Simple movement rules result in ideal free distribution of mobile pastoralists

Mark Moritz, Ian M. Hamilton, Andrew J. Yoak, Paul Scholte, Jeff Cronley, Paul Maddock and Hongyang Pi

Ecological Modelling, 2015, vol. 305, issue C, 54-63

Abstract: While open access to common-pool resources has been equated with a tragedy of the commons, we have found that mobile pastoralists in the Logone Floodplain in Cameroon are sustain ably managing open access to common-pool grazing resources. We have described this pastoral system as a self-organizing complex adaptive system (CAS) in which mobile pastoralists distribute themselves over common-pool grazing resources without central or collective decision-making. We have found evidence of management of open access in the form of an ideal free distribution (IFD). Here we discuss the results of an agent-based model (ABM) simulation and show how pastoralists are able to achieve an IFD with relatively simple movement rules. We describe this system as an Emergent Commons (EC).

Keywords: Complex adaptive systems; Common-pool resources; Emergent Commons; Pastoralism; Ideal free distribution; Agent-based model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:305:y:2015:i:c:p:54-63

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.03.010

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