Common Voices Issue N.6

Posted September 19, 2011

We present the Common Voices Issue N.6

Initiated as a build up towards the Conference on Commons - IASC2011( hosted by FES in collaboration with IASC in the city of Hyderabad in January 2011), and part of the larger Initiative on Commons, the 'Common Voices' is a newsletter that regularly highlights themes of commons.

All the issues of Commons Voices are available here: http://www.fes.org.in/includeAll.php?pId=Mi00Ny00

From the Editorial:

"For those interested in the commons in India, January 10 to 14, 2011 were significant dates. The 13th Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC) held on these days in Hyderabad, India, witnessed an extraordinary assemblage of practitioners, scholars, experts and policy makers coming together to discuss and deliberate on the future of commons.

The conference host—the Foundation for Ecological Security, a practitioner organisation—and its partners are intensely committed to the successful execution of many of the discussions and initiatives that emerged from the conference, particularly the Commons Initiative. Starting out as a series of actions and events aimed at securing policy and programmatic space for the commons in India’s natural resource governance, the Commons Initiative has made steadfast progress in certain states such as Rajasthan, and particularly with reference to the various planning processes associated with the 12th Five Year Plan.

The 13th IASC witnessed an overwhelming participation of over 800 delegates from 69 countries. More than 1,000 abstracts were received from participants belonging to over 80 countries. Apart from a range of papers and posters that showcased the disciplinary diversity that characterises the study of commons, the conference also benefited from keynote addresses from globally renowned experts who engaged their audience with presentations that navigated the subjects of economics, ecology, politics, activism, social sciences, and law. We present to our readers another special issue of Common Voices—covering the welcome address by Mr. Nitin Desai, the inaugural addresses by Professor Elinor Ostrom and Dr. Jairam Ramesh, and the keynote speeches by Mr. Herman Rosa Chávez, Dr. Ruth Meinzen-Dick, Mr. David Bollier, Prof. Bina Agarwal, and Mr. Ashish Kothari.

As experts in the field of the commons, their speeches are rich with in-depth knowledge drawn from years of experimentation, experience, research and ideas on securing commons and sustaining our future. We present the complete transcripts of these addresses in their original form, and wish to share the richness of debate, thought and action towards understanding and addressing the commons, with readers who missed the conference. We have also included a landmark order recently passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India mandating that all state governments undertake time bound measures to restore their village common lands. We will keep readers posted on developments and look forward once again to your suggestions and feedback.

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