Framing up the “Stretching” of Co-Management

Collaborative management, or co-management, is recognized as best practice for protected area management. A vast literature explores the benefits and challenges of implementing co-management, but more literature is not always better. We propose that the term co-management has been uncritically “stretched”, losing its original framing of actors working together collaboratively. Co-management has become a facade under which traditional hierarchical and market-based management regimes can occur. Conceptual stretching inhibits the capacity to critically articulate variations within models of collaborative governance. We investigate this stretching through a nuanced framework of co-management models with varying intensities. By considering participating actors, institutions and delivery objectives, the theoretically informed and empirically tested framework highlights the stretched implementation of co-management, enabling protected area managers an opportunity to align their practice with the promise of co-management.     

地方政府企业化视角下的半城市化地区社区转型——以东莞市厚街镇赤岭社区为例

改革开放以来,随着中央―地方政府之间的分权化和分税制改革,地方政府在推动城市与经济的发展中通常表现为企业主义行为,并有力地推动了地方经济的发展;但是,经过30 多年的发展,地方政府企业主义是否仍然行之有效？文章采用质性研究方法,以东莞厚街镇的赤岭社区为例,对中国地方政府企业主义行为发生的源头--半城市化地区社区发展与转型进行研究,解析新时期地方政府企业化的特征、作用机制及应对危机的方式。结论认为：1）地方政府企业主义行为推动了改革开放以来半城市化地区社区（村）社会经济的发展与转型,但是在外部环境变化的情况下,地方政府企业主义行为在社区尺度不再行之有效;2）社区（村级）体制改革也是一种城市管治方式,半城市化地区的社区发展适时需要管治的进入;3）全球化是影响地方政府企业主义行为的直接动力;4）在中国的城市管治中,社会力量还相对较弱。在未来地方政府企业主义的研究中,应更多关注来自基层的制度创新。     

西方区域环境治理研究进展及其对粤港澳大湾区的启示

文章旨在通过系统梳理西方区域环境治理的研究进展和前沿问题,以拓展国内区域环境治理研究,对认识粤港澳大湾区乃至中国深入发展以来面临的经济发展—环境保护矛盾和探索可持续发展政策有所启示。文章回顾了20多年以来西方区域环境治理研究的主要成果,总结出区域环境治理研究的理论进展、治理模式与影响效应3个重点议题。政府和非政府主体共同参与区域层面环境问题的应对已成为环境治理转变的重要特征之一。各主体之间采用了由国家政府或者地方行动者主导的协调方式,形成了不同的管理模式。区域层面的环境参与受到了经济、政治、社会等多重因素的影响,同时也对资源环境、经济、政治等方面产生了重要影响。最后,文章提出粤港澳大湾区环境治理研究应重点关注中国特色“一国两制”政策背景下粤港澳大湾区环境治理的组织框架,实施环境治理的地域因素、影响效应,探索促进区域发展的制度安排。     

粤港澳大湾区治理框架比较研究：基于制度环境视角

随着粤港澳大湾区上升为国家战略,湾区治理成为学术界关注的重要议题。文章构建包括权力结构、法律结构和社会资本结构3个维度的湾区治理制度环境比较研究框架,运用文本/桌面分析法,系统总结了大湾区与旧金山和东京湾区的治理框架,比较分析了3个湾区治理的制度环境;研究认为,湾区治理的模式特征及其效果与由权力结构、法律结构和社会资本结构构成的制度环境密切相关;权力结构影响着治理的灵活弹性,粤港澳大湾区权力结构呈现非对称和碎片化特征,总体较为封闭集中,导致治理模式单一,始终以政府为主导;法律结构影响着治理的交易成本,粤港澳大湾区尚未形成统一高效的法律体系结构,导致治理过程中的交易成本较高;社会资本结构影响着治理的多元参与和湾区凝聚力,粤港澳大湾区正向社会资本相对薄弱,多元参与治理不足,湾区自下而上的凝聚力不强。最后建议大湾区治理宜从权力、法律和社会资本结构入手,探索三地各自优势下的制度空间灵活重构;在制度环境建设中,引导非政府主体稳定有序参与治理,以提升大湾区凝聚力;在保证中央和省政府的权威方针基础上,适时探索大湾区地方政府的放权自治。     

