A Commons Sector, alongside the Private and public sectors

To protect the viability of the commons, develop a commons sector alongside the private and public sectors, conferring rights and responsibilities to communities over resources they create or on which they depend. Embedding the commons approach in local and national sustainable strategies.

[The  way the commons are produced and managed (by collective participation)  makes them different from both private goods (produced by individuals  for themselves or the market) and public goods (produced and/or managed  by public authorities). To protect the viability and integrity of the  commons, we need to develop a commons oriented sector of the economy  that would at the same time complement and counterweight, and work in partnership with the corporate and the  public/state sectors, and give a social status and voice to the commons.
We must embed a  sense of the commons, common sense and a commons approach in local and  national sustainable strategies, and make sure the recognized indigenous  governments and organizations living in critical ecosystems such as  mountains, islands, tropical rain forests, deserts, and polar and  temperate regions of the globe are included in the process.

There is no question here of militating against private property or the  role of the state -which can be seen as a commons itself-. Rather it is  to establish provision for the monitoring and 'sanctuarization' of commons through institutions that confer rights and responsibilities to  communities over resources they create or on which they depend in orderto ensure security and continuity of access , and the conditions for the development of thriving economies around the commons. 

Trends & Existing initiatives:    
New forms of cooperatively or mutually governed organizations to steward the commons at various levels, new forms of cooperative business organizations.]
  • Link to Examples §9 of Table of Content on the right hand column. <<MBS, please dispatch the examples if relevant, add trends and existing initiatives>>

  • Commons rights provide an important basis for creating covenants, charters and institutions that are not state-managed --but these rights are recognized and upheld by the state--     to negotiate the protection and sustenance of resources and ensure    that  the mutual interests of all stakeholders are directly   represented.  The  role of the state would become much more balanced   between enabling  the  corporate sector and enabling citizens.  
  • Commons Trusts   are institutions usually involving both physical and financial assets,   with a sustainability mandate to preserve and manage resources  inherited  from past generations on behalf of present and future  generations. The  creation of local commons trusts worldwide entails  four significant  changes:
  •  government shifts its primary emphasis from issuing corporate charters   and licensing the private sector to approving social charters and open   licenses for resource preservation and cultural and social production   through commons trusts 
  •  commons trusts exercise a fiduciary duty to preserve natural, genetic   and material commons but can decide to rent a proportion of   these resource rights to businesses 
  •  businesses may rent the rights to extract and produce a resource from  a  commons trust, creating profits and positive externalities through   innovation, competitive products and services, and adjustment of   the market to the actual costs of resources 
  •  this rent will stabilize the principal of commons reserves to maintain   the diversity and sustainability of the overall economy, and  additionally decrease market volatility

References: 

Dynamics at work:     
  • Civic-based  commons governance provides  a  check and balance to the corporate    drive for profit and undue influence  on government, in particular    when  exploitation and  enclosure  for the   pursuit of profit  impinges   on  the  rights or livelihoods of  the users   of the commons  or the    viability of  the common. The most obvious examples are the air we breathe or the human or  natural  genome, the internet is  another.  This ensures     that the people who have a long-term stake   in the   preservation  of    these resources (natural, physical,   intellectual,   social,   cultural;   from local to global) would protect   them while  enabling   the   development of a flourishing commons-based   economy around them. 

Who?: Local,   regional and global communities and stakeholders -the People, local  and  regional governments and institutions, facilitator organizations,   Investors, UN, governments, NGO's, other global institutions and   existing commons governance bodies.

Detailed Action Items: [Expand more?]
  • Establish a High Level Panel on the Commons as an observatory and policy recommending institution. 
  • Build on Ostrom's work. Develop and promote research on the commons and commons governance.
  • Reinforce   the development and protection of commons via The Commons Abundance   Network, as point of coalescence for both core commons and initiatives   which are not commons themselves but are supporting the stewardship of   the  commons in a way or another.
  • Lobby governments and institutions at all levels to adopt and support a commons approach to sustainable development 
  • Develop participatory processes of decision making (see Cooperation & Integration)
  • Devising   more practical means of enforcement  for laws,  treaties,  and    agreements at all levels by making them  confirmations of  common  needs.
  • Linking   and embedding the commons in existing  systems  such as the   international  commons of Outer Space, Antarctica  and the Law of the   Sea.
RELATED ARTICLESExplain
Communicating the Commons
Strategic Goals & Levers
A Commons Sector, alongside the Private and public sectors
Expanding cooperation at multiple levels and scales
Local organization for local needs [P2P, many to many]
Monitoring, reporting & assessing impacts and progress
Transition to a circular regenerative economy
Using finance to 'grow' the commons
Inquiry Model
Lever: Coordinated Regional Emergency Interventions
Stop growth of power abuse and toxic and harmful practices
Examples
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