The International Association for the Study of Common Property (IASCP)
Northern Polar Regional Conference
Joining the Northern Commons: Lessons for the world, Lessons from the
world
Hosted by The Institute of the North, a division of Alaska Pacific
University Anchorage, Alaska
17-21 August 2003
For more information see:
http://www.indiana.edu/~iascp/alaska.html
All questions related to this meeting should be directed to:
Michelle Curtain (iascp [at] indiana.edu)
Paper and Panel Proposals Submission Deadline: 7 May 2003
Alaska Pacific University's Institute of the North will host a 2003
regional meeting of the International Association for the Study of
Common Property (IASCP). The meeting will bring together academics,
practitioners, and government officials to discuss the methods for
managing the vast, commonly-or publicly-owned lands, waters, wildlife,
mineral, and other commons of the North. Academic goals of this
conference will be to identify and map common areas in Northern Forum
regions, to understand legal regimes in place for management of
resources on common lands, and to identify measures to track the
information, economic, environmental, and social impacts of current
management regimes. A special track on the "information commons" will
focus on the lessons commons research can provide to those who work with
information technology. Conference participants will leave this meeting
with a better understanding of how the lessons and challenges of commons
management in the North compare with those of the South.
Alaska is the hub for management of the largest American public lands
and offshore fisheries, and a center for Arctic interaction and
cooperation. Field trips will highlight problems and solutions in
nearby Native villages, fishing communities, national parks, and oil,
gas and mining operations on public land.
Conference Theme: Joining the Northern Commons
Alaska, Russia, and Canada's vast public and indigenous lands, national
parks, wildlife refuges and populations, and inshore and offshore
fisheries will serve as a backdrop for our discussions. Most of the
Arctic, like most of the world, is commonly owned. Regimes established
in the North to manage these commons must join nations, national and
regional governments, settlers and indigenous residents, corporations
and local residents.
Another "joining" of the Northern Commons is taking place as areas and
resources in the North are for the first time more accessible and less
isolated. Common assets are used to provide the major livelihood for
Northerners, joining "poor people and rich lands." Advances in
communications and the information technology are joining our commons,
by providing tools for access, appreciation, understanding, and equity
in ways that were not possible in the past.
Finally, our general "joining" theme represents the hope that the global
study of common property will more broadly reflect the experiences of
the North and respond to the needs of the Northern Commons. Northerners
have much to learn, but they also have many lessons to share with the
rest of the world.
We invite individual papers and panel proposals on the following six
sub-themes:
The Northern Commons Who owns the Arctic?
In the circumpolar North, who owns the vast public lands, the rich
subsurface resources of land and sea? Who manages these commons? How
did Northerners' quest for self-determination affect the creation of
regimes now in place? How effective are these regimes in promoting
economic and environmental sustainability and equity? The conference
organizers invite representatives of the Northern Forum regions and
scholars involved in the Northern Research Forum to present papers that
compile a description of the major commons regimes of the North. We
also invite papers and proposals which help synthesize our understanding
of the Northern Commons, and encourage collaboration between legal
scholars, political scientists, and geographers who are helping to map
the Northern commons.Mapping, Game Theory, Observing Networks, Modeling and Traditional
Knowledge
As at past IASCP conferences, papers are invited for discussion of
analytical tools to simulate discussions and solutions to commons
problems. In this track, panels will range from purely theoretical
methods, including game theory, to active efforts to monitor and model
complex social and ecological systems. Methods of assessing the
effectiveness of commons regimes, and methods to provide feedback to
users of common-pool resources will also be discussed. Papers on
efforts to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in
modeling/monitoring and commons management systems are especially
invited for this track. Uses of remote sensing, GIS, and other
analytical techniques for resource managers are also encouraged.Information Commons
The complexity of information, as with other global commons, is
enormous. Computer representations of the human genome illustrate how
the distinction between the idea and the expression of the idea can
become blurred. Issues range from biopiracy, over-patenting, and the
anticommons, to social and economic equity. Individual and panel
submissions will help to answer the following questions: Is the
developed world addressing the global digital divide according to the
principles of "common but differentiated responsibilities?" Can local
collective action initiatives remedy some of the economic and legal
constraints? Are there safeguards in place to sustain the world's
cultural knowledge and memory? Is global collective action a
possibility, given the increasing reach of computer and communication
networks?Resource Commons
During the conference, special recognition will be given to Dr. Vincent
Ostrom. Dr. Ostrom is one of the drafters of the first natural resource
clause of a state constitution, written for Alaska prior to Statehood.
