- We need serious people with good theories to look at environmental problems and Stockholm Resilience Centre and the Beijer Institute has gathered extraordinary people to do this, says Elinor Ostrom enjoying the traditional Nobel reception at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

The Academy awarded Professor Ostrom "for her analysis of economic governance," saying her work had demonstrated how common property can be successfully managed by groups using it.

A leading scholar on common pool resources
Ostrom, who is teaching at the Indiana University, is considered one of the leading scholars in the study of common pool resources. Her work emphasizes how humans and ecosystems interact to provide for long run sustainable resource yields.

Forests, fisheries, oil fields, grazing lands, and irrigation systems, among others, all exhibit the characteristics of common pool resources and Ostrom's work has highlighted how humans have created diverse institutional arrangements over natural resources for thousands of years that have prevented ecosystem collapse.

Continued research on social-ecological systems
The main focus of Elinor Ostrom's current research is to get a better understanding of social-ecological systems.

- For instance we want to look at inshore fisheries where we have seen some great successes but also big failures. We want to understand why, she says, adding that this work includes continued cooperation with researchers at Stockholm Resilience Centre, among others Science Director Carl Folke.

- Together we are trying to develop a better way of looking at variables on an ecological level, that affects the ability of social systems to self organize.