What environmental governance structures are applicable to the Moon?
This post was written by Lukas Kuhn for the fourth edition of The Transmission. Learn more and subscribe!
Lukas Kuhn | Research & Coordination at the Open Lunar Foundation; Intern with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
Resources found in outer space, such as water ice and rare-Earth metals, need to be used sustainably and equitably—similar to terrestrial resources. But, how? To help answer this question, the Moon Dialogs Sustainable Moon Action Team (also known as Res Lunae) spent the last year exploring governance systems and best practices to inform the design of effective and sustainable lunar resource management.
The idea is to inform lunar governance with lessons learned from diverse governance arrangements here on Earth. You may be surprised to learn that lunar resource systems and terrestrial ones are not that different. Therefore, for successful lunar governance, we should try and learn as much from terrestrial resource governance as possible. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Our team, Res Lunae, ventured to identify a breadth of governance analogs for a range of lunar resources. Since we began in early 2021, we’ve explored 14 terrestrial governance analogs for 25 distinct lunar resource systems. We explored governance arrangements ranging from binding international treaties to local and informal polycentric governance by using a set of research questions to make these diverse governance systems comparable.
Lunar resource systems and terrestrial ones are not that different. Therefore, for successful lunar governance, we should try and learn as much from terrestrial resource governance as possible.
By comparing governance characteristics such as rights, participation, and decision-making procedures, we spotted a few recurring themes and learned what governance features appear conducive to sustainable and equitable use of lunar resources.
What we’ve learned from our research
All but two governance systems have some sort of resource rights
In the context here, resource rights are defined as rights to develop (or choose to not develop) land, and extract or put resources to use. Resource rights and how they can be acquired vary from governance system to governance system and from country to country. Generally, such rights are included in full ownership models but they can just as well be distinctly allocated or acquired rights.
The only two systems that have no such rights are special in the sense that no entity or individual can own natural resources. In Antarctica and on the International Space Station (ISS), the physical space surrounding the research stations is not owned by the respective actors. Only the equipment itself is recognized as property. For example, the land where McMurdo Station sits in Antarctica is not considered the property of the US.
In comparison, proximity-based resource rights are enforceable claims over land and resources abudding or adjacent to the land or property of an actor. A common example for that would be the riparian water rights systems in North America. Alternatively, collaboratively held resource rights exist in predominantly local communities where all community members have equal rights to land and resources within their collective territories. Resource rights can also be held by an entity or agent entrusted by the community which then allocates the rights to individual actors as required. Examples for resource rights held by a governing body are the International Seabed Authority and the International Telecommunication Union.
Clearly, resource governance requires some mechanism to determine rightful interaction with the resources. While property rights are commonly associated with Western systems and capitalism, they are just as well required in environmental protection and conservation efforts. Protection and conservation of nature and resources can only be effective if the actor has enforceable rights over the system. Property rights are a framing to distribute distinct rights between actors whereas private property is the allocation of all those rights to one actor. Private property is one particular case of property rights allocation. Thus, while fundamentally underlying economics and capitalism, property rights are not the same as privatization of natural resources through commercial actors.
Ownership rights are highly relevant and crucial for lunar activities and for proper governance. Therefore, a more solution-oriented question would not be whether those rights should exist, but how they should be allocated, by whom, and what those rights comprise.
All explored governance systems involve some kind of constraint
Governance systems typically involve constraints of some kind and may limit permissible use cases of a resource system, restrict alienation, or uphold free access even if all other rights lay with another actor. These rights limitations allow the governance system to balance use, protection, and equity. Restricting what activities and types of interactions with the system are allowed is a very effective measure for sustainable resource utilization and conservation efforts.
How it could play out in the near-future
If we look at lunar water ice, for instance, we can explore how governance features of terrestrial analogs can apply to lunar governance and how we can avoid historical inequities. As explained above, any resource governance system requires some sort of resource rights which is something that does not exist in the current regime. Thus, through some means, most likely by multilateral formal or informal agreement, will need to have the right to extract, utilize, process, and alienate lunar water ice. From that foundation, we can envision at least two types of governance systems. Two extreme scenarios could be the centralization of allocation of lunar resources or a free-for-all, first-come-first-serve situation.
As more missions to the lunar south pole come to fruition in 2022 and 2023, it'll be interesting to see how these scenarios begin to play out.
More details on this research and insights are forthcoming. Be sure to follow us on Twitter (@MoonDialogs) to stay up to date!
About the author: Lukas Kuhn currently works at the Open Lunar Foundation where he led the Res Lunae Working Groups in search of social-ecological system and governance analogs for lunar resources. Previous to his work on lunar governance he studied Global Sustainability Science at Arizona State University and Leuphana University Lüneburg. During his graduate degree he focused on global governance and transdisciplinarity. Throughout his work, Lukas emphasizes the importance of actionable research for evidence-informed decision making in the science-policy interface. He is deeply passionate about space (and) sustainability, and the complex interlinkages of human and environmental systems.
Image credit: Nancy Liang (CC BY -NC-ND)