Global Commons: Definition, Importance and Threats

• Global Commons
  • Parts of the world that do not belong to any nation

Key Characteristics (defined by UN)

• High seas, Outer Space, Antarctica, and the Atmosphere.
• Accessible to all nations, shared natural resources.
• International management/high potential for overexploitation.
• Idea that it is a "common heritage of humankind" that should be managed/preserved and left to later handed down to the next generation.
• Vast/chonky/intercontinental often reason for geopolitical wars/government disputes.

Why are Global Commons so Important for the Earth?

• The global commons have a significant impact on the overall well-being of the Earth
• It is essential to protect the global commons
• Rising sea levels, ocean acidification, global warming and everything except outer space currents are all impacted.
• They make the Earth a habitable, living and breathing planet.

Threats from Human Activities

• Deforestation.
• Air pollution.
• Water pollution.
• Acid rain.
• Power generation.
• Rocket launch fuels.
• (effects of industrial and urban growth).

High Seas (The Oceans)

• Provide a habitat and food for sea creatures.
• Act as regulator and buffer for processes and systems in the oceans.
• Ocean currents:
  • 'Oceanality' changes (dependent on water temperature and proximity of ocean)
  • Susceptible to changes (dependent on water temperature).
  • Oceans absorb heat.

The Atmosphere

• Five layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere.
• Pollution problems from IR: smoke/chemical discharges/untreated human/coal consumption/human waste.
• Paris Agreement treaty: few changes in nations, keeps temperature below 2 degrees.

Outer Space

• Space Activities - international space exploration and research within 1967 Outer Space Treaty.

Antarctica

• Mostly covered by an ice sheet: habitat for flora and fauna/vast unexploited resources.
• Therefore, it is under the protection of different treaties and NGO's.

Economic Reasons for Intrinsic Value

• Value of just existing.
• Balance the utility value of the environment as something else that shouldn't affect intrinsic values or destroy planet's resources.
• Overview effect: the earth is what we have and we need to preserve it for future generations.

Comparison to other Resources

• Global Commons: resources are not owned by anyone and instead shared by all of humanity and managed by everyone/not by a single authority. (cooperative approach to management)
• People are expected to responsibly take and not have to give back.
• One group's actions can impact other countries/groups
• Space junk: not your area to manage
• Main principle: common heritage of mankind
• Other resources: principally owned and privately/nationally owned typically owned by one single authority - entirely dependent on that one time/authority
• Mainly principle: use it for economic benefits or other benefits rather than general appreciation and as an extension they consider the counter and basically their property.
• Difficult to manage because of systems, there are too few laws, but it's hard to enforce them.

Consequences/Tragedy of the Global Commons

• Overuse of finite resources destroys the balance of the Earth (important because it should be managed/preserved and left to later handed down to the next generations)
• It is easily caused damage but collectively trying to fix it. All individuals benefit, yet all suffers: leads to ecosystem degradation
• Referenced to Garret Hardin (ecologist) who wrote an essay in 1968 on the tragedy of the commons
• Resources are accessible to large group
• Each person can maximize their own outcome from resource
• Consumption and eventually depletion impacts everyone in the long run
• Exploitation of Shared resources and Individual Incentive, leading to Negative Outcome
• Situation where people overexploit shared destruction due to incentive to conserve it