrestrial vs Marine: Openness of local environment

Answer 12

Terrestrial: less

Marine: greater

Question 13

Terrestrial vs Marine: Species fecundity

Answer 13

Terrestrial: low for mammals, low for invertebrates and small vertebrates

Marine: low for mammals, higher for inverts and small verts

Question 14

Terrestrial vs Marine: Response to environmental variability

Answer 14

Terrestrial: lower

Marine: faster

Question 15

Terrestrial vs Marine: Sensitivity to environmental variability

Answer 15

Terrestrial: lower

Marine: greater

Question 16

Terrestrial vs Marine: Types of human threats

Answer 16

Terrestrial: widespread habitat destruction and loss of biogenic habitat structure

Marine: spatially focused habitat destruction and loss of biogenic habitat structure

Question 17

Terrestrial vs Marine: Trophic levels threatened

Answer 17

Terrestrial: lower (primary producers)

Marine: higher (predators)

Question 18

Terrestrial vs Marine: Degree of Domestication

Answer 18

Terrestrial: higher

Marine: lower