跨境经济合作区建设的“尺度困境”——以中老磨憨-磨丁经济合作区为例

20世纪70年代以来,随着经济全球化和区域经济一体化的快速发展,跨境经济合作区作为次区域经济合作的一种组织模式开始不断发展并得到学术界的重视。“一带一路”倡议提出后,边境地区越来越成为对外开放的前沿,而跨境经济合作区成为促进中国与沿线国家经贸合作的重要载体。由于涉及国家主权让渡及各种要素跨越国界流动,跨境经济合作区具有高度的复杂性和不确定性,其建设进展相对较慢。通过中老磨憨-磨丁经济合作区的案例分析,深入探讨跨境经济合作区的建设难题、形成机制及突破路径。研究认为,跨境经济合作区建设面临典型的“尺度困境”,其困境大小主要取决于区域经济一体化程度,国内多尺度治理协调程度及边境双边治理结构匹配程度等3个维度。跨境经济合作区作为多尺度汇聚的边境地区,区域经济一体化是降低跨境合作边界屏蔽效应的关键,而其治理需要从国家到地方多尺度的紧密合作以及边境双边的制度对接。打破跨境经济合作区的“尺度困境”需要边境双边协同治理,国家尺度较完善的制度安排,或给予地方较大的自主权限,同时要加强跨境基础设施建设。     

珠三角城市区域治理的尺度重构机制研究——基于产业合作项目与交通基础设施项目的比较

珠三角作为中国东南沿海的巨型城市区域,旨在构建跨越经济社会系统的多元协同的综合一体化地区。本文以深汕特别合作区与穗莞深城际铁路两个区域合作项目为例,借鉴“新国家空间”理论,基于区域治理所面临的经济发展困境与行政治理困境,分析区域治理过程中的权力上移和下移,即省市关系调整的弹性应对策略。研究发现：区域产业合作项目中,为克服城市间合作的制度化不足的行政治理困境,省政府进行了包括资源注入、事权下放、去管制和扩大地方自主权的区域治理权力的尺度下移;区域基础设施项目中,为了解决省政府财权不足的行政治理困境,省政府进行了水平权力重组以构建综合博弈体、强制性地方事权上收和以收权导向的行政奖励的区域治理权力的尺度上移。由此,本文认为珠三角区域治理并非单向、机械的尺度建构过程,而是区域项目建设导向下,以修复行政治理困境为目标,灵活多向的尺度重配过程。     

Two Sides of the Same Coin: Formal and Informal Institutional Synergy in a Case Study of Wildlife Governance in Ghana

Abstract

There has been the call to forge a synergistic relationship between local ecological knowledge and formal institutions in the governance of natural resources. How do informal institutions complement the efforts of formal state regulation of natural resources? How does this complementation foster a regularized human–wildlife interaction? Adopting an ethnographic design, this study assesses the role of institutional complementation in natural resource governance using the case of Boabeng–Fiema Monkey Sanctuary (BFMS) in Ghana, West Africa. We purposively selected 33 informants relevant to the BFMS governance process. The study observes that the synergy between formal and informal institutions strengthens wildlife protection in BFMS and the surrounding villages. The usefulness of informal rules is enhanced if appropriately complemented with a formal institutional arrangement. Over time, it becomes necessary for informal rules to grow in dynamism to depict the principles of collaboration, inclusivity, and benefit arrangements.     

