COMMON GOODS TO COMMON UNKNOWNS: INITIATE A PROCESS COLLECTIVE DESIGN FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF AN AGRO-ECOSYSTEM

Abstract

The degradation of ecosystems is often interpreted as a tragedy of the commons. However, in
cultivated ecosystems, local governance is hindered by the fact that there are no common resources
recognized as such. How could collective action then be possible? We present an empirical case
study in which local actors attempted to collectively design a sustainable agroecosystem on the basis
of recent knowledge in ecology. These actors identified a “common unknown” allowing them to
open a space for collective exploration. This research, which proposes to extend common goods to
common unknowns, highlights a diversity of management challenges still overlooked in the literature
on the commons and proposes pathways to address them.