Climate change is leading to a significant scarcity of natural resources, which could worsen in the near future,
creating as consequence more significant conflicts over the struggle for any of its multiple uses, including food
production for a growing population of the planet. In the specialized economic literature, Elinor Ostrom defines
common use goods as those resources that present a high subtractability of use and great difficulty in excluding
potential beneficiaries. In addition, since they are everyone’s goods, but in their conservation, they are nobody’s
goods and can even reach extreme situations of depletion. Ostrom and other authors argue that common goods,
including water, continue to be managed within a dichotomous position between the State and the market, which
is inefficient in their management. Therefore, it is essential to strengthen institutions, cooperation networks, and
polycentric governance (that is, involving other actors beyond the State), in the face of climate change and other
problems affecting society. In this scenario, this study aimed to analyze the importance of transformations in the
food system and its resilience to climate change and other adverse events, considering polycentric governance in the management of resources, especially those of common use. The research is of a documentary nature, based on reviewing and interpreting the specialized literature on the object of study. Among the conclusions, the authors
highlighted the current demand for sustainable and increasingly resilient food systems to ensure long-term access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, prevent and absorb the unforeseen impacts of several phenomena. It also
stresses the need to take into account criteria of equity, inclusion, and responsible production and consumption
practices, rethinking the role of the State and the inter-institutional articulation of actors.
Dr. Juan Carlos Fonseca Sánchez