Press Release
2 July 2008
Creating a political voice for 'commons'
Over two billion people worldwide depend on common property for at least some significant part of their livelihoods.
But the majority of land and aquatic resources that are managed as 'commons' are often declared to be state property. Governments are variable in their policies of recognition of the rights of commoners over these resources, which in turn creates significant uncertainty, and limits incentives for sustainable management.
One of the key issues to maintaining and protecting common property is to raise the political profile of commons and in particular recognition of the local, regional and global values of resources managed ‘in common’.
Thanks to sponsorship from the International Development Research Centre, Canada, a Policy Forum is set take place to provide the opportunity to hear a variety of experiences with advocating for the commons in different fora, from the local to the international, and to explore the opportunity for raising its political profile.
This forum will take place at the 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons Conference, which is being organised by the Countryside and Community Research Institute at the University of Gloucestershire, UK, on 14-18 July 2008.
Conference organiser, Dr. John Powell, says "The rising value of resources on the commons poses one of the greatest challenges to local users of commons. Commercial interests, particularly in developing countries, seek concessions to exploit forest resources, develop plantations, mining, or even ecotourism, or governments may sell off land for urban and other development. Poor and marginalized groups, including women, pastoralists, and minority ethnic groups are the most likely to lose out in this process. This forum will explore potential for developing resources to assist organisations in getting a 'voice of the commons' heard in the policy process at different levels of governance."
Much advocacy for commons protection occurs at the local level where it may help to solve localised management problems and access issues, but failure to gain recognition for commons and common rights at higher political levels can be catastrophic over large areas, wiping out localised gains obtained at the grass roots level. Thus the aim of the forum is to:
- explore situations where policy advocacy and intervention is required to secure rights to the commons
- exchange experiences about advocacy on behalf of collective rights, identify commonalities and draw lessons from failures and successes
- discuss the roles of grassroots organizations, federations, NGOs, government policymakers, development assistance programs, and international fora in advocacy on behalf of the commons
- explore potential for developing resources to assist organisations in getting voice of the commons heard in the policy process at different levels of governance.
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In addition, the main conference will be exploring the global implications of poor resource management and conflict between individual interests and the common good, which are increasingly recognised in terms of loss of biodiversity, destruction of valued resource systems, both natural and man-made, and global warming impacts. The Conference will seek to address how common resources should be managed at local, regional, national and global levels to promote a more sustainable world.
The term 'commons' includes a wide range of 'shared' resources. Resources, such as a woodland or forest might be shared between members of a local community, and those living outside that community prevented from using it. On the other hand some resources, such as the global atmosphere, are shared by everyone, and no-one can be excluded . There are commons in water, forests, wildlife, energy, climate and landscapes, all of which are increasingly under threat.
Over 500 delegates from over 40 countries will be attending the event.
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The Conference
1. The 12th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons (IASC) will take place at The University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, England on July 14-18, 2008.
2. The title of the conference is: 'Governing shared resources: connecting local experience to global challenges'
3. The conference will attract over 600 participants from 75 countries around the world. Key speakers include: Lord George Carey (former Archbishop of Canterbury), Elinor Ostrum (Arthur F. Bentley Professor of Political Science, Indiana university, USA), and Judy Lin Wong OBE (Director, Black Environment Network)
4. Overview of the Conference
The emphasis of the conference is the exchange of knowledge on shared resources or 'commons' between:
- developing and developed world, ·
- practitioners and researchers, ·
- 'old' and 'new' commons.
The overarching theme of 'governing shared resources' aims to encourage discussion on alternative approaches to using, managing, protecting and creating ‘commons’.
5. What are 'commons'?
Commons are resources that are shared by different members of a community or society. Typically in a commons certain people will have defined or specific rights to use or access the resource. In an open access resource, like the traditional ocean fishery, there may be no rules about who can access the resource. Commons range from globally shared resources such as the atmosphere, climate stability, and biodiversity, to local community managed resources such as a woodland, water source, or village green.
6. Conference website: http://iasc2008.glos.ac.uk/iasc08.html More details from: Gill Parker, Conference Administrator
Email: iasc2008@glos.ac.uk, Tel: +44 (0)1242 714123
7. The International Association for the Study of Commons (IASC) was founded in 1989 and is a nonprofit Association devoted to understanding and improving institutions for the management of resources that are (or could be) held or used collectively by communities in developing or developed countries. IASC's goals are: · to encourage exchange of knowledge among diverse disciplines, areas, and resource types · to foster mutual exchange of scholarship and practical experience · to promote appropriate institutional design for commons resource management.
The website for the IASC:
http://www.indiana.edu/~iascp/index.html
Organising Committee for IASC 2008 Conference
The conference will be co-chaired by:
Dr. John Powell, Senior Research Fellow, Countryside and Community Research Institute, University of Gloucestershire. E-mail jpowell@glos.ac.uk. Telephone +44 (0) 1242 714129 714129
Mr. Chris Short, Senior Research Fellow, Countryside and Community Research Institute, and Senior Lecturer, Department of Natural and Social Sciences, University of Gloucestershire. E-mail cshort@glos.ac.uk. Telephone +44 (0) 1242 714550
The Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) is a new body created by the University of Gloucestershire, the University of the West of England and Hartpury College. It is one of the leading specialist rural research centres in the country with programmes of research in rural community development, rural poverty, agri-environment policies, agri-tourism, local sustainability, local economic development, EU and UK rural development, and the planning system in the countryside. See www.ccri.ac.uk for more information.
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Contacts:
Press Officer, Julie Ryan
Office Manager, Chris Rayfield, crayfield@glos.ac.uk or telephone 01242 714121
Issued by:
COUNTRYSIDE AND COMMUNITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Dunholme Villa,
The Park,
Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire
GL50 2RH
