How does tragedy of the commons relate to pollution and overuse of resources?
Answer (1)
The tragedy of the commons is an idea in economics that explains what happens when people overuse a shared resource without taking care of it. The term "commons" refers to resources that are open to everyone—like air, water, forests, or fishing areas. Because no single person owns them, everyone feels free to use them as much as they want. But if everyone does that, the resource gets damaged or destroyed.Let’s look at a common example: air pollution. Factories release smoke into the air, and vehicles emit gases. The air is a shared resource—no one owns it. Since there is no direct cost to pollute it, companies may continue doing so. But as more people pollute, air quality gets worse, leading to health problems, climate change, and damage to nature.Another example is overfishing. In some coastal areas of the Philippines, fishermen catch as many fish as possible because they fear others will take them first. But this overfishing leads to the destruction of marine life. If the fish population drops too low, no one will benefit in the future.The tragedy here is that short-term gain leads to long-term loss. Everyone tries to benefit individually, but in the end, everyone suffers together.To prevent this, government regulation and community rules are important. For example, there can be limits on how much fish can be caught or fines for polluting rivers. In Palawan, community-based programs help protect forests by giving locals responsibility to care for the land.The tragedy of the commons teaches us that shared resources need shared responsibility. Without proper management, common goods like clean air, water, and forests can be lost forever.
