Global Commons

GLOBAL COMMONS ARE large resource domains that do not fall within the jurisdiction of any one country. Antarctica, the oceans, the atmosphere, and space are typically considered global commons. Two commonly ascribed attributes of such resources are the difficulty of excluding others from using them (exclusion) and the degree to which one appropriator's use of the resource diminishes that consumption of the resource left for others (subtractability).

Also termed common-property resources, these resources can be defined by four categories of property rights, namely open access, private property, communal property, and state property. These categories differ in nature of ownership, rights, responsibilities of owners, rules of use, and center of control. In practice, however, many resources are held in overlapping and sometimes conflicting combinations.

The global interconnectedness between the commons and their various resources is extensive. The local commons co-constitute and determine the global commons, highlighting a close and symbiotic relationship between local ecologies and large resource domains. Numerous human activities at the micro level, such as the cutting of firewood in rural areas of South America, can have causes and consequences measured at small, medium, and large spatial and temporal scales. In grazing systems, overuse of grasslands has led to increased rates of wind erosion, with local losses in soil fertility and regional to global consequences for the atmosphere.

Local activities have fundamentally and globally altered the atmosphere's composition and function. There is a widely held view that commons are inherently disaster-ridden because of overpopulation and technological innovation, allowing for an even more intensive exploitation causing the depletion and ultimate collapse of a range of common-pool resources.

There are several links that exist between poverty and the environment at the local level. For one, poor people rely heavily on natural resources for subsistence and employment. The poorest are often landless laborers who depend on soil, fish, and other natural resources for food and income. Poorer households tend to depend more on environmental resources/commons. Since poor people have limited options and alternatives, they are said to deplete resources faster—often impoverished by a declining resource base, they are in turn often forced by their circumstances to degrade the environment further. This can lead to soil erosion, land degradation, and deforestation.

Second, poor people are more likely to be exposed to polluted water and air, which cause illness and premature death. Poor people are commonly bound to reside in areas with poor environmental quality. Many poor people live close to factories that pollute the air, contaminate water, and produce hazardous and solid waste. They often live closest to the sources of pollution in urban centers and have to rely on wood and charcoal, which produce poor air quality in their own homes.

Disease (cholera, malaria) frequently removes people from the workforce for long periods. Respiratory infections and waterborne diseases (due to the low quality of the air and water supply) are two of the biggest causes of death among the poor. By far the largest cause [Page 434]of disease is the lack of access to adequate water and sanitation.

Third, poor people are more vulnerable to environmental disasters and changing climate. They suffer more losses, injuries, and deaths from natural disasters than the rest of the population since they are more likely to live in unsafe housing and in areas prone to disasters such as floods, landslides, and drought. The impacts of global climate change—declining water supplies, poor harvest, and increasing spread of disease—will further affect poor people who already live in areas susceptible to disease and with limited savings, food, and other assets to help them cope in the event of fluctuating climates and extreme weather. Environmental stress can force the poorest to temporarily or permanently leave their homestead to seek survival elsewhere (environmental refugees).

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