India: Wetlands as a Case Study in “Commons Capitalism”

Article type: Other

Authors: Dash, Bishwa Kallyan^{; *}

Affiliations: Assistant Professor of Law, Institute of Law, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, India

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. E-mail: bishwakdash@gmail.com.

Abstract: Wetlands are a critical resource, essential not only to water quality and quantity, but also to human sustenance and to the thriving ecosystems. Human and ecosystem dependence on wetlands is not well recognised in governmental oversight and community attitudes. As such, markets undervalue them and businesses and industry consider them disposable. Given that the market economy controls the “new normal”, it has not been uncommon for States, when formulating policies to exploit wetland resources for gain, thereby undermining their future and sustainability. India has made some attempts, both nationally and internationally to resolve these matters. This paper is an attempt to showcase one such common property resource, i.e. wetlands in the city of Bangalore, which are under tremendous stress from capitalism.

Keywords: Wetlands, commons, governance, India

DOI: 10.3233/EPL-200242

Journal: Environmental Policy and Law, vol. 50, no. 4-5, pp. 405-410, 2020