TRAGEDY OF

THE COMMONS
BIO 4114 – HUMAN ECOLOGY
 OUTLINE
▪ What is the Tragedy of the commons?

▪ Why does the tragedy of the commons occur?

▪ What is the long time effect of this?

▪ Action Steps
 THE TRAGEDY OF THE
▪ The
COMMONS
tragedy of the commons refers to a situation in which
individuals with access to a shared resource (also called a
common) act in their own interest and, in doing so, ultimately
deplete the resource.

▪ This economic theory was first conceptualized in 1833 by British

writer William Forster Lloyd.

▪ In 1968, the term “tragedy of the commons” was used for the first time
by Garret Hardin in Science Magazine.
 THE TRAGEDY OF THE
▪
COMMONS
This theory explains individuals’ tendency to make the best decisions for their
personal situation, regardless of the negative impact they may have on others.

▪ An individual’s belief that others won’t act in the best interest of the group can lead
them to justify their selfish behavior.

▪ When facing the use or potential overuse of a common or public good, individuals
may act with their short-term best interest in mind, for instance, using an
unsustainable product, and disregard the harm it could cause to the environment or
general public.

▪ It’s helpful to understand the tragedy of the commons so we can make more
sustainable and environmentally-friendly choices.
 WHAT IS THE TRAGEDY OF THE
COMMONS?
▪ Published 1968 by biologist Garret
Hardin
▪ Among the most influential scientific
publications "The tragedy of the
commons” develops in this way.
▪ Picture a pasture open to all.
▪ It is to be expected that each
herdsman will try to keep as many
cattle as possible on the commons.
▪ The inherent logic of the commons
remorselessly generates tragedy.
▪ As a rational being, each herdsman
seeks to maximize his gain.
 WHAT IS THE TRAGEDY OF THE
▪
COMMONS?
This is an economic problem brought about by the over use of common resources
such as water, land, pastures etc.

▪ In which every individual tries to reap the greatest benefit from a given resource.

▪ It is a situation that happens when two or more activities that produce results
depend for their success on some limited resources.

▪ The Tragedy of the commons explains the reason why growth stops or declines
after a period of time, because of limited resources shared among groups or
individuals.

▪ Leads to environmental issues such as overgrazing, over fishing etc

 GENERIC STRUCTURE OF THE TRAGEDY OF
THE COMMONS
▪ In the archetype diagram only two activities A and
B are represented.
▪ Each of the activities are involved in the use of the
common resource.
▪ As A and B activities go up, their net gains also go
up. Hence increasing their level of activities to the
resources the reinforcing loop allows the parties to
achieve greater gains all the time.
▪ All the activities add up to the total activity which
decreases the gains per activity gains.
▪ Parties end up gaining less of the resources.
▪ This happens because the total activity is greater
than the resource limits.
▪ By going over the limit, individual parties have to
work even harder to use the resources.
▪ The tragedy occurs therefore when the resource In
“Tragedy of the Commons,” each activity pursues
actions that are individually beneficial (R1 and R2),
but eventually results in a worse situation for
everyone.
▪ Activity A Activity B Net Gains for A Net Gains for B
+ + + + Gains per individual activity Resource limit
Total activity + + + + + - R1 R2 B1 B2
 OTHER REAL EXAMPLE:
SHARED COMMON GRAZING PASTURE
▪ Let’s say there’s some land that people use as
pasture for their animals.
▪ No body owns so its open to anyone to come
and graze their livestock on the land.
▪ In this scenario, everyone has rights to the
pasture to grazes as many animals as possible,
acting in self-interest for the greatest short-term
personal gain.
▪ Eventually, they use up all the grass in the
pasture; the shared resource is in the end
depleted and no longer useful.
▪ Other similar real life scenarios are, over
fishing, pollution, deforestation etc.
▪ Over grazing on common grazing pasture
 OTHER REAL EXAMPLE:
▪ In this example of the Tragedy of the commons archetype, there are two THE IT DEPARTMENT
departments in an organisation which uses the IT resources.
▪ As these departments employ the use of the IT resources, they contribute
to their success.
▪ E.g. Department A & B. As each department likes its plan, they develop
plans of consuming even more IT resources THUS increasing the total
resources requested.
▪ At some point the total resources requested exceed the IT resources
available.
▪ When that happens projects, and support become more delayed.

