The Commons in a Glocal World: Global Connections and Local Responses

Description

This volume focuses on how, in Europe, the debate on the commons is discussed in regard to historical and contemporary dimensions, critically referencing the work of Elinor Ostrom. It also explores from the perspective of new institutional political ecology (NIPE) how Europe directly and indirectly affected and affects the commons globally. Most of the research on the management of commons pool resources is limited to dealing with one of two topics: either the interaction between local participatory governance and development of institutions for commons management, or a political- economy approach that focuses on global change as it is related to the increasingly globalised expansion of capitalist modes of production, consumption and societal reproduction. This volume bridges the two, addressing how global players affect the commons worldwide and how they relate to responses emerging from within the commons in a global- local (glocal) world. Authors from a range of academic disciplines present research findings on recent developments on the commons, including: historical insights; new innovations for participatory institutions building in Europe or several types of commons grabbing, especially in Africa related to European investments; and restrictions on the management of commons at the international level. European case studies are included, providing interesting examples of local participation in commons resource management, while simultaneously showing Europe as a centre for globalized capitalism and its norms and values, affecting the rest of the world, particularly developing countries. This book will be of interest to students and researchers from a wide range of disciplines including natural resource management, environmental governance, political geography and environmental history. Cover Half Title Series Information Title page Copyright information Table of contents List of Illustrations List of Contributors Acknowledgements Introduction: on commons in a ‘glocal’ world: Linking local and global systems power processes... Rationale of the edited volume The Swiss commons and their theoretical legacy Issues of ‘glocality’ in commons studies European investments and their impact on the commons in the Global South Local responses to glocalisation Outline of the book Theoretical approaches: historical, causal-justice and institutional-political perspectives European examples from the past and present: levelled power, balanced bottom-up... European historical cases Contemporary European cases Features and effects of European investments in the commons in the Global South Land grabbing and the commons Mining and infrastructure Green enclosures Commons and international law Concluding remarks Untitled Part I Key reflections: New theoretical issues on the commons and their transformations 1 Shared ownership as a key issue of Swiss history: Common-pool resources, common property... The “Alte Eidgenossenschaft”, the “Old Swiss Confederacy” In the beginning, there was cooperation for peace The commons-state - cooperative structures as foundations of politics and society Collective resources as a means of existence for private households The economic logic behind cooperative housekeeping: husbandry and austerity Marginalization and exclusion Inequality among equals Legitimation by way of redistribution Citizen-oriented administration Persistence beyond historical upheavals and revolutions References 2 Social causality of our common climate crisis: Towards a sociodicy for the Anthropocene Multiple causes of climate change and vulnerability in the commons Crises have histories The precarity of sector by sector exploitation does not fall from the sky On causes of vulnerabilities: Weber, Douglas, Rose and risk under a changing sky Conclusion Notes References 3 Disruption, community, and resilient governance: Environmental justice in the Anthropocene Introduction The Anthropo-scenery Justice in considerations of the Anthropocene Disputing the term Anthropocene The embracers of Anthropocene Multiple-cenes? The Anthropocene, disruption, and environmental justice Disruption and disequilibria Nixon’s slow violence Disruption and detachment Form and experience of environmental injustice Implications for the intersection of environmental justice, the Anthropocene, and environmental governance of commons References 4 A definition of the commons, between human rights, resistance, and social change Introduction The evolution of the debate about the commons Legal definition of the commons: human rights beyond property Definition of the commons ‘around the world’: the data from ‘Remix the Commons’ Defending, claiming and creating the commons Urban and other new commons Gender and commons Human rights, resistance and social change Notes References 5 Towards a new institutional political ecology: How to marry external effects, institutional change... Introduction ‘Core thinking’ in political ecology Trying to locate the issue of power PE and the ontological, epistemological and posthumanist turn New institutionalism in social anthropology: commons between transaction costs and power relations Historical changes of ontologies and epistemologies of the meaning of land Ontology of the meaning of land in pre-colonial contexts The colonial and post-colonial disconnect The present-absence of the state and the paradox of neo-liberalism Case study from Zambia: irrigation on the former pasture Discussion: towards a new institutional political ecology Conclusion Note References Part II European examples from past and present 6 