Critiquing environmental management in indigenous Australia: two case studies

The notion of community participation in sustainable environmental management is well documented, but applications between environmental scientists and indigenous Australians are less known. Many indigenous Australians are socially and culturally marginalized, and agencies debate over appropriate designs for collaborative, cross-cultural environmental programmes that will alleviate marginalization. This paper presents two case studies from northern Australia, where indigenous people participated in an environmental project exploring the commercial potential of the local sea cucumber resource. A framework with principles of participation and knowledge exchange guided project implementation at both localities. Participant observation data that related to these principles suggests that abuse of power imbalances and exploitation (institutional racism) may be more easily disguised within formalized governance structures than in the informal networks and structures that can be supported through less formalized representation. Linking informal and formal governance structures and canvassing a range of governance modalities will ultimately connect the human behaviours and governance structures needed to progress indigenous environmental management in Australia.     

From Shiny Shoes to Muddy Reality: Understanding How Meso-State Actors Negotiate the Implementation Gap in Participatory Forest Management

Recent research on participatory forest management (PFM) in the global south has highlighted the existence of a widespread “implementation gap” between the ambitious intent enshrined in legislation and the often partial, disappointing rollout of devolved forest governance on the ground. Here, through an ethnographic case study of forest officers (FOs) in Kenya, we draw on a framework of critical institutionalism to examine how key meso-level actors, or “interface bureaucrats,” negotiate and challenge this implementation gap in everyday forest governance. We go beyond consideration of institutional bricolage in isolation or as an aggregate category, to analyze how bricolage as aggregation, alteration, and/or articulation is variously driven, shaped, and constrained by FOs’ multiple accountabilities and agency. Our analysis highlights the locally specific, contingent, and mutually reinforcing nature of accountability, agency and bricolage, and their explanatory power in relation to the performance and nature of “actually existing” PFM.     

Experts' Perspectives on the Integration of Indigenous Knowledge and Science in Wet Tropics Natural Resource Management

Aboriginal inhabitants of the Wet Tropics of Queensland advocate for greater inclusion of their Indigenous knowledge (IK) in natural resource management (NRM) to fulfil their customary obligations to country and to exert their Native Title rights. Despite a legal and institutional framework for inclusion of IK in NRM, IK has so far been applied only sporadically. We conducted an ethnographic case study to investigate perceptions on IK, science and how they affect integration of the two knowledge systems in the Wet Tropics. Our results show that IK and science are perceived as different concepts; that integration is limited by weak Indigenous internal and external governance; and that stronger Aboriginal governance and more focused engagement strategies are required to further the application of IK in local NRM. We conclude by arguing that NRM in the Wet Tropics needs to be reconceptualised to accommodate IK holistically, by considering its epistemology and the values and ethic that underpin it.     

Legitimacy of Different Knowledge Types in Natural Resource Governance and Their Functions in Inter-Institutional Gaps

Abstract

This study expands the Inter-Institutional Gaps (IIGs) framework to conceptualize the legitimacy associated with different types of ecological knowledge (e.g., scientific, traditional and local) used in natural resource governance. We draw on primary qualitative data, and document analysis to examine a case of inland fisheries management in the north-eastern floodplain of Bangladesh. We posit that the pragmatic, moral, cognitive, and regulative legitimacy for different types of ecological knowledge are repeatedly reevaluated by rule-makers and resource users in the process of rule-devising. Results show that inter-institutional gaps may be perpetuated when formal rules do not sufficiently consider traditional and local ecological knowledge. While it is widely proposed that systematically incorporating different knowledge types can better address local-national policy problems, this study underscores that the source of legitimacies for different knowledge types often differs across formal and informal institutional actors. Recognizing the differences is critical to fishers’ resource management.     

