Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210;
Department of Anthropology, University College London, WC1H 0BW London, United Kingdom.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Dec 18;115(51):12859-12867. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1812028115. Epub 2018 Nov 28.
Current theoretical models of the commons assert that common-pool resources can only be managed sustainably with clearly defined boundaries around both communities and the resources that they use. In these theoretical models, open access inevitably leads to a tragedy of the commons. However, in many open-access systems, use of common-pool resources seems to be sustainable over the long term (i.e., current resource use does not threaten use of common-pool resources for future generations). Here, we outline the conditions that support sustainable resource use in open property regimes. We use the conceptual framework of complex adaptive systems to explain how processes within and couplings between human and natural systems can lead to the emergence of efficient, equitable, and sustainable resource use. We illustrate these dynamics in eight case studies of different social-ecological systems, including mobile pastoralism, marine and freshwater fisheries, swidden agriculture, and desert foraging. Our theoretical framework identifies eight conditions that are critical for the emergence of sustainable use of common-pool resources in open property regimes. In addition, we explain how changes in boundary conditions may push open property regimes to either common property regimes or a tragedy of the commons. Our theoretical model of emergent sustainability helps us to understand the diversity and dynamics of property regimes across a wide range of social-ecological systems and explains the enigma of open access without a tragedy. We recommend that policy interventions in such self-organizing systems should focus on managing the conditions that are critical for the emergence and persistence of sustainability.
当前关于公地的理论模型认为，只有在社区及其使用的资源周围有明确界定的边界时，共同资源才能可持续地得到管理。在这些理论模型中，开放获取不可避免地导致公地悲剧。然而，在许多开放获取系统中，共同资源的使用似乎可以长期持续（即，当前的资源使用不会威胁到后代对共同资源的使用）。在这里，我们概述了支持开放产权制度下可持续资源利用的条件。我们使用复杂适应系统的概念框架来解释人类和自然系统内部的过程以及它们之间的耦合如何导致高效、公平和可持续的资源利用的出现。我们通过八个不同社会生态系统的案例研究来说明这些动态，包括游牧、海洋和淡水渔业、刀耕火种农业和沙漠觅食。我们的理论框架确定了在开放产权制度下可持续利用共同资源出现的八个关键条件。此外，我们还解释了边界条件的变化如何可能将开放产权制度推向共同产权制度或公地悲剧。我们关于新兴可持续性的理论模型帮助我们理解广泛的社会生态系统中财产制度的多样性和动态，并解释了开放获取而没有悲剧的谜团。我们建议，在这些自组织系统中进行政策干预应侧重于管理对可持续性出现和持续存在至关重要的条件。
