This innovative and interdisciplinary book makes a major contribution to common pool resource studies. It offers a new perspective on the sustainable governance of common resources, grounded in contemporary and archival research on the common lands of England and Wales - an important common resource with multiple, and often conflicting, uses. It encompasses ecologically sensitive environments and landscapes, is an important agricultural resource and provides public access to the countryside for recreation. Contested Common Land brings together historical and contemporary legal scholarship to examine the environmental governance of common land from c.1600 to the present day. It uses four case studies to illustrate the challenges presented by the sustainable management of common property from an interdisciplinary perspective - from the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, North Norfolk coast and the Cambrian Mountains. These demonstrate that cultural assumptions concerning the value of common land have changed across the centuries, with profound consequences for the law, land management, the legal expression of concepts of common 'property' rights and their exercise. The 'stakeholders' of today are the inheritors of this complex cultural legacy, and must negotiate diverse and sometimes conflicting objectives in their pursuit of a potentially unifying goal: a secure and sustainable future for the commons. The book also has considerable contemporary relevance, providing a timely contribution to discussion of strategies for the implementation of the Commons Act of 2006. The case studies position the new legislation in England and Wales within the wider context of institutional scholarship on the governance principles for successful common pool resource management, and the rejection of the 'tragedy of the commons'.

This book analyses the drivers of specific common pool resource problems, particularly in fisheries and forestry, examining the way in which private and public regulation have intervened to fight the common pool resource problem by contributing to the establishment and maintenance of property rights. It focuses on the various forms of regulation that have been put in place to protect fisheries and forestry over the past decades – both from a theoretical as well as from a policy perspective – comparing the concrete interaction of legal and policy instruments in eight separate jurisdictions.

Tackles one of the most enduring and contentious issues of positive political economy: common pool resource management.

In the 1970s, the accepted environmental thinking was that overpopulation was destroying the earth. Prominent economists and environmentalists agreed that the only way to stem the tide was to impose restrictions on how we used resources, such as land, water, and fish, from either the free market or the government. This notion was upended by Elinor Ostrom, whose work to show that regular people could sustainably manage their community resources eventually won her the Nobel Prize. Ostrom’s revolutionary proposition fundamentally changed the way we think about environmental governance. In The Uncommon Knowledge of Elinor Ostrom, author Erik Nordman brings to life Ostrom’s brilliant mind. Half a century ago, she was rejected from doctoral programs because she was a woman; in 2009, she became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics. Her research challenged the long-held dogma championed by Garrett Hardin in his famous 1968 essay, “The Tragedy of the Commons,” which argued that only market forces or government regulation can prevent the degradation of common pool resources. The concept of the “Tragedy of the Commons” was built on scarcity and the assumption that individuals only act out of self-interest. Ostrom’s research proved that people can and do act in collective interest, coming from a place of shared abundance. Ostrom’s ideas about common resources have played out around the world, from Maine lobster fisheries, to ancient waterways in Spain, to taxicabs in Nairobi. In writing The Uncommon Knowledge of Elinor Ostrom, Nordman traveled extensively to interview community leaders and stakeholders who have spearheaded innovative resource-sharing systems, some new, some centuries old. Through expressing Ostrom’s ideas and research, he also reveals the remarkable story of her life. Ostrom broke barriers at a time when women were regularly excluded from academia and her research challenged conventional thinking. Elinor Ostrom proved that regular people can come together to act sustainably—if we let them. This message of shared collective action is more relevant than ever for solving today’s most pressing environmental problems.

With the growing number, complexity, and importance of environmental problems come demands to include a full range of intellectual disciplines and scholarly traditions to help define and eventually manage such problems more effectively. Decision Making for the Environment: Social and Behavioral Science Research Priorities is the result of a 2-year effort by 12 social and behavioral scientists, scholars, and practitioners. The report sets research priorities for the social and behavioral sciences as they relate to several different kinds of environmental problems.

The vast majority of the world's scientists agree: we have reached a point in history where we are in grave danger of destroying Earth's life-sustaining capacity. But our attempts to protect natural ecosystems are increasingly ineffective because our very conception of the problem is limited; we treat 'the environment' as its own separate realm, taking for granted prevailing but outmoded conceptions of economics, national sovereignty and international law. Green Governance is a direct response to the mounting calls for a paradigm shift in the way humans relate to the natural environment. It opens the door to a new set of solutions by proposing a compelling new synthesis of environmental protection based on broader notions of economics and human rights and on commons-based governance. Going beyond speculative abstractions, the book proposes a new architecture of environmental law and public policy that is as practical as it is theoretically sound.

