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Nov 19, 2009

"What we have ignored is what citizens can do and the importance of real involvement." --Elinor Ostrom

The Victory of the Commons

Over many decades, Elinor Ostrom has documented how various communities manage common resources -- grazing lands, forests, irrigation waters, fisheries -- equitably and sustainably over the long term. The Nobel Committee's recognition of her work effectively debunks popular theories about the Tragedy of the Commons, which hold that private property is the only effective method to prevent finite resources from being ruined or depleted.