Chronicle of a Foreseeable Tragedy: Birds' Nests Management in the Niah Caves (Sarawak).Gausset, Quentin, 2004, Chronicle of a Foreseeable Tragedy: Birds' Nests Management in the Niah Caves Niah Caves is located within the district of Miri in Sarawak, Malaysia. Part of Niah National Park, the main cave, Niah Great Cave, is located in Gunung Subis and is made up of several voluminous, high-ceilinged chambers. (Sarawak), Human Ecology Human ecology The study of how the distributions and numbers of humans are determined by interactions with conspecific individuals, with members of other species, and with the abiotic environment. , Vol. 32, (4): 487-507. The number of birds' nests harvested in the Niah caves today is only a fraction of what it used to be. This article focuses on the socioeconomic causes of the decline. It argues that the present situation is not directly linked to the tragedy of the commons The Tragedy of the Commons is a type of social trap, often economic, that involves a conflict over resources between individual interests and the common good. The "Tragedy of the Commons" is a structural relationship between free access to, and unrestricted demand for a , since the ownership of cave and nests is private. The tragic aspect is, rather, linked to an attitude of free riding which was threatening the private system of ownership in the 1980s, and which forced Penan owners to lease their caves to the former "free riders Free rider A follower who avoids the cost and expense of finding the best course of action simply by mimicking the behavior of a leader who made these investments. " (thereby diluting management responsibility), and to harvest nests as soon as possible (before the birds can lay eggs and reproduce). It is therefore the tragedy of a management system whose rules, intended to avoid open access and free riding, lead to unsustainable behavior. Since the birds cannot be privatized, it is also the tragedy of a system in which actors are unable to reach a consensus on how to manage sustainably a de facto [Latin, In fact.] In fact, in deed, actually. This phrase is used to characterize an officer, a government, a past action, or a state of affairs that must be accepted for all practical purposes, but is illegal or illegitimate. common property resource (author). |
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