THE TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS

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THE TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS
Issues considered Antarctic, Biodiversity
Christina POLIDORI
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Application game to understand how we share the
commons

• First round
• Sit around a table, the example is for 5 persons
• Take a bag and put 15 sweets in it
• Go around saying each of them can take maximum 3
  sweets
• At the end of the turn, if each of them took 3
  sweets, game is over
• Second round
• You do the same, only this time, when you ask
  them to pick some sweets, explain them that if
  there are still some sweets left in the bag at
  the end of the turn, then you will double that
  number of sweets
• At the end of the round, if the persons
  understand the commons, some sweets will be left,
  and the result is that you can go on forever like
  this, that is the principle of the commons. If
  they took everything, that means they took all
  the resources existing.

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Application result of the game

• When you consider the sweet as cows, then you
  have consumed all the cows! Can education help to
  let the awareness grow to prevent such a
  situation?

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(No Transcript)
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Illustration
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Contents

• The tragedy of the commons
• The tragedy of the commons short-term acting
• The tragedy of the commons no-long-term
  consideration
• What are the commons?
• Antarctic, what is it? What are the problems?
  What can we do/ agreements?
• Biodiversity, what is it? What are the problems?
  What can we do/ agreements?
• Conclusion

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The tragedy of the commons
Article written By Garrett Hardin 1968
This article is based on a presidential address
presented before the meeting of the Pacific
Division of the American Association.
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The tragedy of the commons short-term acting
Belief in inexhaustible resources of the oceans
Population grows exponentially
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The tragedy of the commons no long-term
consideration

• Hopefully, people are convinced that the
  population will have to stop growing sooner or
  later
• A finite word can support a finite population
  therefore, population growth must eventually
  equal zero.

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What are the commons?

• Everything we share
• - Air
• - Land
• - Fresh Water
• - Scenery
• - Biodiversity
• - Space
• - Oceans
• - Antarctic
• - Atmosphere

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Antarctic What is it?

• - The Antarctic ice sheet formed 144 to 65
  million years ago
• Antarctic is the highest continent on earth
• It is 58 times the size of Britain

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Antarctic What are the problems?

• - Air pollution ice is melting
• - A loss of Antarctic ice would be a
• serious blow for science

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Antarctic What can we do/agreements

• Antarctic treaty
• - to demilitarize Antarctica, no nuclear tests
• - to promote international scientific cooperation
  in Antarctica
• - to set aside disputes over territorial
  sovereignty.
• - acceded by 40 countries
• - 10,000 people going there every summer

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Biodiversity What is it?

• - Fauna and Flora are part of our biodiversity
• - Biodiversity is a common we share
• - It is part of the ecosystem and we depend on it
  to survive

Biology Diversity Biodiversity
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Biodiversity What are the problems?

• - Population growth
• - waste of food production because of high
  consumption
• - cutting forests for more spacekilling species
• - fishing
• - The extinction of species
• - The loss of biodiversity loss in the food
  chain

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Biodiversity What can we do/agreements

• - CITES (Convention on International Trade in
  Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna )
• - Convention on biological diversity
• - All prevention for preserving the wild life,
  regulations and advertise

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Knock on effect
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Conclusion

• Commons are not owned prevent any abuse
• Reduce emission
• of gas
• Regulate birth
• More prevention
• (can be made by
• education)

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References

• Internet
• Illustration of the tragedy of the commons (2005)
  Native Habitat online available at
  lthttp//www.nativehabitat.org/pictures/tragedy2.gi
  fgt
• (Accessed the 04 march 2006)
• Guide Tour (2006) British Antarctica survey
  online available at lthttp//www.antarctica.ac.u
  k/About_Antarctica/antarctica_in_a_nutshell/index.
  htmlgt
• (Accessed the 19 march 2006)
• Eurekalert (2005) Article on the melting ice
  online available at lthttp//www.eurekalert.org
  /pub_releases/2005-08/uoa-aoc082205.phpgt
• (Accessed the 22 march 2006)

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References

• Articles
• Costanza, R. (1987) Social Traps, American
  Institute of Biological Sciences
• Hardin, G. (1968) The tragedy of the commons
• Books
• Nelissen, Nico, (1997) Classic in environmental
  studies

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Thank you for your attention!