Allmängods

Allmängods denotes resources that are collectively owned or held in trust by a community rather than by individuals. The term is used in Nordic languages to describe the commons—resources such as grazing pastures, forests, fisheries, and sometimes water rights that are accessible to community members under defined rules.

The governance of allmängods relies on customary law, local community decisions, or formal legal frameworks that specify who may use the resources, when, and how benefits are distributed. Access is typically regulated to prevent overuse and to balance competing needs, including those of future generations.

Historically, allmängods were central to rural life in medieval and early modern Scandinavia, shaping settlement, agriculture, and social structure. During subsequent periods of agrarian reform and land privatization, many commons were enclosed or privatized, though some communities retain recognized common rights or continue to manage resources collectively.

In contemporary policy and scholarship, allmängods is discussed under the broader concept of the commons and public goods. The focus is on sustainable use, governance, and the protection of biodiversity, with attention to the tension between individual property rights and communal benefit.

See also: Commons, Public goods, Tragedy of the commons, Common land, Enclosure.