2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Revitalising/Re-imagining the Commons in an era of social and environmental change: A Next step in Commons Research

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	19K12454
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Review Section	Basic Section 64060:Environmental policy and social systems-related
Research Institution	Tohoku University
Principal Investigator	Delaney Alyne 東北大学, 東北アジア研究センター, 准教授 (70823441)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	三俣学兵庫県立大学, 国際商経学部, 教授 (10382251) 齋藤暖生東京大学, 大学院農学生命科学研究科(農学部), 講師 (10450214) 山下詠子東京農業大学, 地域環境科学部, 准教授 (10733561)
Project Period (FY)	2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
Keywords	forestry commons / fisheries commons / semi-urban commons / governance / social capital / governance / collaboration
Outline of Final Research Achievements	This study how Japanese forestry and fisheries commons are at risk through misfit -e.g.,demographic/environmental change- and to uncover commoners’ efforts and solutions to address such misfit through Re-imaginings and revitalizations of commons. RE-IMAGININGS include ecosystem-wide thinking, such as cases in which fishers planted trees. REVITALIZATIONS included opening commons areas to the outside public or accepting new residents as commoners. In Aichi, a communal forest was opened as a mountain bike riding area for young employees (outsiders) of a locally factory. The employees built mountain bike trails and also participated in the regular joint work of taking care of the forest commons with the traditional commoners. In the FISHERIES case, commons also opened up after outsiders joined cooperative fisheries work groups as a means to adapt to the 2011 post-tsunami situation. Though significant changes were not made,any opening up was a change.
Free Research Field	Coastal commons
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	我々の調査によれば、コモンズへの部外者の参加に躊躇や課題を見出すことは珍しいことではなく、文化的にも同様の状況が観察された。例えば、沿岸のコミュニティ（獅子舞-地元文化遺産）や地域の漁業などである。部外者と話し合い、彼らの信頼と相互尊重を得る機会が与えられれば、ためらいながらも変化をもたらすことができる。ガバナンスの課題は残るが、努力なしには、コモンズとその要素が社会にもたらす利益は失われかねない。 Building communication and trust with outsiders can benefit both commons and commoners.