Management of transboundary water resources: lessons from international cooperation for conflict prevention

Tensions over freshwater resources may become more frequent as pressures on water resources grow due to increased demand and variability of rainfall. Conflicts may take place between or within countries or between competing sectoral users. This paper focuses on institutional approaches for enhancing cooperation between countries for sustainable development of transboundary freshwater bodies and contributing basins. It is assumed that instead of being zones of conflict, shared water resources can provide a basis for cooperation and benefit–sharing provided that threats to the international waters are recognized and collaborative structures are created. The paper draws upon experiences gained within the international waters focal area of the Global Environment Facility, the main funding mechanism for countries to support the environmental management of transboundary water resources. Lessons for promoting peaceful cooperation for environmental management, benefit–sharing and sustainable use of transboundary freshwater resources are highlighted through examples from Africa, Central Asia and Latin America. Experience shows the importance of processes that bring together all sectors and actors whose actions affect the transboundary waterbody at regional, national and local levels. The development of a science–based diagnostic analysis is essential to identify the threats to the transboundary ecosystem and to break down the issues into manageable parts with the aim of developing a strategic action programme. Ensuring political commitment that can result in institutional, policy and legal reforms in the countries concerned is the key to sustainable development of the transboundary resource.     

Robustness and the Paradox of Bridging Organizations: The Exit Problem in Regional Water Governance Networks in Central America

Bridging organizations facilitate a range of governance processes, including cooperation and social learning, and are theorized to be a key component of robust governance systems. In this article, we use node removal simulations to test structural hypotheses of robustness in a regional water governance network in Central America. We investigate the response of network measures supporting core governance processes to the targeted removal of bridging organizations and other actors, which we compare to random and centrality-based simulations. The results indicate removing bridging organizations has a greater impact on the network than any other type of actor, suggesting bridging organizations are critical to the robustness of the governance system. Furthermore, network structures supporting cooperation may be less robust than structures facilitating social learning. We conclude with policy implications of the research findings as they relate to the exit problem in governance systems with a large presence of international development actors.     

跨域水治理中的尺度重构：以东江为例

水治理往往呈现地理空间上的跨区域性、组织制度上的多层级性以及管理单位上的跨部门性等多尺度特征。本文以珠江水系干流之一——东江的水资源跨域分配、开发与保护等治理过程为例,采用“物质-组织-表达”的尺度框架,分析了在不同的历史时期,东江水资源相关政策从出台到执行过程中所经历的多次尺度重构。主要结论如下：（1）总体上,国家在东江水供港和流域生态补偿政策等跨域水治理政策出台和执行过程的各个阶段都掌握着主导权,同时各级政府、民众和相关团体组织等也开展针对东江用水的尺度争夺。（2）物质空间上,随着时间的推移和社会政治背景的变迁,东江水治理在政治尺度和生态尺度之间切换并存。（3）组织空间上,横向和纵向的尺度重构在东江水跨域开发和治理的过程中同时发生。（4）话语表达空间上,国家和地方的众多行为体都在尝试塑造针对东江水治理的话语,这些话语将不同的主体纳入到东江水开发与治理的框架之内或将其排除在外,实现尺度的重组。     

国际水政治研究进展与政治地理学展望

国际河流因涉及国家间的资源归属和主权事务而具有强烈的政治属性。尽管国际水政治相关的权力和空间议题已成为国际学界的热点之一,但尚未在国内政治地理学者中得到充分关注。结合质性系统性综述与文献计量学方法,对1990—2020年Web of Science核心合集中235篇与CNKI数据库中158篇国际水政治文章进行回顾。结果表明,国际水政治研究呈现多学科介入的特点,中文研究侧重国际关系和国际法议题,英文研究则以政治地理学和政治生态学为主要理论基础。总体而言,在水冲突与合作、话语批判、水-社会关系三大研究主题下,既有研究不仅通过多元主体和话语建构回应“领域陷阱”的局限性,还从辩证和关系视角丰富水的本体论和认识论,从而推进了国际水政治的研究议程。本文认为,政治地理学者可从空间、领域、尺度等角度进一步深化国际水政治研究,为全球治理和可持续发展贡献地理学的理论和思考。     

