Managing natural resources in Asia: Challenges and approaches

The natural resources of the Asian region are under severe threats arising from climate change, globalization, urbanization, and the need to keep feeding the ever increasing population. The situation demands for a more effective management of the already depleting natural resource base of the region. However, management of the natural resources is a complex problem. Elinor Ostrom in her seminal work proposed a more flexible, inclusive, and locally governed system to regulate overappropriation of natural resources as against Hardin’s stark choices between ecologic collapse and restricting exploitation of natural resources by private property or state-led dictates. Owing to the complex nature of the problem, Ostrom’s design principles are not sufficient to identify the success markers because the Asian commons closely interact at multiple and spatial scales. We combine Ostrom’s design principles with systems thinking and principles of resilience to understand and analyze practical solutions and evidence-based learning in effective management of common pool resources in the context of emerging challenges to the natural resource base of the Asian region.