Key topics in the ongoing evolution of environmental governance, with new and updated material. This survey of current issues and controversies in environmental policy and management is unique in its thematic mix, broad coverage of key debates, and in-depth analysis. The contributing authors, all distinguished scholars or practitioners, offer a comprehensive examination of key topics in the continuing evolution of environmental governance, with perspectives from public policy, public administration, political science, international relations, sustainability theory, environmental economics, risk analysis, and democratic theory. The second edition of this popular reader has been thoroughly revised, with updated coverage and new topics. The emphasis has shifted from sustainability to include sustainable cities, from domestic civic environmentalism to global civil society, and from global interdependence to the evolution of institutions of global environmental governance. A general focus on devolution of authority in the United States has been sharpened to address the specifics of contested federalism and fracking, and the treatment of flexibility now explores the specifics of regulatory innovation and change. New chapters join original topics such as environmental justice and collaboration and conflict resolution to address highly salient and timely topics: energy security; risk assessment, communication, and technology innovation; regulation-by-revelation; and retrospective regulatory analysis. The topics are organized and integrated by the book's “3R” framework: reconceptualizing governance to reflect ecological risks and interdependencies better, reconnecting with stakeholders, and reframing administrative rationality. Extensive cross-references pull the chapters together. A broad reference list enables readers to pursue topics further. Contributors Regina S. Axelrod, Robert F. Durant, Kirk Emerson, Daniel J. Fiorino, Anne J. Kantel, David M. Konisky, Michael E. Kraft, Jennifer Kuzma, Richard Morgenstern, Tina Nabatchi, Rosemary O'Leary, Barry Rabe, Walter A. Rosenbaum, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Paul Wapner

The Levels of Action

We are poised between an old world that no longer works and a new one struggling to be born. Surrounded by centralized hierarchies on the one hand and predatory markets on the other, people around the world are searching for alternatives. The Wealth of the Commons explains how millions of commoners have organized to defend their forests and fisheries, reinvent local food systems, organize productive online communities, reclaim public spaces, improve environmental stewardship and re-imagine the very meaning of "progress" and governance. In short, how they've built their commons. In 73 timely essays by a remarkable international roster of activists, academics and project leaders, this book chronicles ongoing struggles against the private com­moditization of shared resources - often known as market enclosures - while docu­menting the immense generative power of the commons. The Wealth of the Commons is about history, political change, public policy and cultural transformation on a global scale - but most of all, it's about individual commoners taking charge of their lives and their endangered resources. "This fine collection makes clear that the idea of the Commons is fully international, and increasingly fully worked-out. If you find yourself wondering what Occupy wants, or if some other world is possible, this pragmatic, down-to-earth, and unsentimental book will provide many of the answers." - Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and The Durable Future

A revolutionary, collaborative approach to design and construction project delivery Integrating Project Delivery is the first book-length discussion of IPD, the emergent project delivery method that draws on each stakeholder's unique knowledge to address problems before they occur. Written by authors with over a decade of research and practical experience, this book provides a primer on IPD for architects, designers, and students interested in this revolutionary approach to design and construction. With a focus on IPD in everyday operation, coverage includes a detailed explanation and analysis of IPD guidelines, and case studies that show how real companies are applying these guidelines on real-world projects. End-of-chapter questions help readers quickly review what they've learned, and the online forum allows them to share their insights and ideas with others who either have or are in the process of implementing IPD themselves. Integrating Project Delivery brings together the owners, architect, engineers, and contractors early in the development stage to ensure that problems are caught early, and to address them in a collaborative way. This book describes the parameters of this new, more efficient approach, with expert insight on real-world implementation. Compare traditional procurement with IPD Understand IPD guidelines, and how they're implemented Examine case studies that illustrate everyday applications Communicate with other IPD adherents in the online forum The IPD approach revolutionizes not only the workflow, but the relationships between the stakeholders – the atmosphere turns collaborative, and the team works together toward a shared goal instead of viewing one another as obstructions to progress. Integrated Project Delivery provides a deep exploration of this approach, with practical guidance and expert insight.