Common challenges, different fates. The causal factors of failure or success in the commons... Introduction The Campine versus the Brecklands Common pool institutions: formal versus informal Seven design principles defined by Elinor Ostrom (1997) Social barriers and political monopolies Access, inclusion and collective choice arrangement Collective management and abidance by the rules Collective management and action Conclusion Notes References 7 For the common good: Regulating the Lake Constance fisheries from 1350 to 1800 Introduction Lake Constance and its surroundings Legal and institutional foundations of the fisheries Resource management Measuring effectiveness? Notes References 8 The commons in highland and lowland Switzerland over time: Transformations in their organisation... Introduction The continuing diversity in the very existence of common land in lowland and upland Switzerland The legal basis for the rights related to commons up to the beginning of the nineteenth century Regulations for sustainable use Restricting the allocation of resources Limiting the group of users Communal dualism: the lengthy process of resolving the issue of rights The ‘not entirely new’ conception of communal dualism of the Helvetic Republic The exacerbation of conflicts The complex rights situation and the solutions arrived at to disentangle them Conclusion Notes References 9 From natural supply to financial yields: The common fields of the Bernese Civic Corporation since... Introduction Exclusive utilisation during the Ancien Régime Extension of utilisation – exclusivity of profits The “Burgersturm” and the abandoning of the burghers’ exclusive financial gain The transformation of the common fields into building land The exploitation of the building land Conclusion Notes References 10 Universal values and the protection of commons: Fighting corruption with bottom-up process in Mallorca Introduction Constitutionality as an analytical approach Methods A brief history of the island The tourist industry Corruption Constitutionality and the UNESCO platform: a discussion Conclusions References 11 Constitutionality and identity: Bottom-up institution building and identity among Coastal Sami in Northern Norway Introduction Theoretical considerations: the role of identity in constitutionality The setting: the Sami and fisheries in Northern Norway Norwegianisation and the development of the welfare state Identity politics in the context of resource conflicts Trigger for local identity development: the fishery crisis Losing the commons: legal demands and outcomes in the fisheries Creation and revitalisation of Coastal Sami identity Discussion and conclusion: constitutionality and identity Notes References 12 Swiss alpine pastures as common property: A success story of bottom-up institution-building in Sumvitg... Introduction Theoretical framework Setting and characteristics of the case study Methodology Alpine pastures as a common-pool resource Traditional services of the alpine pastures The state’s demand for “new” institutional services The local CPR governance system in Sumvitg: a history of institutional change Emic perceptions explaining the institutional changes Abolition of the communal grazing practice on private land and a primary service of the traditional CPR institution Shift from yearly rotating positions to long term positions: the development of good leadership Structural changes: diversification of interests and ideologies Communal work: an indicator for ecological outcomes Bottom-up institution-building: creation of the Cooperaziun d’Alps in 2000 Discussion Emic perception of need of new institutions Participatory processes addressing power asymmetries Pre-existing institutions on which to build Outside catalysing agents creating neutral platforms Recognizing local knowledge and innovations Higher-level state recognition Conclusion References Part III Features and effects of global (e.g. European) investments on commons in the world 13 Impacts of large-scale land acquisitions on common-pool resources: Evidence from the Land Matrix Introduction What general patterns and processes characterize LSLA in the global South? Our source of information: the Land Matrix database Insights into broad patterns and frequent processes How do LSLAs impact on CPRs and common property regimes? To what extent are CPRs affected by LSLA, and what impacts have been observed? Evidence in the Land Matrix data that points to adverse impacts on CPRs Type of land acquired: previous landowners, land covers, and land uses Previous landownership Previous land cover Previous land use Combining information about previous land use and landownership and previous land use and land cover Insights into potential LSLA impacts from case studies reported in the LM database Senhuile in Senegal (Case ID in LM database: #3433) Addax Bioenergy Ltd in Sierra Leone (Case ID in LM database: #1798) Kuraz Sugar Development Project in Ethiopia (Case ID in LM database: #4623) Dominion Farms Ltd in Kenya (Case ID in LM database: #1374) Conclusions Notes References 14 “They said they were bringing a development project”: ‘Best-practice’ large-scale land acquisition... Introduction Theoretical perspective – institutional change from common to private property Study design: a ‘best-practice’ large-scale land acquisition Changing livelihoods in the study area before the GADCO acquisition The continued importance of common-pool resources under common property regimes Institutional change in the Fievie Traditional Area prior to the GADCO investment Rising relative prices of land and increased formalization of customary land tenure Investment