Common cause or common concern? The role of common lands in the post‐productivist countryside

Summary The aim of this paper is to contribute towards a better understanding of the contemporary position of commons as a land resource, and to evaluate whether commons have a distinct role to play in today's ‘post‐productivist’ countryside. Following the government's recent recognition of the multi‐functional role of commons, the paper sets out to investigate whether this can be achieved through existing agri‐environmental schemes. A case study of commons in the Cambrian Mountains (Wales) enables an assessment of the compatibility of one recent agri‐environmental scheme, the ESA scheme, with commons management. It is concluded that new legislation and policy are needed, and that agri‐environmental policy may provide an opportunity to develop a framework within which the management of common land can be improved to meet conservation and amenity as well as farming objectives.