This is one-of-a-kind multidisciplinary research volume on the exploitation of natural resources held in common in a cold climate, focusing on economic, social, cultural, and institutional aspects of natural resource management. The book's data come from definitive scientific studies of northern Norway's two major regional industries, coastal fisheries and reindeer pastoralism, viewed as a study in exploitation of natural resources of interest far beyond Norway as a model system. Containing nineteen chapters in three main sections, the book integrates a solid understanding of the dynamics of natural resources with an equally solid understanding of the human exploitation of these resources. The first section covers sustainable resource use and management; the second is on ecological knowledge and implications for resource management; and the third covers the co-management approach to user involvement and decision making. The volume includes bibliographic references and an index.