What Are Common Pool Resources? With Examples

Common pool resources are a concept for understanding how societies manage shared assets. These resources, like air or water, affect everyone. Understanding their nature helps explain why shared resources face challenges and how groups manage them for collective well-being. This article defines common pool resources, illustrates them with examples, and examines various governance approaches.

Defining Common Pool Resources

Common pool resources (CPRs) are natural or human-made assets available for use by a group of people. They are characterized by two primary features: it is difficult to prevent individuals from accessing them, and one person’s use diminishes availability for others.

Unlike private goods, which are both excludable and rivalrous, CPRs pose a unique management challenge. A private good, like a purchased meal, can exclude others and is gone once consumed. CPRs also differ from pure public goods, such as national defense or clean air, where access is open to all and one person’s enjoyment does not reduce availability for others.

While many can benefit from a CPR, its finite supply can be depleted through individual consumption. This necessitates careful consideration of how these resources are utilized and sustained. The economic challenge often arises because the cost of excluding users is high, yet the resource can be exhausted.

Core Characteristics

Common pool resources are defined by two core characteristics: non-excludability and rivalrousness. These attributes shape how resources are accessed and affected by use, clarifying why managing them can be complex.

Non-excludability means it is costly or practically impossible to prevent individuals from accessing or using the resource once it exists. For example, it is difficult to stop someone from fishing in a large, open ocean or drawing water from a vast underground aquifer. This means the resource is generally available to anyone who wishes to use it.

Rivalrousness signifies that one person’s use of the resource diminishes the quantity or quality available for others. If one person catches fish from a fishery, fewer fish remain for others. Similarly, if one farmer draws water from a shared irrigation system, less water remains for other farmers. The combination of these two properties means common pool resources are susceptible to overuse and congestion.

Illustrative Examples

Common pool resources appear in various forms across our environment and infrastructure. Each example demonstrates the dual characteristics of non-excludability and rivalrousness, making their management a shared concern.

Oceanic fisheries serve as a prominent example. It is challenging to prevent fishing vessels from accessing vast stretches of open ocean (non-excludability). However, every fish caught by one vessel reduces the number of fish available for others, directly impacting the fish stock (rivalrousness). This can lead to a reduction in overall fish populations if not managed effectively.

Shared pastures also illustrate common pool characteristics. Historically, it was difficult to exclude community members from allowing their livestock to graze on communal lands (non-excludability). Each animal grazing consumes available forage, which reduces the amount of grass for other animals (rivalrousness). This can lead to overgrazing and degradation of the pastureland.

Groundwater basins provide another example. It can be difficult to prevent landowners from drilling wells and extracting water from an underground aquifer (non-excludability). However, each gallon of water extracted by one user reduces the overall water level and availability for other users connected to the same basin (rivalrousness). This can lead to wells running dry or increased pumping costs for all users.

Governance Structures

Managing common pool resources involves various governance structures aimed at balancing access and sustainability. These approaches define the rules and mechanisms by which shared resources are utilized and maintained.

Community-based governance involves local communities developing their own rules and institutions for managing shared resources. This approach relies on established social norms, direct communication, and mutual agreement among users to regulate access and use. For instance, farmers sharing an irrigation system might collectively decide on water allocation schedules and maintenance responsibilities. These community-driven systems adapt to local conditions and foster shared ownership.

State-based governance places responsibility for managing common pool resources with government agencies and regulatory bodies. This involves implementing laws, setting quotas, issuing permits, and enforcing compliance to control resource extraction and ensure sustainability. For example, environmental protection agencies might regulate pollution in shared waterways or establish fishing limits. This centralized approach ensures broader compliance and leverages scientific expertise.

Private or market-based approaches involve converting common pool resources into private goods or managing them through market mechanisms. This can include assigning individual property rights or creating tradable permits and quotas for resource use. A system of individual transferable quotas (ITQs) in fisheries, for instance, allows fishermen to buy, sell, or lease rights to catch a specific amount of fish. These mechanisms introduce market incentives to manage consumption and facilitate a more efficient allocation of resource use rights.