Pratiti Priyadarshini SPECIAL EVENT UNFSS Science Days Side Event: Promise of the Commons for Sustainable and Equitable Food Systems Co-organized by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); Foundation for Ecological Security (FES, India); University of South Australia; Azim Premji University and the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) JUL 7, 2021 - 07:00 AM TO 08:00 AM EDT

1. Promise of Commons

2. Commons, Poverty and Rural Livelihoods in India
• 350 million rural poor depend
on forests and pastures
• 164 million acres are Commons
• Provide the foundation for
agriculture and livestock
production systems

3. Events
Declining rural incomes; distress migration; crop failure; farmer suicides
Patterns
Declining vegetative cover, water availability; diversion and change in
land use; chronic poverty; women’s marginalisation
Structure
Property laws; centralised governance models; social systems such as
caste and gender
Mental Models
“Tragedy of commons”, “Commons are wastelands”,
“Communities can’t govern”
31 to 55% of common lands have declined over the past 50 years, resulting in biodiversity losses,
land degradation, acute water scarcity

4. ‘Conserve nature and natural resources through coordinated human
efforts for improved economic opportunities’
Our Mission

5. • In ten eco-regions of the country
• 78 districts of 10 states
• 28,000+ village institutions
• 15.23 million lives impacted
• 8.54 million acres common land under community
governance
• 35 field teams, 4 Regional Offices, 320 staff
• Partnering with more than 100 NGOs / NGO
networks / government programmes
Foundation for Ecological Security:
Working on commons at scale

6. Secure
community
land rights
Collective action for
inclusive management
& governance
Access to resources
& finance for
restoration
Ecological
health
Resilient
livelihoods
A Game-Changing Solution:
The Core Model for Strengthening the Commons
Sustainable and
equitable food
systems

7. Secure
community
land rights
(provide
communities
incentive for
investing in
caring for
commons)
Collective action for
inclusive management
& governance
Access to resources
& finance for
restoration
Ecological
health
Resilient
livelihoods
A Game-Changing Solution:
The Core Model for Strengthening the Commons
Sustainable and
equitable food
systems

8. Secure
community
land rights
Collective action for
inclusive management
& governance
(needed to maintain
the condition of the
commons and share
benefits)
Access to resources
& finance for
restoration
Ecological
health
Resilient
livelihoods
A Game-Changing Solution:
The Core Model for Strengthening the Commons
Sustainable and
equitable food
systems

9. Secure
community
land rights
Collective action for
inclusive management
& governance
Access to resources
& finance for
restoration
(help cover labor
and material costs)
Ecological
health
Resilient
livelihoods
A Game-Changing Solution:
The Core Model for Strengthening the Commons
Sustainable and
equitable food
systems

10. Increase in soil organic
carbon from 0.36% to 0.56%
2.6 times higher
biomass
Higher carbon stock (13.02 t/ha
vs 4.76 t/ha)
Demonstrated results

11. 30-50% increase in
household incomes
12-18% increase
in livestock assets
78% increase in
double crop area

13. 13
AUGUST 2004
SEPTEMBER 2020
LONG-TERMVISION
Gender inclusive community-led governance of Commons for improved ecological and economic outcomes

14. Strategies
• Improving convergence in planning and action
• Enhancing implementation capacities
• Influencing policy and programmatic action for
sustained investments
• Building coalitions, legal and regulatory incentives to
strengthen compliance and enforcement

15. Thank You