Commons Approach to Sustainability

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Original Title: A COMMONS APPROACH TO A STRENGTHENED INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK AND FINANCING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Submitted by James Quilligan Dr. Lisinka Ulatowska Rob Wheeler , On behalf of the Commons Action for the United Nations,


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A commons approach to sustainable development can provide a solution for the following serious problems:

1.Eradicating poverty,

2.Financing Agenda 21 action programmes and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, and

3.Strengthening the institutional framework for sustainable development.

This document is a follow-up to the ECOSOC Statement submitted by the Institute for Planetary Synthesis on May 3, 2010 (E/2010/NGO/29), which explains in more detail the commons approach, for which Elinor Oström won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2009.    A commons approach would include commons goods, commoning as a way to make decisions, as well as commoners and appropriate values.   Commons goods are natural and social resources that must be stewarded for the benefit of all (such as air, water, and telecommunications). Many of our commons goods are being destroyed by the very foundation of our present growth-at-all-costs economy. Yet, at present, some are being cared for by communities that use a commons approach, such as Transition Towns, UNEP's pilot Geo-Cities, and Eco-Villages.

Although each commons community is different, they could become the building blocks for a sustainable economy. Such a commons-based economic system is based on financing from local to global levels. Moreover, it can be reviewed and assessed by appropriate social and economic indicators, including the measures in the Human Development Reports published by UNDP, beginning in 1990. These measures would foster the right incentives.    A commons-based economy could also be financed by a Green and Fair Taxation System with fees based on the use of land and natural resources, thus providing appropriate incentives for sustainable usage and practices. These fees could be managed by commons trusts at local through global levels, and coordinated at the international level by a Global Resource Agency housed in the UN’s Trusteeship Council. Legal support could be provided if ecocide were to be adopted as a crime against humanity.

These two systems for financing, when combined, could provide the means for poverty eradication and gender mainstreaming, healthy footprints and foodprints, and the restoration of depleteable and damaged resources.   Commoners are those stakeholders who have taken the commons approach in preserving one or more natural or social commons goods. These communities, which often cross boundaries, complement and can lighten the efforts made by Governments and the UN, which are often frustrated by sovereign borders. They also provide checks and balances on those parts of the private sector which are driven by excessive consumption and production.    Commoning is a fair, inclusive, participatory and transparent form of decision making where the needs of all stakeholders are taken into consideration and can make valuable contributions to implementation. This constructive approach to stewardship of commons goods enables more locally responsive and therefore effective governance and provisioning. It is vital in a world where people are increasingly demanding a greater say in their well-being, and standing up to governments and the private sector when their voices are not being heard nor opinions included. A sustainable world can only exist when there is a continuous, constructive interaction among the public, private sectors, and all people.    The all-win principle states that the greater the well-being of all people as an integral part of nature, the better the world will work for all. This principle, if used in education at all levels, would create a sound basis for a sustainable world, based on a commons approach.   Given that the commons approach lies at the heart of what the UN stands for, as expressed for instance in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the widely accepted Earth Charter, and the Rio Declaration of Principles, we suggest that this be included as a basis for strengthening the Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development at all levels of implementation. The commons approach to development can be used to increase food security/sovereignty, overcome rural poverty and provide access to basic services in poor urban communities, value and protect ecosystems services, and fund capacity-building.    We strongly suggest that an Expert Panel in the Secretariat be created, which will not require new and additional funding, as a precursor to a Commons Commission. You will find attached three Program Proposals for the 10 Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production which deal with local to global commons and are being included in the Matrix.    We ask that you consider requesting that a Commons Approach to Sustainable Development be included as a basis for implementing the Local and National Action Plans on Sustainable Consumption and Production, both as a primary strategy for creating a sustainable economy and for filling the gaps in implementation as a part of the UNCSD process.


=Signatories=    James Quilligan     Dr. Lisinka Ulatowska     Rob Wheeler On behalf of the Commons Action for the United Nations,

Along with the following ECOSOC accredited organizations: the Association of World Citizens, the Institute for Planetary Synthesis, the International Union for Land Value Taxation, and DPI affiliated Kosmos Associates,

As well as: the All-Win Network, Anthroposphere, the Earth Rights Institute, Global Commons Trust,  World Alliance to Transform the UN, PEP International, The Commons Strategies Group, and P2P Foundation.

More Information

See also www.globalcommonstrust.org;

Contact: Dr. Lisinka Ulatowska, Commons Action for the United Nations, [email protected]