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And what if we would think of the earth...
as a giant condominium?
Earth Condominium
WHAT
UNITE
Climatic and Oceanic Systems
US ALL
An Intangible Natural Heritage of Mankind
EARTH CONDOMINIUM
A NEW HERITAGE FOR A NEW ECONOMY
CO-FINANCIADO POR:
A concept that includes a solution
Experience has demonstrated that the shared use of goods, or even a system, by a large
group of individuals, results in an inevitable “tragedy of the commons”. The global natural
systems such as the climate and ocean systems, can impossibly be divided or contained
within the limits of a physical border. For that reason, we are confronted with it disorderly use
by the global community.
The legal framework of the condominium is a form of hybrid property that has since long been
used in buildings, rural communities and the management of common resources between
neighboring countries. As the limits of individual and common property are defined,
obligations and management tasks can be distinguished, conciliating individual and collective
interests. Inspired by this example, the Earth Condominium consists of a proposal that would
harmonize the existing tension between various interests that are common to all mankind,
among which are the sustainable use of vital natural resources, the economic interests of
states and avoiding a tragedy of the commons on the scale of the global ecosystem. This
proposal includes two essential elements:
1) A legal international status for the global natural systems
2) A system for accounting and global management
1) Natural systems as Common Heritage of Mankind
As the perception grows of a global natural system, it is understood as well that all human
beings are in direct dependence of the quality of the vital resources these systems provide.
This requires a legal response that harmonizes these global human relations. It is necessary
to recognize a legal status to these 'new' resources and attribute them to someone. And since
they are limited or finite, a system that manages these resource will need to be developed.
Until this day, climate change has been considered through resolution 43/53 by the UN
general assembly as a “common concern of mankind since the climate system is an essential
condition for sustaining life on earth”. The climate crisis should result in more than the
recognition of a problem or a concern. On the international level will have to appear a legal
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qualification comparable to the vital, intergenerational and planetary character of these
resources. In the same way the ecological problems related to maritime space are strictly
intertwined implying that also this space should be considered as a whole.
The need to provide juridical answers to this natural reality of systems may go through the
creation of a new legal object: the recognition of a new heritage, the “Natural Intangible
Heritage”, which as a vital resource, should belong to all of mankind and its future
generations.
The application of the fundamental principles of the 'Common Heritage of Mankind' to the
climate and oceanic system under the name 'Natural Intangible Heritage of Mankind' could
mean a step to overcome the current juridical 'black hole' that those systems currently
represent, as there are no clearly defined rights and duties regarding the use and benefits of
these global systems. The notion of the natural intangible heritage can contribute to the legal
support structure that captures the vital factors currently considered by the economy as
'externalities'. It would allow the development of new environmental service offering activities
in the common interest of all mankind and turn decisive the possibility to recover planetary
biocapacity.
The classification of global systems as a common good extending over all mankind, renders it
free from all private are state appropriation. Its use cannot be regulated through the market,
however an accounting system would be established that includes both the negative and
positive contributions that each actor makes to the global good.
The creation of these new legal object of intangible systemic nature also serves to clarify
other concepts vital to the green economy: the separation of ecosystem services (for
example, climate regulation) from the infrastructure that sustains that service (for example, a
forest). That way it is possible to capture and account for these benefits and create a
compensation system for services that are in the common interest of all mankind. This may
give origin to an economy with an incentive to invest in the maintenance and recovery of
ecosystems since there exists an economic compensation for the benefits delivered to the
common heritage.
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The value of this heritage will depend on indicators informed by science (for example, CO2
concentration in the atmosphere and pH of the oceans), that delimit a “safe operating space”
for humanity within planetary boundaries.
2) Ecosaldo – The accounts of the Earth Condominium
The dispersion of the majority of the positive and negative environmental contributions
through all humanity, is identified in economics as 'a market failure', since there exists no
institution of exchange where the actor affecting positively the other(s) receives a
compensation or where the actor that affects negatively the other(s) bears the respective
costs”. As there exist many agents that use resources, under this conditions, the failure of the
market results in an inefficient resource use and propulsion of excessive exploitation.
When the attribution of an economic value to ecosystem services is considered, immediately
it is thought that this requires to transform those services in exchangeable products and
therefor, a conventional market should be created. This is not the correct approach because
free access goods are considered here and a conventional market cannot manage inalienable
and unexcludable goods. And since all countries consume and provide ecosystem services
that are reflected in the global natural systems, only by obtaining a saldo between the totality
of offer and consumption will it be possible to establish a platform of justice and assure equity
not only within, but also between generations.
A metric and the settlement of accounts
In order to proceed with the settlement of accounts between the various contributors for the
maintenance of this common heritage, an agreement will be required on the use of a metric,
that is able to capture the consumption and offer of common resources in articulation with a
valorization system that attributes a monetary value to each unit of this metric. We can then
initiate a process of internalization of this factors vital to our economy.
This new heritage should be managed by an entity – the United nations with new functions – ,
which on the basis of the balance between the positive and negative contributions of each
state to the global natural systems, the Ecosaldo, proceeds with the global management of
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these systems.
These accounts also provide for the opportunity to create a system for compensation of
supply of services, for example through fiscal transfers or even international settlement of
EcoSaldo debts. In this way we create a positive incentive to increase natural systems and
the natural capital, balancing the dominant paradigm from polluter disincentives (polluter
pays) to ecosystem services (or natural capital) `growth´ incentives without attempting to
turn such services into tradeable products or relying on the market. Because under the
market, those that possess lots of financial resources will always be able to pollute, and those
that do not have access to these 'credits' can invoke rights to destroy ecosystems.
A simple concept for the future we want
With the recognition of the global natural systems as Natural Intangible Heritage of Mankind,
the Earth Condominium seeks to establish a global agreement of management between the
Global Commons and states through the adoption of an accounting system of consumption
and provision of benefits. The inclusion of the benefits in these accounts of relations may alter
the rule of predation of natural resources for economic compensation. It is a determinant
element for the construction of an economy capable to generate biocapacity in articulation
with its consumption. All considered, an economy that is able to re-put resources is a
sustainable economy. That is the future that we want.
For more details on the Earth Condominium Concept and Project see: http://www.earthcondominium.org.
Join us on the 21 June at the Earth Condominium side event in Rio, or send us an email at :
info @earth condominium.org.
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