From his home base in Indianapolis, O’Neill Assistant Professor Nathan Cook is working on projects from around the world, specifically in what is known as the Global South—what some call the developing world.
In countries throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America, Cook looks at common-pool resources—things like groundwater basins, shared irrigation systems, rainforests, and other resources used collectively by rural communities.
Cook’s studies have taken him to various countries throughout his career, including Nepal where the government allows village-level committees of local people to manage most of the nation’s forests.