process and the enclosure of commons New ‘communal’ resources? The community development fund Infrastructure creation Increased availability of rice Contested development Conclusion Notes References 15 Grabbing the female commons: Large-scale land acquisitions for forest plantations and impacts on gender relations... Introduction Theoretical and methodological background National historical, socio-economic and political-legal background leading to institutional change before the investment The case study area: local ethnographic, economic and ecological background before the investment New Forests Company’s investment in Kilolo district and its impacts Discussion: impacts of the investment on local women and men Conclusion Notes References 16 Gendered impacts and coping strategies in the case of a Swiss bioenergy project in Sierra Leone Introduction Moral economy and political ecology Pre-colonial socio-political institutions (Pre-)colonial land rights institutions Gendered spaces in the rural landscape Research questions and methodology Discourses, narratives and alliances of the investor The interplay of politics, economy and personal networks The impacts of the investment on land tenure and common-pool resources The exclusionary privatising effects of “land reform” Gendered impacts of lost common-pool resources and access to wage labour Resistance to the company and renegotiation of the land lease contract Discussing multiple institution shopping as a coping strategy Notes References 17 The open cut: Mining, transnational corporations and the commons Introduction Large-scale mining compared Case studies Mopani copper mines in Zambia The Tampakan copper-gold mine project on Mindanao, Philippines Undermining local commons institutions Conclusions: ‘glocal’ responses Notes References 18 Are green energy investments levelled by the ‘new commons’?: Compensations, CSR measures and gendered... Introduction Theoretical perspective on gender and large-scale land acquisitions/land grabbing Methodology The natural and infrastructural aspects of the case study area Local livelihoods and common property institutions Creating national and local identities via investment projects The land deal and its implications: development or commons grabbing? CSR as a green and gender specific anti-politics machine? Local perceptions on the implications of ‘new commons’ Discussion and conclusion Notes References 19 Global changes in local governance of the commons: The case of the African Parks Foundation engagement... Introduction Global–local connections in conservation Methodology The African Parks Foundation engagement in Nech Sar National Park Finance, personnel and facilities Stakeholder partnerships The African Parks Foundation zoning concept Separation of people and park: the road to failure African Parks Foundation’s decision to end the Nech Sar NP journey Causes for the failure of the African Parks Foundation engagement Nech Sar NP after African Parks Foundation Conclusion Acknowledgements Notes References 20 Discourse and entanglement in a transnational conservation arena: Deciphering the ideologies and narratives... Introduction Re-examining landscapes through political ecology The case study area and research methods Between the frontiers of conservation discourses Encountering conservation discourse The counter-discourse Disentangling conservation discourse Discussion Outlook Notes References 21 Rain forest anomy: National parks, REDD+ implementation and the run to the forest in Jambi, Indonesia Jambi – an Indonesian frontier of the 21st century Case 1: The demise of commons regimes for land and forest in Sungai Tenang (1977–2016) Case 2: The Bukit Duabelas region: from indigenous habitat to National Park (1980–2016) Case 3: The Harapan rainforest REDD+ project and its contestation by indigenous Batin Sembilan and settlers... Conclusion Notes References Part IV Commons, privatisation and international law 22 A structured checklist to identify connections between land grabbing and water grabbing1 Introduction Property rights theory for an inter-sectoral view Towards a checklist to connect land and water grabbing Results and discussion based on case studies Flower farm investments in Ethiopia Rice production in Tajikistan Conclusion Notes References 23 International investment agreements and mega-regionals: Promoting or undermining the right to water? Introduction Relationship between international investment law and the right to water Early Investment Disputes and the Right to Water Compañía de Aguas del Aconquija and Vivendi v Argentina (1996) Zhinvali development project (2000) Azurix v Argentina (2001) Aguas del Tunari v Bolivia (2002) Suez, Sociedad General de Aguas de Barcelona and Vivendi v Argentina (2003) SAUR v Argentina (2003) Bayview v Mexico (2005) Biwater v Tanzania (2005) Impregilo v Argentina (2007) AbitibiBowater v Canada (2010) The latest investment dispute on the right to water: Urbaser et al. v Argentina Conclusion: balancing investor’s rights and the human right to water Notes References 24 The human right to water in India: In search of an alternative commons-based approach in the context of climate change Introduction Connecting the dots: water, climate, society and the commons Developing a law for the commons Human right to water – moving beyond a narrow approach Critical perspectives on the human right to water Human right to water and the commons in India Legal framework of water in India Ownership and control of water Invoking the commons through the judiciary Invoking the commons through the legislature Subsidiarity, participation and the HRW Conclusion References Index