nature: the common heritage of mankind (chm)?

8/10/2019 Nature: The Common Heritage of Mankind (CHM)?

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Nature: The Common Heritage of Mankind (CHM)?

Arne Kalland

Department of Social Anthropology

University of Oslo

[email protected]

During the last 20!0 years there has "een a gro#ing recognition for the needs to

"ring local populations into the management of rene#a"le natural resources$ and

many have "een lo""ying for co-management regimes #here "oth users and

professional managers participate %e.g. &'(D )*+,- U'/ et al )**)- U/'(D)**2. 1o#ever$ it is not al#ays clear #ho the users3 are. n addition to original

users #ithin the primary sectors %people engaged in agriculture and forestry as

#ell as in professional fisheries and hunting ne# groups %e.g. recreational fishers

and hunters$ tourism entrepreneurs and environmental groups have signalled their

interests in natural resources and demanded rights to participate in their

management. One of the central 4uestions no# is not only #ho ought to

participate in resource management "ut #ho should "enefit "y such management.

&ho o#n3 the resources5

6#o trends can "e o"served regarding rights to natural resources7

privati8ation and gro#ing state and international intervention %corresponding to

1ardin9s t#o solutions to the tragedy of the commons3 pro"lem. t is #ith the

latter am concerned here. n /or#ay and else#here there is a tendency that a

gro#ing part of nature %used here to mean our nonhuman physical environment

is perceived as our national heritage3. :any are also talking a"out a glo"al

village3 %or spacecraft ;aia3 #here nature is the common heritage of mankind3

and #here people participate in a glo"al culture3. :ost people hardly reflect over

#hat these concepts actually mean or imply. 6he concepts have received someattention from la#yers %


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appropriate natural resources at the e=pense of original users.

#ill use t#o empirical cases. #ill "riefly outline ho# natural resources

in /or#ay have "een turned into a common national heritage "efore take a

closer look at ho# the international environmental movement has tried to convert

#hales from "eing perceived as no"ody9s property or an openaccess resource %resnullius to "ecome every"ody9s property or the common heritage of mankind %res

communalis. 6he difference "et#een these t#o regimes is the e=istence of

institutions. n the latter case resources are ideally managed "y glo"al "odies

according to international treaties and agreements.

6he use of #hales as a case is especially appropriate "ecause the term

heritage of mankind3 %patrimoine de lhumanit #as first coined in )*2, on

"ehalf of the >eague of /ations "y the Argentinean la#yer ?os >en SuBre8 #ho

had marine life C and #hales in particular C in mind %Socit des /ations )*2,7)2!.)

OS its

applica"ility #as limited to commercial e=ploitation of minerals located on the deep

sea"ed. >iving resources #ere e=plicitly e=cluded. 6he nternational Sea"ed

Authority %SA #as esta"lished to organi8e and control the e=traction activities. As

of Fe"ruary 200,$ SA had )G! mem"er countries and USA #as the only po#er that

1 When Hugo Grotius in the early 17th century wrote that [w]hat

cannot be seized or enclosed - such as the open sea - cannot bereduced to property of individual tates! "hus# these zones re$ain%co$$on to all $an&ind'( )*uoted in +aggio , ynch 1../0 he did not$ean everybodys property! 2n the contrary# he argued strongly forfree access to $arine resources and for the freedo$ of the sea(! Hewrote his se$inal Mare Liberum )134.0 at a ti$e when Holland wasbeco$ing a $a5or $arine power!


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had not ratified U/'>OS and hence #as not a mem"er of this truly glo"al

management "ody.

6he '1: concept #as first coined to address management pro"lems

related to res nulliussituations C i.e. resources that had not "een claimed and #ere

under no"ody9s Hurisdiction7 the e=ploitation of outer space$ sea"ed "eyondnational economic 8ones$ and Antarctica. 6he concept #as picked up "y U/(S'O

in its #ork to preserve sites #ith important cultural or natural value to humanity at

large$ and not only of national interest. 6hese sites are$ ho#ever$ located #ithin

national "orders and are therefore managed "y national "odies. 6he concept is

today not limited to res nullius situations and U/(S'O &orld 1eritage list "ut

has according to Iusen Keles %n.d.$ Director of (nvironmental Studies at Ankara

University$ "ecome one of the mostly pronounced concepts in modern

environmentalism.

6he idea of a common national heritage3 appeared in many countries$

including /or#ay$ long "efore the environmental movement. 6he trend to turn

local resources into national ones can "e seen as an aspect of the emergence of the

nation state.


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nature in ne# #ays to an increasing num"er of ne# consumers$ #ho may attach

ne# meanings to the landscape. At the same time$ affluence and more leisure time

have allo#ed more people to venture into nature. 6he original users of the area or

resources in 4uestion have therefore "een challenged at t#o levels. At the material

level they have faced increasing competition over territories and their resources$and at the cognitive level they have faced ne# landscape meanings and

interpretations.


