Commons’ are those resources which are not owned by anyone but rather shared by a community. This could be a ‘common room’, a ‘community center’, a park or a river. Similarly, there are some areas or regions of the world which are located outside the sovereign jurisdiction of any one state, and therefore require common governance by the international community. These are known as ‘global commons’. They include the earth’* atmosphere, Antarctica, the ocean floor and outer space.
Although environmental concerns have a long history, awareness of the environmental consequences of economic growth acquired an increasingly political character from the 1960s onwards. The Club of Rome, a global think-tank, published a book in 1972 entitled Limits to Growth, dramatizing the potential depletion of the earth’* resources against the backdrop of the rapidly growing world population. International agencies began holding international conferences and promoting detailed studies to get a more coordinated and effective response to environmental problems. Since then, the environment has emerged as significant. the issue of global politics.
The growing focus on environmental issues within the arena of global politics was firmly consolidated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, in June 1992.
This was also called the Earth Summit. The Summit was attended by 170 states, thousands of NGOs and many multinational corporations. The Summit produced conventions dealing with climate change, biodiversity, forestry and recommended a list of development practices called ‘Agenda 21’. But it left unresolved considerable differences and difficulties. There was a consensus on combining economic growth with ecological responsibility. This approach to development is commonly known as ‘sustainable development’.
