Government Laws, Regulations and Incentives

The use of government laws, regulations and incentives are one of the most effective ways in dealing with the Tragedy of the Commons. This can be done through the use of rewards and punishment whereby non-cooperation and disobeying rules becomes costly whereas obeying the rules leads to rewards.

For example, industrial farmers who use the Neonticinoids pesticides which are known to bring detrimental effects to the honey bees population can be fined or heavily taxed. On the other hand, farmers who adopt eco-friendly pesticides or the organic way of farming can be rewarded with lesser taxes or incentives.

This encourages the behaviours that are pro-social and beneficial to the environment and discourages behaviours that are not. However, it may not be easy to ensure that farmers and other individuals, who only want self-benefits, will obey these laws and regulations. Therefore, different government authorities have to work hand in hand to create a tighter net to catch these individuals and farmers. In addition, other approaches and recommendations should be used in combination to increase the effectiveness of the conservation efforts as a whole.