▪ As the individual groups has planned developments which were

dependent on the support of use of IT resources, begin to experience a
decrease in their results.
▪ A results and B results because they have exceeded the capacity usage
of the IT resources.
▪ Hence if the individual group had paid for the resources, they would
probably wouldn’t use so much, Admins demands Medicine demands
Net Gains for Admin Net Gains for Medicine + + + + TotalDemand Gain
per individual demand IT Resources & skills+ + + + +- R1 R2 B1 B2
 WHY DOES THE TRAGEDY OF
THE COMMONS OCCUR?
▪ Tragedy of the Commons occurs because the actors do not
pay attention to the effects of their actions.

▪ Therefore, they continue their undesirable behavior until

it’s too late to undo or fix the resource.

▪ Sometimes actors may be aware of the situation, but take

less concern to slow down if they recognize that others will
reap all the benefits.
 WHAT IS THE LONG TIME EFFECT OF
THIS?
▪After a while, individuals consuming resources to
their own interest can lead to the effect of;

▪Depletion of the common resource

▪The resource becomes less accessible and losses

its quality
 TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS
▪
[EXAMPLES]
Coffee Consumption: While a simple cup of coffee might seem
harmless, coffee consumption is a prime example of the tragedy of
the commons. Coffee plants are a naturally occurring shared
resource, but over-consumption has led to habitat loss that has
endangered other species.

▪ Overfishing: As the global population continues to rise, the food

supply needs to increase just as quickly. However, overhunting and
overfishing have the potential to push many species into extinction.
Overfishing of the Pacific bluefin tuna has caused an all time
decline in population from their original population. This not only
endangers the Pacific bluefin tuna, but also risks further marine
ecosystem endangerment as a result. Why?
 TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS
▪
[EXAMPLES]
Traffic Congestion: Traffic congestion is one of the best-known modern
examples of the tragedy of the commons. Air pollution from traffic
congestion in urban areas contributes to a significant amount of premature
deaths annually in some countries. As more people decide that roads and
highways are the fastest way to travel to work, more cars end up on the
roads, ultimately slowing down traffic and polluting the air.

▪ Groundwater Use: Groundwater is the source of drinking water for many

persons. Because of this, groundwater supply is decreasing faster than it
can be replenished. In drought-prone areas, the risk for water shortage is
high and restrictions are often put in place to mitigate it. Some individuals,
however, ignore water restrictions and the supply ultimately becomes
smaller for everyone.
 ACTION STEPS
▪ First step is to identify the “commons”, the resource being shared by individuals..
▪ Determine incentives – identify the reinforcing processes or incentives driving the
individual use of resources.
▪ Divide the resource into plots i.e assigning it to individuals as private or individual
property.
▪ Limiting access to resources. Finding the central focal point around which the whole
resource can be managed.
▪ Have someone else manage resource usage
▪ Assigning ownership of the resource e.g. government, private, community

▪ “We can avoid tragedy only by altering our values.” Hardin, 1968
▪ This means we can change the way we live (sustainably) by preserving our natural
resources—even in the private sector.
▪ Sustainability: Meeting present needs of today’s populations without compromising the
needs of future generations.
 What are some possible solutions to this
tragedy of the commons?
1)Think about it
2)Discuss
3)Share with class
 Some solutions to
the tragedy of the commons

International treaties banned production of CFCs

(solving the ozone hole)

Taxes and fees are used to pay for sewage treatment

plants [aquatic pollution]

“Cap and trade” was used to solve acid rain problem

[caused by emissions from factories]
 CRITICISMS OF THE TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS
▪ Frequently cited in favor of privatization of public property
▪ Criticism: Historically inaccurate.
▪ “The “Tragedy of the Commons” is one of the modern world’s most
dangerous myths.” (George Monbiot)
▪ Overuse of the commons in traditional societies was generally
prevented through a sophisticated structure of norms practiced by the
respective communities.
▪ There is no evidence of systematic overgrazing.
▪ The “tragedy” Hardin describes is in fact not a tragedy of common
property but rather a tragedy of open access regimes.
 CRITICISMS OF THE TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS
▪ The “tragedy” Hardin describes is in fact not a tragedy of common property but rather a
tragedy of open access regimes.

▪ In later work, Hardin referred to the “Tragedy of the Unmanaged (Unregulated) Commons”.

▪ The problems identified by Hardin apply to expansive resources that are unregulated or
where regulation is difficult to enforce: oceans, atmosphere, expansive tracts of forest orange
land, water resources

▪ Essentially, he describes a Free Rider Problem

▪ Hardins’ actual topic was population control: he interpreted(excessive) reproduction as a

Free Rider problem.

▪ This argument is hardly ever taken seriously or even discussed.

 QUESTIONS?
▪ Explain, how does Tragedy of the
Commons ideas connect with the concept
of sustainability.

▪ Does the “Commons” reflect utilitarian

conservation or biocentric preservation?