New Modes of Environmental Governance in Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation in Oregon

Abstract

Natural resource challenges often span administrative jurisdictions and include actors and processes operating at different spatial and political scales. We applied concepts of new environmental governance to analyze Oregon’s approach to greater sage-grouse conservation. Through one in-depth case study in Lake County, we traced features of new environmental governance (cross-scale interactions, decentralization, and capacities of actors) through different governance levels. Interviews and qualitative analysis revealed that decentralization of administrative functions facilitated cross-scale interactions and relied on intermediaries, gap-filling, and perceptions of legitimacy at lower levels. State and agency guidelines steered the effort and were accompanied by financial and technical resources from multiple arenas, which increased local capacity. This study adds to the understandings of environmental governance for implementing multi-actor, multi-level conservation arrangements in resource-dependent communities. Further exploration of connections between higher levels and local contexts will reveal important, new ways to link policies with on-the-ground outcomes.     

Accessing Flexibility: A Historical Institutional Analysis of Water Use for Oil and Gas Development in Colorado

US Mountain West Water access and allocation institutions have a history of adapting policy and practice to increase flexibility for diverse water uses. We examine how flexible access has developed over time and space by operationalizing the historical institutional (HI) theoretical and methodological framework. We trace historical water access for oil and gas (OG) development in Colorado, working from contemporary water right data to examine historical critical events, policies, and political contexts. OG water use has iteratively shaped water governance institutions in the top OG producing regions of Colorado, Weld, and Garfield Counties. The analysis suggests that to more accurately capture institutional change and continuity in resource allocation systems, an analysis of informal institutions is an essential theoretical contribution to the HI framework. While increased flexibility makes multiple uses easier, policies favor the most economically lucrative beneficial uses and generate issues of transparency, an important consideration for the public’s resource. Future practices of flexibility are contingent on market structures and institutional access mechanisms shaped during previous government policy processes, illuminating the value of the HI framework to inform future water policy.     

How Collaborative Governance Practitioners Can Assess the Effectiveness of Collaborative Environmental Governance,While Also Evaluating Their Own Services

Abstract

Collaborative governance applied to environmental issues is becoming more common, and evaluation of such efforts can provide useful information for multiple audiences. However, due to a variety of challenges, collaborative governance practitioners rarely evaluate the outcomes of collaboration and their contributions to these efforts. With these challenges in mind, the William D. Ruckelshaus Center designed an evaluation framework that can meet multiple parties’ objectives, be integrated into practitioners’ existing services, and balance flexibility and practicality with rigor and replicability. The Center conducted a pilot of this framework on a collaborative watershed management effort in southeastern Washington State, where the Center had previously assisted with organizational development. The resulting evaluation highlights a variety of social, knowledge-based, and economic outcomes for the collaborative, as well as lessons for practitioners and evaluators of collaborative governance. We suggest that this methodology can be useful for practitioners interested in evaluating similar collaborative efforts.     

Dilemmas of State-Led Environmental Conservation in China: Environmental Target Enforcement and Public Participation in Minqin County

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the acute socioecological crisis in the Minqin region of China’s Gansu province beginning in the 1980s and the multilevel, governmental response to that crisis in the first two decades of the 21st century. Drawing on extensive field research and interviews in the area, supplemented by analysis of available data, the paper presents a detailed case study of the development and implementation of the Shiyang River Watershed Restoration Plan in the period 2007–15. The case illustrates how conflicting policy objectives of the central state-led conservation project shaped patterns of interaction between local government officials, cadres, and farmers in Minqin County as well as ensuing outcomes and challenges in policy implementation. The study finds that top-level declaration of ecological and social issues in the watershed as a national security issue incentivized local government officials and cadres to overlook the Plan’s provision for local consultation, in favor of meeting binding ecological and economic targets. It contributes to scholarship on environmental authoritarianism, illuminating structural factors and institutional constraints that shape local government officials’ and cadres’ behavior in a centrally administered environmental policy context.     

