25 July

Four Corners exposed some of what's going wrong in managing water resources in the Murray Darling. Elinor Ostrom (now deceased) is the only woman to win a Nobel Prize in economics. She studied how groups of people can successfully share common resources, like water, based on decades of empirical studies. Her life's work on this was distilled into 8 principles, which you can use in any group situation where some common resource needs to be shared, whether that's water, land, Scotch Finger biscuits or whatever. This also was one of the first empirical bodies of work looking at how to govern something effectively, mostly governance is based on assumptions and prejudices. You can use it at home or at work, in group situations. 8 Principles for Managing a Commons 1. Define clear group boundaries. 2. Match rules governing use of common goods to local needs and conditions. 3. Ensure that those affected by the rules can participate in modifying the rules. 4. Make sure the rule-making rights of community members are respected by outside authorities. 5. Develop a system, carried out by community members, for monitoring members’ behavior. 6. Use graduated sanctions for rule violators. 7. Provide accessible, low-cost means for dispute resolution. 8. Build responsibility for governing the common resource in nested tiers from the lowest level up to the entire interconnected system.