Gerard Breeman
Katrien Termeer
Wageningen University

Elinor Ostrom
Garrett Hardin
People can and do work together to manage common resources — grazing lands, forests, irrigation waters, fisheries— sustainably and equitably over the long term.
Debunks popular theories that resource management can only occur under the auspices of either “the state” or “the market.”

Public goods
Excludable Non excludable
Rivalrous
Non rivalrous
Private goods
- bread
Club goods
-cinema
Common goods/pool resources
-fish stocks
-fresh water
-timber
Public goods:
- Fresh air
- Water storage
- Landscape
- Biking routes
Eurovissers

Organizing collectives
2.
Negotiating with government
1.
Organizing trust and mandates 3.
Connecting with society
Robert Putnam

1. ORGANZING TRUST, MANDATES,
PRACTICALITIES

2 times collective trust
I trust you
I trust you
We trust you
We trust you
I trust you
We trust you

Why do farmers collaborate in collectives?
Underlying values: Pragmatics:
 Autonomy
 Social bonding
● We (collectiveness)
● Mutual trust
 Spatial bonding (identity)
● Enduring connectedness
● Pride
● Unique
 What’s in it for me? Let’s calculate..
 Is this the right moment?
 What about my neighbors?
 Will it be successful?
 Simply don’t like it

Ladder of collaboration in collectives
 Acting as one collective
 Implementing policies, controlling, paying
 Contracting, transfer of responsibilities
 Joint development of visions and activities
 Mutual learning
 Shared services
 Interest representation collective
 Acting as individual farmers

Design principles Ostrom
1.
Clearly defined boundaries
2.
Congruence between costs and benefits
3.
Flexible rules
4.
Monitoring
5.
Graduated sanctions
6.
Conflict-resolution mechanisms
7.
Minimal recognition of rights to organize by governments
8.
Nested enterprises

2. LINKING WITH GOVERNMENT

Collectives in heavily regulated policy fields
 Schemes and Regulations: multilevel (EU, national, local); multi policy domains (agriculture, nature, climate, health etc.)
 Constraints and advantages (e.g. payments)
 Negotiation with governmental actors in order to create space for collective arrangements for the (self-) management of natural resources.
Politics of self governance

Ladder of self governance
Collective (C) in the steering seat
 Devolution of responsibilities/resources
 C implements elements/ strict frameworks
 Joint development of visions and activities
 C assists G fine-tuning regulations
 C provides information to G
Government (G) in the steering seat government

Politics of self governance
 Two steps
● Public authorities approve a form of selfgovernance
● Developing a set of arrangements that will enable the devolution of the obligations and objectives of the policy-makers to the self-governing community, and that will ensure that policy goals are safeguarded
 Relational contracting: shared understandings underpin the contract, focus on preserving the relationship
 Leadership from the site of the government and the collective

Selfgoverning collective
Devolution of governmental responsibilities

3. CONNECTING WITH SOCIETAL ACTORS

Connecting strategies
 Organizing trust and mandates
 Licence to produce
 Communication
 New connections
 Social media
Farmers, beer and water

Pitfalls and opportunities
Organizing trust and mandates
Connecting with society
Negotiating with government