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Can the Tragedy of the Commons be Avoided in Common-Pool Forage Resource Systems? An Application to Small-Holder Herding in the Semi-Arid Grazing Lands of Nigeria

Rhoda F. Aderinto, J. Alfonso Ortega-S., Ambrose O. Anoruo, Richard Machen and Benjamin L. Turner
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Rhoda F. Aderinto: Department of Agriculture, Agribusiness, and Environmental Science, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX 78363, USA
J. Alfonso Ortega-S.: Department of Range and Wildlife Science and Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX 78363, USA
Ambrose O. Anoruo: Department of Agriculture, Agribusiness, and Environmental Science, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX 78363, USA
Richard Machen: Department of Animal Science and King Ranch® Institute for Ranch Management, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX 78363, USA
Benjamin L. Turner: Department of Agriculture, Agribusiness, and Environmental Science and King Ranch® Institute for Ranch Management, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Kingsville, TX 78363, USA

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 15, 1-29

Abstract: There exist common-pool resource systems where it is difficult to prevent prospective beneficiaries from receiving profits from the use or harvest of shared resources, and they are often subject to continual utilization, leading to resource degradation and economic erosion (a behavior known as the ‘tragedy of the commons’). Nigerian nomadic grazing systems currently undergoing the tragedy of the commons pose a great challenge to agrarian communities, herders and political stability throughout the country due to violent conflicts and property destruction as herders migrate in search of forage resources for livestock. We modeled these dynamics in order to better understand the Nigerian grazing lands, with the objective of identifying potential leverage points capable of reversing overgrazing-induced forage degradation, in order to ensure a sustainable livestock production sector. Model what-if experiments (crop restrictions, crop marketing and increased labor costs) were run, resulting in partial solutions that were effective only in the short-term or limited in geographic-scope. A sustainable solution should include a combination of strategies, as the impact of one strategy alone cannot effectively resolve these Nigerian grazing issues (e.g., collaboration between farmers, herdsmen and government stakeholders to increase market integration via crop market expansion while simultaneously providing forage regeneration time for grazing lands). The resulting model could be used by Nigerian policy-makers to evaluate the long-term effects of decisions which were previously unexplored.

Keywords: tragedy of the commons; rangeland degradation; nomadic herdsmen; Nigeria; grazing management; forage regeneration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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