ABSTRACT
The tragedy of the commons model, introduced in Chapter 2, can be used to illustrate problems relating to open access resources at any scale. Although the model is set at the level of confl ict between individual households in a hamlet, it can exemplify confl ict of interest in the management of common resources between communities at a urban scale, regions at a national scale and nation states at the international or even global level. However, the model has particular resonance when applied either to individuals or to nations.
