Assignment 3

1.       1. 

In her article Ostrom (2009) gives a general framework that is used to identify ten subsystems that affect the likelihood of self-organization in efforts to achieve a sustainable social ecological system (Ostrom, 2009: 419). The framework consists of four first-level core subsystems: resource systems, resource units, governance system and users. Each of these core subsystems is made up of multiple second-level variables. There are several variables to be found in the article and the choice of variables depends on the particular questions under study, the type of SES, and the spatial and temporal scales of analysis (Ostrom, 2009: 420).

Resource system

The resource system here is the one of honey production in Europe. As honey is produced by bees, the sector (RS1) is beekeeping. However, as bees are also responsible for pollinating 84% of the agriculture in Europe, one could argue that the sector consists of more than just one sector (European Commission, 2014). This brings us to the following variable: size of resource system (RS3). The size of the resource system of honey production alone is not too big. The big players are the beekeepers who take care of the bees and are responsible for the production of the honey. When looking at the land the beekeepers use, it can be concluded again that this is not a lot. For example, in the Netherlands there are 7000 beekeepers (Telegraaf, 2014). Taking all of this into account, it can be concluded that bee keeping is small scaled.

Resource units

The resource units in this case are the bees. When looking at the growth rate or replacement rate (RU3), it can be stated that the growth is decreasing. One cause can be found in the use of pesticides and illnesses. Although there was a growth of 7.1% between 2005-2010 in 22 countries of EU, many countries have seen a decrease of bees (Nieuws, 2014). Another source mentioned a loss of 20% of the population of bees over the last five years (Telegraaf, 2014). This causes big problems as bees are connected to the growing interest and need of biofuels made out of rape, sunflowers and soybeans. These are all plants that need pollination. That is also why the EU came with regulation prohibiting pesticides and tried to increase the population of the bees again (Nieuws, 2014). The economic value (RU4) is therefore big as bees do not only produce honey, but have a large interest in agriculture and biofuels.

Governance systems

As stated earlier one of the government organizations (GS1) is the European Union. They have regulations and measures concerning the protection of Europe’s bees. Furthermore, they also have regulations concerning the labeling of honey. For example, information about the honey, country of origin, weight, product code and shelf life needs to be provided (Imkersleiden, 2014). In this sector, there are also nongovernment organizations (GS2) active. Some are for example the unions for beekeepers. The Dutch bee union for example has the mission to create optimal conditions for beekeepers so that they can keep bees in a professional way (Bijenhouders, 2014). Others are the stores that sell the honey, or organizations that process them or use honey in their products. The monitoring and sanctioning processes (GS8) are the task of the countries that are part of the European Union as they have to implement and monitor the regulations.

Users

The number of users (U1) depends on the amount of people who eat honey and all of the products involving honey. The size of the group is relevant as the bee production could decrease or disappear altogether in the worst case when people stop eating honey and honey products. Knowledge of the resource (U7) can either destroy or improve the sustainability of a resource. In this case, the actors that are involved are aware of the shrinking bee population. The importance of resource to users (U8) can also improve or destroy sustainability. In successful cases of self-organization, users are either dependent on the resource for a substantial portion of their livelihoods or attach high value to the sustainability of the resource. Otherwise, the costs of organizing and maintaining a self-governing system may not be worth the effort (Ostrom, 2009: 421). As eating honey or honey products usually is not a matter of survival, the likelihood of self-governing is not that big.

Conclusion

The resource system seems to be small and also the population of bees is shrinking. When analyzing these two variables, the chances on self-organization seem to be big. However, when looking at the governmental and users variables, it seems small as the users are  not that dependant on honey. So are the chances of self-organization in the bee production big or small? When taken into account the effect that the bees have, not only in producing honey, but also the other agriculture and biofuels systems, it is clear that there is a need of governmental system which is actually also the case. Regulations are needed that improve the amount of bees which have an effect that can be measured on several levels.

Bibliography

·         Bijenhouders. Missie en doel. [http://www.bijenhouders.nl/over-de-nbv/missie-en-doel]. 8 October 2014.

·         European Commission. Beekeeping, honey production and wild bees. [http://ec.europa.eu/food/archive/animal/liveanimals/bees/index_en.htm]. 8 October 2014.

·         Imkersleiden. Regels voor etikettering van honing. [http://www.imkersleiden.nl/index.php/vereniging/24-etikettering]. 8 October 2014.

·         Ostrom, E. (2009). A general framework for analyzing the sustainability of social-ecological systems, Science 325, 419-422.

·         Nieuws. Bijentekort Europa door meer biobrandstof. [http://www.nieuws.nl/algemeen/20140109/Bijentekort-Europa-door-meer-biobrandstof]. 8 October 2014.

·         Telegraaf. Imker vreest doodsteek door strenge EU regels. [http://www.telegraaf.nl/feed/krant/krant_financieel/21766248/__Imker_vreest_doodsteek_door_strenge_EU-regels__.html]. 8 October 2014.

2.       2. 

In the previous post it was concluded that Friedman argues that businesses should focus on business and that social responsibility is a matter of the government. Social responsibility is comparable to sustainable management of social ecology systems. It therefore does not seem logical that the principle of Friedman can be used in a constructive way to manage a SES. However, as the framework of Ostrom (2009) showed, resources are very important in a system. When these resources become scarce, it is very hard or even impossible for a business to make profits. In order to keep making profits, it can be crucial for a business to be sustainable.