Paradoxical Conservation and the Tragedy of Multiple Commons

James L. Olmsted, Conservation & Preservation Counsel

Abstract

The article is seminal in that it proposes a new twist on the "Tragedy of the Commons." The article does so by suggesting that contrary to our best intentions in preserving a portion of the commons, doing so may have the perverse result of enabling the exploitation of other resources. Stated another way, the premise of the article is the counter-intuitive and paradoxical notion that by conserving certain natural resources we are in effect enabling the consumption of potentially many more other natural resources.