Definition of Ecological Footprint

What is the Tragedy of the Commons?

The term �Tragedy of the Commons� is often used in the study of Ecological Footprinting or global footprinting. Below is a definition of the Tragedy of the Commons as well as the history and story behind the term. Tragedy of the Commons is an old but interesting theory full of controversies. Tragedy of the Commons was first mentioned in essays for academic purposes, rather than practical purposes.

The Tragedy of the Commons explained

The Tragedy of the Commons is a type of social trap, often economic, that involves a conflict over finite resources between individual interests and the common good. The theory of Tragedy of the Commons states that free access and unrestricted demand for a finite resource ultimately structurally dooms the resource through over-exploitation.

History of the term “The Tragedy of the Commons”

The term “Tragedy of the Commons” derives originally from a comparison noticed by William Forster Lloyd with medieval village land holding in his 1833 book on population.

Then Garrett Hardin extended the use of the term Tragedy of the Commons in his 1968 Science essay “The Tragedy of the Commons” which made the term The Tragedy of the Commons more popular and well known.

Modern Day Tragedy of the Commons

No matter how the term Tragedy of the Commons was used in the past and what controversial issues revolve around the terms and the essays written about them, the underlying ideas of the Tragedy of the Commons remain a critical one in modern economics.

In an Ecological Footprint Analysis, every natural resource has many uses. But, what is the best use of that natural resource? On the one hand, it can be used to sustain one person’s standard of living. On the other hand, it can be used to sustain a large population. Below are examples of the Tragedies of the Commons.

• Uncontrolled human population growth leading to overpopulation.
• Water – Water pollution, Water crisis of over-extraction of groundwater and wasting water due to overirrigation
• Forests – Frontier logging of old growth forest and slash and burn
• Energy resources and climate – Burning of fossil fuels and consequential global warming
• Animals – Habitat destruction and poaching leading to the Holocene mass extinction
• Oceans – Overfishing, pollution

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