Her Work and its Contribution to tHe tHeory and PraCtiCe of Conservation and sustainable natural resourCe ManageMent Policy Matters iuCn CoMMission on environMental, eConoMiC and soCial PoliCy issue 19 aPril 2014

POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

6

boundaries, she saw this as a reinforcement 

of what truly constitutes common pool 

resources. What I mean by ‘fluid nature of 

tribal boundaries’ is that while  many tribes 

can and do confidently assert authority over 

their central territories, they tend to adopt a 

diplomatic inter-tribal relations approach to 

the outer boundaries they share with other 

tribes. It is not uncommon for neighbouring 

tribes to have common areas within their 

respective tribal territories, each one claiming 

the area as part of their own territory based 

on a spiritual or cultural historical association.

As we explored the principles of defined 

territories, mechanisms of conflict resolution, 

a graduated scale of sanctions for resource 

appropriators who violate community rules, 

self-determination recognised by higher 

authorities and the opportunity for resource 

appropriators to participate in decision-

making, I questioned their applicability to 

Maori. Elinor on the other hand was more 

interested in what self-determination really 

means for Maori. She wondered if there was 

a bottom line that guided Maori in their 

Treaty settlement negotiations. A line that 

they would never cross because to do so 

would significantly compromise their ability 

to manage their heritage in the future as 

commonly held and managed resources. 

As one can imagine neither of us answered 

each other’s questions to a satisfactory level. 

We were both left with more questions than 

answers. However, what I did gain from 

our discussion was an understanding that 

the design principles she identified are not 

meant to be interpreted literally but rather 

expansively. “Defined territories” doesn’t 

have to mean fences and signposts. It can 

also be recognised through customary laws 

and practices that demonstrate the historical 

and cultural association a community holds 

with a place that continues to this day and 

beyond. The principles, however, should 

be understood within an overall context of 

community self-determination and not be 

co-opted to mean other things. Her ideas came 

from a place of optimism that people can and 

should work things out and that communities 

can successfully manage common resources 

sustainably over time. Elinor was also very 

clear in her talks with me, and in the Keynote 

presentation she delivered to the Sharing 

Power Conference the following day, that 

there is no quick-fix panacea, there is no one 

simple solution and nor is there one solution 

for all contexts throughout the world. Rather 

the key to effective long-term sustainability 

in using and managing natural resources is 

communication—treating nature as a shared 

resource—sharing access, use and decision-

making. In other words, sharing power. 

Elinor Ostrom was an accomplished, secure, 

positive and unassuming person who had 

great loyalty to the individuals and networks 

that helped form her perspectives and career. 

It was a truly generous gesture on her part to 

travel to Whakatane, to be with CEESP, Ngati 

Awa and the other neighbouring tribes and 

conference participants at the Sharing Power 

Conference. CEESP members Janis Alcorn, 

Grazia Borrini-Feyerabend, Taghi Farvar 

and Michel Pimbert who knew and worked 

with Elinor over a long period of time were 

instrumental in securing Elinor’s visit to 

New Zealand. It is with pleasure that IUCN’s 

Commission on Environmental, Economic 

& Social Policy (CEESP) devotes this special 

edition of the peer reviewed journal Policy 

Matters to the influence and legacy of her 

work.  

Thank you Elinor for inspiring so many with 

your ideas, vision and belief in a just world.

No reira, haere, haere, haere e te rangatira

Haere ki te wa kainga 

Go to the home of all 

time

Haere ki te kainga tuturu 

Go to the true home

Hoki atu ki te Kaihanga  

Return to the creator

Haere, haere, haere.

Aroha Te Pareake Mead

Ngati Awa, Ngati Porou, Chair

IUCN Commission on Environmental,

Economic & Social Policy (CEESP)

Director, Maori Business,

School of Management,

Victoria University of Wellington

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POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM

7

Remembering Elinor Ostrom 

Her Work and its Contribution to the Theory and Practice of 

Conservation and Sustainable Natural Resource Management

James P. Robson

1

, Iain J. Davidson-Hunt

2

, Alyne Delaney

3

, Gabriela Lichtenstein

4

, 

Lapologang Magole

5

 and Aroha Te Pareake Mead

6

The Commission on Environmental, 

Economic and Social Policy (CEESP)—Theme 

on Sustainable Livelihoods (TSL)—of the 

International Union for Conservation of Nature 

(IUCN), in partnership with the International 

Association for the Study of the Commons 

(IASC), is delighted to present this special 

issue of Policy Matters, which focuses on the 

outreach and impact of Dr. Elinor Ostrom’s 

groundbreaking research on common 

property (or commons) theory. Lin was a 

supporter and friend of CEESP and a founding 

member of the IASC, and we were all deeply 

saddened by her passing in 2012.

Lin Ostrom’s work has been instrumental in 

shaping contemporary analyses of resource 

management and conservation, especially at 

a local level. A ‘commons’ can be considered 

any resource subject to forms of collective 

use, with the relationship between the 

resource and the human institutions that 

mediate its use an essential component of 

any management regime. While conventional 

wisdom has long assumed that the sustainable 

management of common resources is best 

achieved through centralized government or 

private control, Lin led the way in challenging 

this assumption—showing how alternative 

forms of property can work effectively if well 

matched to the “attributes of the resource 

and users, and when the resulting rules are 

enforced, considered legitimate, and generate 

long-term patterns of reciprocity” (van 

Laerhoven and Ostrom 2007:19). 

In recognition of her many achievements, 

we wanted to invite and publish a series 

of commentaries that build upon her work 

and, where possible, provide case studies 

demonstrating the practical application of her 

theoretical contributions. A Call was sent out 

in late 2012, soliciting expressions of interest 

and abstracts from those keen to be involved. 

Room was made for both traditional articles 

and more creative print presentations in any 

of IUCN’s official languages (English, French, 

Spanish). We received an excellent response, 

and after embarking on a long peer-review 

and editing process, we were able to whittle 

the submissions down to the collection of 

research papers, essays, commentaries and 

songs that follow. 

Encapsulating voices from academia, 

indigenous communities, government 

agencies, development agencies and non-

governmental organizations (both local 

and international), they all make clear the 

connections between Lin’s work and the 

authors’ own scholarship and/or practice. We 

briefly introduce each in turn.

Preceding our introduction was a preface by 

CEESP Chair, Aroha Te Pareake Mead, who 

provided the impetus to develop this volume 

following Lin’s participation in the Sharing 

Power Conference of CEESP. Aroha provided 

a personal testimony of Lin’s tireless efforts 

1

 Visiting Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, 

University of Redlands, United States of America and 

member of IASC. Email [e-mail]

2

 Associate Professor, Natural Resources Institute, University 

of Manitoba and Co-Chair, Theme on Sustainable Livelihoods, 

CEESP, IUCN and member of IASC. Email davidso4@

ad.umanitoba.ca

3

 Associate Professor, Innovative Fisheries Management 

Centre, Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg 

University, Denmark and Editor-in-Chief, Commons Digest, 

IADC. Email [e-mail]

4

 National Research Council of Argentina (CONICET), Instituto 

Nacional de Antropologia y Pensamiento Latinoamericano, 

Buenos Aires, Argentina and member of IASC and SULi, CEESP/

SSC, IUCN member. Email [e-mail]

5

 Okavango Research Institute, University of Botswana, Botswana 

and member of IASC and SULi, CEESP/SSC, IUCN. Email 

[e-mail]

6 

Chair, IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic & Social 

Policy and Director, Maori Business, School of Management, 

Victoria University of Wellington. Email [e-mail]

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