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INCOMMONS

Innovations in the governance of collective resources for regenerative mountain social-ecological systems. Integrating social innovation and commons scholarships (PhD project).

The management and valorisation of collective resources (woods and forests, water sources, pastures, pastures, roads) by local communities has played an important role in sustainable resource management for many centuries. In spite of the importance and territorial rootedness of the institutions that administer collective goods, it is necessary to study what innovations are needed to cope with the ongoing environmental, social, economic and institutional changes. The aim of the research is to investigate the effects of the changes on the management of collective resources, which innovations emerge and what effects they have on social-ecological systems in mountain contexts. The research applies a transdisciplinary action research and systems thinking methodologies.

Project duration: October 2020 - January 2024
Project status:
Funding:
Internal funding EURAC (Project)
Institute: Institute for Regional Development

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Scientific Publications

Journal article2025

Co-creating a festival with and for rural commoning initiatives: a transdisciplinary place-based process

Dalla Torre C, Moriggi A, Elzenbaumer B, Favargiotti S, Ferretti M

Cristina Dalla Torre

Transdisciplinary collaboration is well-established in sustainability science scholarship. Stakeholders from the cultural and artistic sector can significantly enrich the co-creation process by providing diverse perspectives on caring for people and places in marginalized areas. A key challenge is engaging these stakeholders early in the co-design phase to foster a sense of co-ownership and shared responsibility. To date, artists and cultural experts are mostly involved as service-providers, with little opportunity to embed their visions and values in the project at stake. Drawing on a legacy of transdisciplinary and participatory action research, we present an early collaboration involving architects, designers, cultural and sports association members, educators, farmers, workshop facilitators, and artists. This collaboration focused on co-creating a rural festival to showcase and connect commoning initiatives, and to foster a sense of care for community and environment, in a moment of vulnerability and isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our case study illustrates how festivals can catalyze enthusiasm and energy, engaging the wider public in lived experiences of collective care for social-ecological systems, and providing a platform for marginalized voices, challenging dominant narratives about rural livelihoods and well-being. The research highlights the potential for creating actionable knowledge that is reflective of local contexts and needs. Results also demonstrate how arts- and place-based methods can provide boundary objects that blur disciplinary differences and facilitate dialogue on complex and sensitive sustainability-related issues. We discuss how these methods can be further incorporated into transdisciplinary research and reflect on the practical and ethical challenges posed by early co-design and festive events.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.5751/ES-16095-300308

Journal article2025

Meaningful transdisciplinary collaborations for sustainability: local, artistic, and scientific knowledge

Mesa-Jurado MA, Novo P, Calderón-Contreras R, Pereira LM, Bisht V, Boffi L, Dalla Torre C, Gianelli I,

Cristina Dalla Torre

Meaningful transdisciplinary collaborations that weave diverse ways of knowing, doing, and feeling are increasingly recognized as central for enabling just and sustainable transformations. This Special Feature explores the unique contributions of artscience transdisciplinary collaborations in addressing complex social-ecological challenges. Drawing from a series of transdisciplinary projects, we examine how co-created processes between scientists, artists, and local knowledge holders foster new relational dynamics,
challenge entrenched power structures, and expand the space for transformative action. The collaborations documented here highlight innovative approaches that emphasize local identities, shared values, emotional and aesthetic engagement, and long-term, caring relationships. We identify key mechanisms, such as participatory visioning, storytelling, material deliberation, and arts-based boundary objects, that facilitate individual and collective agency and deepen connection with place and community. Despite significant challenges, such as time constraints, power imbalances, and institutional inertia, these experiences illustrate the transformative potential of artscience collaborations when designed ethically, reflexively, and with epistemological pluralism. This editorial offers critical insights into the practices, conditions, and innovations that support meaningful art-science engagement, providing guidance for evaluating their impacts. As planetary crises intensify, such collaborations offer hopeful, grounded, and imaginative pathways toward more just and sustainable futures.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.5751/ES-16491-300407

Journal article2025

Territories of commons: a review of common land organizations and institutions in the European Alps

Pagot G, Šmid Hribar M, Rail LF, Walters G, Hymas O, Liechti K, Haller T, Urbanc M,

