Common Pool Resource System Case Study
Abstract
In common-pool resource systems the diverse ways in which resource users appropriate benefits results in complex and dynamic configuration of stakeholders. Problems in benefit sharing are bound to be experienced in such a resource system. It takes the input and actions of multiple actors to achieve joint outcomes and it is difficult to exclude beneficiaries of these actions even if they do not contribute. With an increasing number of stakeholders in a resource system the resource units become highly valued and many actors benefit from harvesting them. The harvests withdrawn by an individual or group are likely to create negative externalities for others. Benefits appropriated by various actors differ at an individual or stakeholder …show more content…
With an increasing number of stakeholders in a resource system the resource units become highly valued and many actors benefit from harvesting them. Benefits appropriated by various actors differ at an individual and/ or stakeholder grouping level therefore it is important to find a way to ensure effective and efficient governance taking into account the possible difference in benefits drawn.
Polycentric governance as a scheme of benefit sharing
Polycentricism is characterised by governance systems in which political authority is dispersed to separately constituted bodies with overlapping jurisdictions that do not stand in hierarchical relationship to each other (Skelcher, 2005). Polycentricism helps solve collective-action problems by developing systems of governance at multiple scales with an emphasis on local participation. A result of this is multi-layered institutional arrangements which can be important for handling scale-dependent governance challenges as well as cross-scale interactions (Anderies et al., 2004, Berkes, 2002b, Young, 1994).
Polycentric governance spans across the two dimensions of benefit sharing
In common-pool resource systems the diverse ways in which resource users appropriate benefits results in complex and dynamic configuration of stakeholders. Problems in benefit sharing are bound to be experienced in such a resource system. It takes the input and actions of multiple actors to achieve joint outcomes and it is difficult to exclude beneficiaries of these actions even if they do not contribute. With an increasing number of stakeholders in a resource system the resource units become highly valued and many actors benefit from harvesting them. The harvests withdrawn by an individual or group are likely to create negative externalities for others. Benefits appropriated by various actors differ at an individual or stakeholder …show more content…
With an increasing number of stakeholders in a resource system the resource units become highly valued and many actors benefit from harvesting them. Benefits appropriated by various actors differ at an individual and/ or stakeholder grouping level therefore it is important to find a way to ensure effective and efficient governance taking into account the possible difference in benefits drawn.
Polycentric governance as a scheme of benefit sharing
Polycentricism is characterised by governance systems in which political authority is dispersed to separately constituted bodies with overlapping jurisdictions that do not stand in hierarchical relationship to each other (Skelcher, 2005). Polycentricism helps solve collective-action problems by developing systems of governance at multiple scales with an emphasis on local participation. A result of this is multi-layered institutional arrangements which can be important for handling scale-dependent governance challenges as well as cross-scale interactions (Anderies et al., 2004, Berkes, 2002b, Young, 1994).
Polycentric governance spans across the two dimensions of benefit sharing