Protests over Destructive Uses of the Environment: Indivisible Resources.

This paper explores conflicts between two groups, "the industry" and "the environmentalists", over whether an indivisible resource (e.g., an ancient tree) should be harvested or preserved. The problem is first analysed as a complete information "war of attrition". Under the "rationalizability", the group which would be the first to lose from winning a protracted dispute will withdraw immediately. if the industry is uncertain about environmentalists' costs or benefits it may be optimal for them to attempt to harvest for a certain period.