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Collective natural resource management in agroecology

Code: 9781835454930
Publication date: 28-05-2026
Extent: 32 pages

Contributions by: David E. Ervin, Portland State University, USA

Chapter synopsis:

Agriculture depends heavily on common pool resources. However, the viability of such resources is jeopardized by complex social and ecological relationships, as exemplified by protecting pollinators and allocating groundwaters that span ownership and political boundaries. Management options include privatization, government regulation or payments, community-based collective initiatives or some combination of all three. This chapter explores the advantages and limitations of using a collective bottom-up approach under agroecology principles. Theory and evidence demonstrate that voluntary collective management is sustainable under certain socio-ecological conditions, although win-win outcomes are neither easy nor assured. Moving beyond local commons resources to global climate and biodiversity crises poses stiffer challenges, but emerging collective initiatives, including credible certification systems, offer potential progress. This review distills four lessons from collective commons management experiences to advance sustainable food systems under an agroecological framework.



DOI: 10.19103/AS.2025.0153.23

Open Access

This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY).

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Table of contents
  • 1 Introduction
  • 2 Sustainability science and commons management
  • 3 Common pool resource theory
  • 4 Collective natural resource management: case studies in agriculture
  • 5 Certification initiatives
  • 6 Conclusion and lessons
  • 7 Where to look for further information
  • 8 Acknowledgments
  • 9 Declaration of funding and conflicts of interest
  • 10 References

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