Environmental Ethics

Volume 35, Issue 3, Fall 2013

Revitalizing Local Commons
A Democratic Approach to Collective Management

The abandoment of the use of local natural resources has caused serious ecological degradation in some parts of the world. Such situations highlight the importance of a democratic approach to the revitalization of commons. According to traditional systems of resource management, a clear boundary should be set between users and non-users: a closed community has been regarded as the basis for appropriate governance of resources. To the contrary, when restoring commons, it is more important to create an open platform that gathers people from various backgrounds and generations and to consider together possible means for sustainable resource governance. In terms of field research in environmental restoration conducted on Sado Island, Japan, there are three conditions that need to be stressed in the process of establishing a collaborative platform: (1) accepting a variety of participants, (2) maintaining a fair and neutral stance, and (3) respecting various sorts of knowledge. In addition to these conditions, cultivating the ability to engage in adaptive rule making is crucial to the realization of an autonomous community for sustainable resource governance.