Commons

Commons (also known as Common, Collective or Community Ownership) refers to a way of managing and owning land, natural resources and industry in collective and democratic manner for the benefit of all in society as opposed to state or private ownership.

Successful Commons

According to economist Elinor Ostrom, the success of the commons depends on eight key factors:

1. Clearly defined (clear definition of the contents of the common pool resource and effective exclusion of external un-entitled parties);
2. The appropriation and provision of common resources that are adapted to local conditions;
3. Collective-choice arrangements that allow most resource appropriators to participate in the decision-making process;
4. Effective monitoring by monitors who are part of or accountable to the appropriators;
5. A scale of graduated sanctions for resource appropriators who violate community rules;
6. Mechanisms of conflict resolution that are cheap and of easy access;
7. Self-determination of the community recognized by higher-level authorities; and
8. In the case of larger common-pool resources, organization in the form of multiple layers of nested enterprises, with small local CPRs at the base level.