Cristina Dalla Torre

Common land organizations and institutions (hereinafter: CLOIs) have been extensively studied worldwide. However, the extent of the European ones is relatively unknown, despite studies and evidence of their long existence. This is the first comparative study on the CLOIs at a European regional scale. This study focuses on the Alps as defined by the Alpine Convention, and presents the first comprehensive review of data, and status of CLOIs across and within 6 alpine countries: Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland. The aim is to assess (i) their historical evolution, (ii) their institutional arrangements and governance characteristics, and (iii) their numbers, surface, and land uses. To carry out this analysis, we used secondary data from official statistics, surveys, scientific and grey literature, legislation, and bylaws for each country and each region. The results show that CLOIs emerged in the Middle Ages and went through key changes in the 19th century, primarily due to Napoleon's influence in reorganising public administration structures, and post-World War II centralization processes, especially in eastern European countries. In total, we accounted for between 5785 and 11 063 CLOIs, distributed across 32 types in the 6 countries; among which, CLOIs with full property rights and membership based on farmstead ownership are the most frequent. The main land use for Alpine CLOIs is forest followed by pasturelands. CLOIs holding agricultural land, such as cropland, was instead reported for only one country and was negligible. In this review we have identified and highlighted several scientific gaps for future but urgent research on Alpine commons. This review depicts the need for more systematic and cross-country data collection, which could encourage networking and innovation, stakeholder engagement, and CLOIs' recognition in contributing to the sustainable development goals.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/add1f4

Journal article2024

Endangered Commons? Modeling the Effects of Demographic Trends Coupled with Admission Rules to Common Property Institutions

Dalla Torre C, Scolozzi R, Ravazzoli E, Gatto P

Cristina Dalla Torre, Elisa Ravazzoli

This study investigates the long-term effects of demographic trends and admission rules on common properties in the Province of Trento, Italy, which we refer to as historical commons. Historical commons have evolved into socio-ecological systems over the centuries, meaning that communities governed collectively natural resources and lands essential for community survival. Communities and the admission rules that determine their composition are an important constituting element of historical commons because they have developed local ecological knowledge and practices of sustainable use of natural resources. Our study hypothesizes that commons continuity is endangered because of the declining trend of the size of communities being influenced by demographic trends coupled with admission rules. Grounding our research in systems dynamics, we use empirical data including demographic projections and existing admission rules to simulate their effect on the site of the community using the Province of Trento, Italy, as our study region. To achieve that, three types of historical commons are identified: open, semi-open, and closed, each with different admission criteria based on inheritance and/or residency. Results indicate that inheritance-based admission rules can significantly reduce the number of commoners over time, potentially endangering the continuity of these self-governance institutions. The study discusses the results in light of the literature on historical commons’ continuity to evaluate different policies affecting the size of the community grounding on different mental models. The study concludes that a simulation approach can promote an anticipatory approach to the co-design of policies to ensure inclusive continuity of historical commons.

DOI Source

DOI: 10.3390/land13101704

All Publications

Meaningful transdisciplinary collaborations for sustainability: local, artistic, and scientific knowledge
Mesa-Jurado MA, Novo P, Calderón-Contreras R, Pereira LM, Bisht V, Boffi L, Dalla Torre C, Gianelli I, Gutiérrez Sánchez C, Österblom H, Strand M, Tengö M, Vervoort JM, Balvanera P (2025)
Journal article
Ecology & Society

More information: https://ecologyandsociety.org/vol30/iss4/art7/

https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-16491-300407

Co-creating a festival with and for rural commoning initiatives: a transdisciplinary place-based process
Dalla Torre C, Moriggi A, Elzenbaumer B, Favargiotti S, Ferretti M (2025)
Journal article
Ecology & Society

More information: https://ecologyandsociety.org/vol30/iss3/art8/

https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-16095-300308

Territories of commons: a review of common land organizations and institutions in the European Alps
Pagot G, Šmid Hribar M, Rail LF, Walters G, Hymas O, Liechti K, Haller T, Urbanc M, Dalla Torre C, Joye J-F, Lorenzini S, Bogataj N, Penker M, Bender O, Manzoni A (2025)
Journal article
Environmental Research Letters

More information: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/add1f4

https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/add1f4

Project Team

Cristina Dalla Torre

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Journal article2025

Territories of commons: a review of common land organizations and institutions in the European Alps

Pagot G, Šmid Hribar M, Rail LF, Walters G, Hymas O, Liechti K, Haller T, Urbanc M,

Cristina Dalla Torre

DOI Source

DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/add1f4

INCOMMONS

Innovations in the governance of collective resources for regenerative mountain social-ecological systems. Integrating social innovation and commons scholarships (PhD project).

Scientific Publications

Co-creating a festival with and for rural commoning initiatives: a transdisciplinary place-based process

Meaningful transdisciplinary collaborations for sustainability: local, artistic, and scientific knowledge

Territories of commons: a review of common land organizations and institutions in the European Alps

Endangered Commons? Modeling the Effects of Demographic Trends Coupled with Admission Rules to Common Property Institutions

All Publications

Project Team

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Scientific Publications

Co-creating a festival with and for rural commoning initiatives: a transdisciplinary place-based process

Meaningful transdisciplinary collaborations for sustainability: local, artistic, and scientific knowledge

Territories of commons: a review of common land organizations and institutions in the European Alps

Endangered Commons? Modeling the Effects of Demographic Trends Coupled with Admission Rules to Common Property Institutions

All Publications

Project Team