We invite panelists to highlight several specific natural resource
commons problems now being encountered in Alaska, including creation of
quotas and limited entry for fisheries, creation of new tax and royalty
regimes for oil and gas on public lands, development of forest practices
acts, and creation of land trusts for public purposes such as education
and mental health. In this track, we also invite papers and
presentations on design, administration, and analysis of the
effectiveness of regimes to deal with specific types of resources. We
encourage individual and panel proposals on management and regulation of
oil and gas exploration and development, fisheries, wildlife, forests,
public lands in general, as well as air and water resources.Global Commons
Lines of distinction between what are local, regional, and or global
commons are no longer clear. Instead, there is an increasing
interdependence among resource users in terms of sharing information
about commons use and management. In this track, we invite individual
and panel submissions which help apply methods for commons problem
solving to the global commons. Specific panels may focus on an update
on the Law of the Sea and new issues in the Arctic, briefings on efforts
to monitor, predict, adapt and mitigate global climate change from a
Northern perspective. Panels may also be formed on the methods
practitioners have developed on a local level which can be applied to
global issues of world poverty, elimination of trans-boundary pollution,
reduction of weapons proliferation, and matters of international
security.Education and Curriculum of the Commons
What should be done to expand education about common pool resources and
the management of common property, both for professional development and
for the public at large? Where should these educational experiences
take place and who should be involved in expanding the curriculum of the
commons? The conference organizers encourage individual and panel
submissions on the experiences scholars and practitioners have had in
creating teaching and research programs about the commons. Educational
and curriculum experiences are encouraged from those in Universities, in
P-12 schools, or in other settings where a curriculum of the commons
plays a major role.
Conference Organizers: Mead Treadwell and Malcolm Roberts of the
Institute of the North are the Conference Coordinators.
The Institute of the North, founded by Northern Forum Secretary General,
former Alaska Governor and U.S. Interior Secretary Walter J. Hickel,
conducts research and teaching in Northern regional, national and
international strategy, focusing on the obligations of common ownership
of resources, lands and seas. It works with the Northern Forum to
counter the historic pattern of exploitation in the North so that the
natural wealth at the top of the globe can sustain and benefit local
regions and peoples. http://www.institutenorth.org
PAPER AND PANEL PROPOSALS
Submission deadline: May 7, 2003
Submit electronically to iascp [at] indiana.edu as a Microsoft Word file
Submit via mail: Adhere to all guidelines and enclose a diskette that
contains your abstract.
Length: Not to exceed 400 words
Font: 12 pt.
Font type: Arial or Times New Roman
GUIDELINES FOR PAPER SUBMISSION:
Submission deadline: July 1, 2003
Submit electronically to iascp [at] indiana.edu as a Microsoft Word file;
Submit as one document.
Submit via mail: Adhere to all guidelines and enclose a diskette that
contains your paper.
Length: Not to exceed 30 pages, including all tables, figures, notes,
appendices, and references.
Margins: 1" (2.54 centimeters) on all dimensions.
Font: 12 pt.
Font type: Arial or Times New Roman
Important Dates:
May 7, 2003 Abstract submission deadline
July 1, 2003 Paper submission deadline
July 21, 2003 Pre-registration deadline
Tentative Schedule
August 17, 2003 Opening Reception
August 18, 2003 Panels
Banquet and recognition for Dr. Vincent Ostrom
August 19, 2003 Panels
August 20-21, 2003 Field tours
All questions related to this meeting should be directed to:
Michelle Curtain IASCP,
International Association for the Study of Common Property
PO Box 2355
Gary, IN 46409
USA Phone: 219/980-1433
FAX: 219/980-2801
Email: iascp [at] indiana.edu
http://www.iascp.org