About Topic: 

The "commons" is a short form for "common property resources" (CPRs) - a term popularized by the Nobel prize-winning political economist, Elinor Ostrom. CPRs are resources that are used and managed by a community of users. Famous otherwise for trapping their users in Garrett Hardin's "Tragedy of the Commons", CPRs present a sustainable development challenge and a management opportunity. With examples of tragedies and successes, we can start getting a feel for the role of technologies for managing CPRs. Using the theoretical framework suggested by Ostrom, we will look at examples in surface water and groundwater, forestry, and energy to see how communities came together to develop solutions for the management of CPRs. The cases elucidate some basic principles with which a community can design and engineer adaptive systems that may last for a long time.

Dr. Nitin Pandit
Director , Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)
About Speaker: 
Dr. Nitin Pandit is currently focused on a variety of initiatives for youth and leadership development as a mechanism for sustainability and resilience in the Shastri River Basin in the Konkan. He sees the Shastri as one of the handful of undammed, west-flowing rivers from the biodiversity hotspot that is the Western Ghats. His efforts are directed toward the engagement of youth and communities in the livelihood opportunities toward sustainability and resilience offered by a diverse natural asset base and its value chains. Dr. Pandit last served as the Director of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore. Previously, Dr. Pandit worked with the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington, DC, USA, and as CEO of WRI-India, focusing mainly on the restoration of degraded lands. Before WRI, he was President of the International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC), with offices and programs in a dozen countries, for implementing novel sustainable energy approaches for developing countries. In the 90s, Dr. Pandit formed a boutique high-tech consultancy specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) applications in environmental and renewable energy systems. In the 80s, he worked with reputed consulting firms in the areas of pollution prevention and waste management, geohydrology and geotechnical construction, and water resources engineering. Dr. Pandit has a bachelor's in Civil Engineering from BITS Pilani, and a couple of master's degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering (from Lehigh University and Carnegie Mellon University, USA) and a doctorate in Public Policy (from George Mason University, USA). 
Date& Time: 
Tuesday, October 1, 2024 - 17:30