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content "y offering ne# #ays to appreciate #hales "ut demand a closure of the old

#ays$ i.e. a full diversion of the #hale9s commodity path %Appadurai )*+E.

6his raises important 4uestions a"out participation and democracy. 6urning

resources into our common heritage opens them to ne# stakeholders #ho then can

legitimately claim a voice in their management. At the national level$ a maHoritycan through democratic processes decide ho# nationali8ed resources are to "e

used. A person living in Oslo may have the same right to participate in the

management of e.g. 1ardangervidda as a farmer in the upper reaches of

1allingdalen. And "ecause more people live in cities$ the interests of rural people

are often pushed aside. At the national level it is in the po#er of the maHority to

decide #hich resources are to "e regarded as common3. 1o#ever$ the political

process may take time$ "ut #e are often told that the matter is urgent and #e have

no time to #aste. n such a situation democracy easily "ecomes a lu=ury$ and

many environmental /;Os are rather antidemocratic in their organi8ation.

6his is even more pronounced at the international level #here political

processes are slo#er. At this level$ democracy may "e understood in t#o #ays7

either one nation one vote or one person one vote. n the &' each mem"er state

has one vote$ #hether they are #haling or not. 6his gives landlocked countries like

S#it8erland$ :ali$ :ongolia and San :arino more influence than #haling nations

like ;reenland$ the Faro slands and the Alaskan upiat #ho have no delegations

of their o#n and therefore have no voting rights. 1o#ever$ Ioger ayne$ a #ell

kno#n American researcher of hump"ack songs and former &' commissionerfor Antigua$ argues for a glo"al democracy #here each person has one vote. n this

perspective celand "ecomes small$ as there for each celander are 2)$000 non

celanders %ayne )**G72*E. And he continues "y making a list of )!E cities in

ndia and 'hina #ith larger populations than that of celand.G&hen /e# Lealand

in the opening statement to the )**M &' meeting Hustified her resistance to

commercial #haling #ith reference to the #orld opinion3 %&'NMENOS /L it is

unclear #hether the #orld opinion referred to the situation in the &' %#here only

a minority of the countries in the #orld are mem"ers or to democracy in ayne9s

sense.

/o study actually tells us #hat the #orld opinion is. 1o# is #orld opinion3

E 6he irony here is that this argument comes from a person #ho has represented one of

the smallest countries in the &' and after the moratorium decision in )*+2 failed to pay

her mem"ership fees until the anti#haling "lock in )**M needed her vote to esta"lish the

southern sanctuary.


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defined and ho# is it formed5 A minority of the #orld9s nations is mem"ers of the

&'$ and other international "odies #ith larger mem"erships have not taken

&'9s position. A maHority at '6(S has voted for a declassification of the

/ortheast Atlantic minke #hale$ and "oth the >a# of the Sea and U/'(D )**2

recogni8e #hales as a natural resource. :oreover$ opinion polls in maHor anti#haling countries sho# that people are not over#helmingly against #haling if

they are informed that the #hale stocks in 4uestion are not endangered. n )**+

the US "ased Iesponsive :anagement released a survey sho#ing that ,) percent

of the American respondents endorsed regulated catches of minke #hales #hen

they #ere told that this can "e done sustaina"ly. 6he similar figures for Australia$

United Kingdom and ;ermany #ere G!$ E) and E! percent %cited in Aron et al.

)***$ 2000. 6o most ?apanese this #orld opinion is the opinion of some #estern

activists #ho for du"ious reasons are supported "y certain governments.


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more of the natural resources at the same time as these #ere opened to ne# groups of

"eneficiaries. A similar process has occurred at the international level$ particularly

regarding rain forests$ large terrestrial animals and marine mammals.


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U'/NU/(N&&F. )**). Caring for the (arth% ) Strateg for Sustaina&le Living. ;land$

S#it8erland.

&'NMENOS /L

?os >en SuBre8 %Socit des /ations )*2,7)2!.

Keles$ Iusen 6he common heritage of mankind and the ne# concepts of responsi"ility3

%###."iopolitics.grN 16:>NUEN16:>N keles.htm$ )E.0E.200,.

:aggio$ ;reg Q O#en ?. >ynch. )**+."uman *ights+ (nvironment+ and (conomic,evelopment (.isting and (merging Standards in #nternational La$ and /lo&al

Society'enter for nternational (nvironmental >a#. %Ieport.

%http7NN###.ciel.orgNu"licationsNolp!iv2.html

ardo$ Arvid. )**!. 6he origins of the )*E, :alta initiative3. #nternational #nsights*%27

EGE*. %also7 http7NN#e"site.lineone.netNRrom#e"Npara0).htm

ayne$ Ioger. )**G.)mong 0hales. /e# Tork7 Scri"ner

inkerton (. )*+*. Co-1perative !anagement of Local 2isheries. Jancouver7 University of

nature: the common heritage of mankind (chm)?

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