Effects of substitutability and asymmetry on natural resource management
with centralized governance structure
Abstract
Many resource management studies focus on one resource. Humans, however,
rely on multiple resources in a complicated way. A person may derive
more well-being from one unit of a resource than from another; one
resource may be substituted by another to some degree. How should one
manage such coupled natural-human systems? In this work, we build on
recent research that focuses on developing conceptual frameworks and
mathematical models to understand such interactions. The multiple
resource condition injects the concept of substitutability into models
of coupled human-natural systems and affects how such systems should be
governed. Substitutability has been mostly mentioned in the field of
economics for a substitution of natural and human capitals. Similarly,
one resource may substitute for other scarce resources in coupled
human-natural systems since some of these resources are not completely
independent. In this study, we revise and expand an existing conceptual
framework to include two natural resources, resource users, governing
agency and public infrastructure in a centralized governance structure,
i.e., all the natural resources are managed by the same governing
entity. We then devise a set of dynamical equations and relationships
from different fields, such as a replicator equation, a population
equation, and a CES production equation, to capture the dynamics of this
coupled system. This analysis can provide a decision-support tool to
design policies to sustainably govern the built environment where human,
natural resources, and infrastructure are interconnected. Model analysis
takes a multi-faceted perspective of both resource users and governing
entities to assess policies against different levels of disturbance. The
results reveal how substitutability and asymmetry in resource use affect
the viable policies needed to maintain the system.