GS Paper - II

Delhi, last month, hosted a first-of-its-kind dialogue on the conservation, restoration and governance of common resources such as forests, community lands, and water bodies like lakes or rivers, all usually referred to just as Commons. More than 500 people, most of them representing grassroots organisations in different parts of India, attended the three-day event. It was organised to raise awareness about the need to evolve more inclusive and community-led frameworks for the governance of the Commons.

Commons and their governance

• Commons is a term used to refer to resources that are not owned by any individual or group or the government, but belong to, and are shared by, the community as a whole.
• Forests, local ponds, grazing lands, rivers, and sacred sites are all Commons. In the urban setting, parks and lakes are Commons.
• Commons could be intangible too. Language, folk art or dance, local customs, and traditional knowledge are all shared resources, and thus are Commons.
• At the international level, the Polar Regions, the Arctic and Antarctica, are considered global Commons. No country is allowed to take ownership of these areas, even though everyone can use them for certain kinds of activities. Outer space, the Moon, and other planetary bodies are also global Commons.
• In the digital age, most Internet and open-source software are Commons. Digital resources with creative commons licences are meant to be used freely by everyone.
• Commons are critical for several reasons. They provide a variety of ecological and other services that are beneficial for the entire community.
• But they need to be maintained, preserved, and used sustainably. As these resources are accessible to all, they face a greater threat of over-exploitation and damage. Since no one owns Commons, the responsibility of maintenance and upkeep often becomes a problem. Commons have also come under increased stress due to climate change.
• Different kinds of governance mechanisms have evolved to manage Commons depending on the context. There are international agreements, for instance, for the use and management of Polar Regions, outer space, and high seas.
• The Paris Agreement on climate change, which seeks to maintain a liveable planet for everyone, is an example. In urban areas, municipalities or other structures of local governance take care of the Commons.
• At rural levels, however, the governance of Commons is often not very well-defined or is non-existent. Local communities do get involved but in most cases, lack the resources or the legal sanction to manage these common spaces.
• The NGOs gathered in Delhi last month raised their voice mainly over issues related to the governance of these kinds of Commons.
• In the past, it was believed that Commons such as grazing lands or water bodies at the local level could not escape over-exploitation or destruction as everyone using it would tend to extract the maximum for oneself.
• This used to be referred to as the Tragedy of the Commons, a term popularised by ecological economist Garrett Hardin in the 1960s.
• The only viable solution was to either get the government or the market involved in managing and regulating the use of these common resources.

Forest Rights Act and its significance

• In India, the 2006 Forest Rights Act (FRA) is considered a good template for managing common forest resources.
• The Act gives individual and community ownership rights to forest-dwellers to live in and carry out their livelihood in the forest areas.
• Till then, the forest department used to be the sole custodian of forest areas, though practices such as setting up joint forest management committees, with representation from the local villages, had begun acknowledging the role of indigenous peoples in the conservation and restoration of natural resources.
• The FRA is considered a turning point as it recognised the legal rights of the forest dwellers over the land.