The essentials
Common property refers to resources owned by a group, whose members share both rights and duties in using and caring for them. Examples in India include sacred groves on village or community land, protected by local customs, and village pastures and ponds. Population pressure, privatisation and the commercial use of land have put many such resources under strain.
Global commons are areas or regions of the world that lie outside the sovereign jurisdiction of any one state and so require common governance by the international community. Examples are the Earth's atmosphere, Antarctica, the ocean floor and outer space.
Key points
- Agreements on global commons include the Antarctic Treaty (1959), the Montreal Protocol (1987) on the ozone layer and the Antarctic Environmental Protocol (1991).
- Managing commons is difficult because of unclear responsibility, the free-rider problem and unequal technological capacity: for example, use of outer space and the ocean floor depends on advanced technology that mainly richer countries have.
- Resource geopolitics concerns who gets which resources, when and how. Control over oil has been a key factor in world politics since the twentieth century, and regions with large reserves, such as West Asia, have attracted strategic interest.
- Water is another source of tension. Many rivers flow across borders, and upstream states' dams and projects can affect states downstream. Disputes over shared rivers can be settled through treaties.
- Timber and minerals have also been the subject of competition and conflict.
Exam tips
Learn the four examples of global commons and three examples of agreements governing them. Questions often ask whether a given area is a global commons or a common property resource.
Common mistakes
- Treating a village sacred grove as a global commons. It is a local common property resource.