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The use of private property rights to regulate common pool natural resources is a controversial topic, which must address two critical issues: the allocation of wealth in society and proper conservation and management of limited resources. Given the privatisation of many natural resources within the confines of States, the most significant common pool natural resources are those located in international areas, such as the high seas and the atmosphere.
This book explores the extension of private property rights and market mechanisms to the regulation of resources in these areas. Looking at developments in off-shore fisheries and mineral exploitation (with references to other areas such as forestry and pollution quotas, where appropriate), the book considers the legal ramifications of current moves towards the privatisation of common pool natural resources. It is sceptical about this process and, in particular, questions whether private property is the most effective and socially responsive arrangement for the regulation of certain natural resources. It then suggests that other property regimes, such as stewardship (which is strongly advocated), provide alternative and workable templates for resource regulation, precisely because they are more responsive to the broader needs of the society whose interest the property system is designed to fulfil.
Taking account of legal and philosophical developments in property theory, as well as the impact that property justifications have on the regulation of natural resources, the author is able to show that the economics literature is flawed. The author also assesses the impact of international law on the use of property rights - a much neglected topic - showing how, because many natural resources straddle international boundaries, jurisdictional and international law issues must be taken into account if they are to be regulated.
Richard Barnes is Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Hull.
... a stimulating, rewarding read.
Ludwig Gramlich
Zeitschrift fur Auslandisches Offentliches Recht und Volkerrecht
Volume 71, 2011
...Richard Barnes has written the most extensive and detailed book to date on sovereignty and property rights in marine resources under international law…Barnes has done a masterful job of combining theory and history to explain how international law has gradually expanded sovereignty and property rights to one of the two great global commonses: the oceans (the other is the global climate). As such, it makes a great contribution to the larger cross-disciplinary literature on the emergence of property rights in natural resources. It should be read by every legal scholar, economist, and political scientist interested in common pool resource problems.
Daniel H. Cole
Law and Politics Book Review
Vol.19, No.11, November 9, 2009
This is a very worthwhile work – it is authoritative, comprehensive, well-structured and eminently readable...an excellent work of study and reference for both law students and legal practitioners. It is enlightening and enjoyable to read.
Robert Pritchard
ResourcesLaw International
July 2009
This is an impressive piece of scholarship. It should be read by academics and students interested in property law and by those interested in fisheries law.
This is an important book which deserves to be widely read ... a significant contribution to the available literature.
Nigel Bankes
Journal of Energy and Natural Resources Law
Volume 27, No 4, 2009
This is a fascinating and engaging book that takes the reader on a journey into the intricate workings of property rights — the journey is never dull... it is a valuable addition to the available literature in the area of natural resource management.
Jona Razzaque
Journal of Environmental Law
May 2010
In this fascinating book, Richard Barnes constructs a version of property rights which articulates both the public and private functions of property in the context of the international legal system. This is a skilfully crafted foray into a under-researched area.
Using fisheries as a motif, Barnes has provided a tremendously valuable roadmap through public, private, domestic and international law. Would that the expertise, insight and creativity demonstrated by Barnes in this book be applied to the protection of other endangered species.
Catherine MacKenzie
The Cambridge Law Journal
Volume 70, Part 1
