Governance of the commons : the case of Malta's built heritage

Abstract

When such a wide array of actors across the political and social spectrum all lament the continuous loss of Malta’s built heritage in unison, one asks why have they not done anything to remedy the situation. What is it that is preventing a solution from being found? It is here that the characteristics of a social dilemma and coordination problem become apparent. One of the foremost thinkers who has addressed the evolution of studies relating to social dilemmas which concern common-pool resources is Elinor Ostrom, whose seminal work Governing the Commons from 1990 changed the way that people think about the field of research. Two of her foremost accomplishments were the development of the Institutional Analysis and Development framework, and her 8 Design Principles which are common success factors to commons governance. The literature around what can be considered a commons has evolved to encompass cultural heritage, though this field of thought is still in its relative infancy. Nonetheless, this presents an opportunity to address Malta’s built heritage as a commons, using the aforementioned tools, providing a novel way to study the social dilemma around overdevelopment in Malta, with reference to built heritage, and potentially obtain a better understanding of what threatens the commons, what the consequences are, and what potential policy solutions might be. This may be achieved through qualitative research entailing mapping, case studies and semi-structured elite interviews. This approach reveals the importance of trust between actors involved to arrive at the common shared goal of a change in economic model from quantity towards quality.