Hunting with Polar Bears: Problems with the Passive Properties of the Commons |
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Authors: | Jeremy J Schmidt Martha Dowsley |
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Institution: | (1) University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada;(2) Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada |
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Abstract: | Inuit in Canada’s Arctic conceptualize both human hunters and their polar bear prey as active participants in the hunt and
as part of a larger socio-economic system requiring the involvement of both humans and animals. Although often treated through
the lens of common-pool resource theory, the Inuit viewpoint conflicts with Western wildlife management systems that typically
treat animals, and nature in general, as passive. When polar bears are understood as active participants in the hunt, the
rights associated with common property regimes and assumptions about collective-choice decisions in common-pool resource management
require significant revision. In this paper we argue that common-pool resource theories which assume natural resources are
inherently passive cannot adequately account for the system of active relationships operating among Inuit in Arctic Canada.
The co-management system of Nunavut Territory, Canada, uses a flexible quota approach, which, while following conservation
guidelines, allows some space for the traditional Inuit-polar bear system to operate. This example shows how common-pool resources
may be managed sustainably without the attendant assumption that natural resources exist passively outside of common-pool
resource regimes. |
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