地域重构视角下区域空间生产与治理——以深汕特别合作区为例

从资本、权力与社会的地域重构视角系统探索了中国区域空间生产与治理的相互关系及作用机制。分析珠三角典型的“飞地经济”深汕特别合作区的地域重构过程,研究发现,首先,区域空间生产一方面依赖于政府的政策动员,另一方面企业主体的空间偏好决定了区域空间生产的结果。其次,区域治理对区域空间生产的多尺度修复是动态调整的,以资本的空间需求为导向。最后,区域空间生产与区域治理协同演进并相互促进。结果表明,中国城市区域的形成是“规划中心,市场为器”的国家治理体制在区域尺度的具体表现。现代政府治理能力的建构与对地方本位主义的路径依赖需要更深层次的激励机制与制度设计。     

Reconciling Multiple Societal Objectives in Cross-Scale Marine Governance: Solomon Islands’ Engagement in the Coral Triangle Initiative

Environmental governance aims to reconcile an expanding set of societal objectives at ever-larger scales despite the challenges that remain in integrating conservation and development at smaller scales. We interrogate Solomon Islands’ engagement in the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security to contribute new insight on the scalar politics of multi-level marine governance. We show how regional objectives are re-interpreted and prioritized as they translate into national policy and practice. Our data suggest that enhanced coordination of finances and activities, integration of objectives in shared protocols and priority geographies, and a subtle shift in power relations between the state, donors, and implementation partners have resulted from processes of re-scaling. We discuss important procedural adjustments in cross-level and cross-scale governance across jurisdictional, institutional, and sectoral scales. We also reflect on the changing role of national governments in shifts toward large-scale, multi-national initiatives.     

Governance and territoriality in Norwegian fisheries

This paper focuses on the informal and institutional governance structures that are embedded within local production systems in Norwegian fisheries. Important issues concern the regional distribution of fish landings resulting from the tendency in some regional production systems to use large fishing vessels, and the negative consequences of this for peripheral regions and inshore fisheries. The influence of powerful central production systems is considered in terms of territorial dominance over fishing grounds.     

大理洱海旅游环境治理事件中的主体博弈与权益协商

以大理洱海环境治理事件为典型案例,基于半结构式访谈、观察法等质性方法,从环境正义视角切入分析洱海环境治理中的主体博弈与权益协商议题。研究发现,洱海的环境治理是一种以环境名义开展地社会治理与目的地管理过程,逐渐从治理水环境延伸至环境、民生、产业升级等多方面的综合治理;洱海治理隐含权力张力与利益冲突,本地村民、旅游经营者及地方基层政府三方基于合情、合理与合法性原则,围绕"情、理、法"逻辑进行利益博弈与协商;乡村旅游中的环境治理应置于乡村与社会治理框架体系下进行,关照民生与发展。环境正义理论可解释乡村旅游中的环境治理与冲突现象,为揭示环境治理背后的利益冲突与社会问题提供独特视角。     

Three Management Challenges for Protection of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage in a Tasmanian Multiple-use Conservation Area

Protected areas that are created to safeguard environmental values such as Indigenous culturescapes may in fact significantly fail in this task. This study concerns such an instance in far north-west Tasmania, where the government adopted a multiple-use resource conservation-development management model for the Arthur–Pieman Conservation Area (APCA). The model offers protection of cultural heritage values whilst permitting numerous community recreational and commercial uses. One particular objective is to protect ‘an extraordinary richness of Aboriginal cultural heritage’ in one of Earth's great archaeological regions (DPIWE, Arthur–Pieman Conservation Area Management Plan, 2002, p. iii). Yet under the auspices of multiple use, Aborigine and others report unremitting damage and loss of ancestral values. To examine how this is so in an actively managed protected area, perceptions of 16 environmental professionals and local residents engaged in APCA planning and management are used to identify three major challenges for appropriate custodianship of the Aboriginal cultural landscape: Aboriginal–Eurocentric conflicts; limited community governance capacities; and deficient regulatory provisions. It is concluded that APCA multiple-use management of heritage conservation is ineffectual and that an alternative governance model is required urgently. The management challenges examined here offer insights for problematic Indigenous cultural heritage conservation in other jurisdictions of Australia and elsewhere.