全球重构中尺度重组及其地域性管制实践研究

为解释20世纪70年代以来的全球重构现象,西方人文地理学经历了尺度转向并开展了尺度重组的理论和实证研究。“尺度重组”的常见含义有三类:抽象层面的社会建构基础上尺度的历史演变、具体层面的国家或城市尺度重组以及政治斗争视角的行动者对尺度的运用。这一概念具备4个基本要素或特征,即尺度的社会建构和动态演进、尺度重组同政治斗争的关联性、尺度重组的路径依赖性以及尺度重组同其他空间维度的关联性。基于当前理论和实证研究,尺度重组的典型地域性管制实践可归纳为行政权限调整、行政区划调整、地方增长极的培育和跨边界区域合作。     

Tracking a Governance Transition: Identifying and Measuring Indicators of Social Forestry on the Willamette National Forest

Abstract

National Forests in the United States have undergone a spatially and temporally uneven governance transition in response to social and economic pressures and contemporary policy changes, with many national forest units moving from a wholly government-led “dominant federal” model to a more collaborative “social forestry” model in which nonfederal actors have greater influence and authority. Here we report on an effort to develop a suite of indicators designed to capture some of the most tangible elements of a transition from dominant federal to social forestry modes of governance. We pilot test these data on the Willamette National Forest using data from a variety of sources internal and external to the USDA Forest Service. We assess the suitability of these indicators for tracking governance transitions and discuss their applicability to other national forest units nationwide.     

Neoliberalism, climate governance and the scalar politics of EU emissions trading

The neoliberalisation of international climate policy through devices such as emissions trading has led to a significant restructuring of governance competencies between supranational, national and non-state actors. This article explores the implications of this restructuring for the scalar politics of climate governance by examining the European Union emissions trading scheme, the world's largest multi-state carbon-trading scheme. Analysis shows that although the member states were prepared to accede to a common legal framework for emissions trading, its implementation has been characterised by intense sovereignty disputes over emissions allowances. The article concludes by reflecting on the scalar politics of international climate governance in an unevenly regulated and competitive world.     

A Q-Method Analysis of Environmental Governance Discourses in Brazil's Northeastern Soy Frontier

This article describes and analyzes discourses regarding environmental governance held among key actors in a region of expanding high-input, high-output agriculture. Q-method, an intensive (small n) and quantitative technique in which n tests are measured by m individuals, was used to determine four empirically significant social perspectives: critical environmentalism, agri-environmentalism, private environmentalism, and statist environmentalism. The article highlights major differences and agreements among social perspectives, in addition to the arguments used to justify claims. These findings help fill a knowledge gap in the literature on governance debates between farmers and environmentalists; moreover, the findings contribute to a concern in the literature regarding the role of discourses in producing policy solutions to environmental governance problems. The article also supports continued use of Q-method in human geography, suggesting the value of Q as a research ends and means, particularly when research subjects include landed elites.     

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.     

西方政治生态学的地理学研究进展与启示

随着全球生态环境问题的日益凸显,政治生态学以关注造成环境问题的政治因素为研究内核,成为不同学科共同探索的研究领域。地理学以人地关系为立足点,深化政治生态学研究的空间性和政治性。论文首先通过对西方政治生态学理论脉络进行梳理,发现政治生态学根源于早期环境批判思想、西方马克思主义、后结构主义以及后人类主义理论,并与地理学的发展相辅相成。其次,对近30年西方地理学与政治生态学的相关研究成果进行分析发现,现有的研究议题主要聚焦于生态经济与绿色发展、生态治理与环境保育、生态身份与微观政治及生态客体与能动性4个方面。在此基础上,论文总结了相关研究对中国地理学进行政治生态学研究的借鉴意义,并进一步提出立足中国本土进行政治生态学研究未来需要关注的方向。     

哈萨克斯坦跨界河流国际合作问题

哈萨克斯坦是中亚地区的“大国”,与四周比邻的国家均存在跨界水体联系,有44%的地表水来自邻国。跨界河流水资源开发利用与生态环境保护问题,是涉及国家政治、经济、安全、外交大局的重大战略问题。通过分析哈国地表水分布特点,简要回顾总结了与其邻国在跨界河流方面的合作情况;对哈国所担忧的水安全问题及采取的主要对策,进行了深入剖析,并就跨界河流管理未来的合作路径、跨界河流利用未来的分水原则、哈俄跨界河流水污染未来的解决途径、中亚国家间解决咸海危机的前提条件等问题,进行了分析讨论;指出对共享水资源的管理既可以成为中亚地区和平的力量,也可能成为冲突的因素,管理这种相互依存的资源是当今国际社会面临的一项关系人类发展的重大挑战。研究哈萨克斯坦跨界河流国际合作及其对核心利益问题的观点、认识、所采取的不同策略,对于处理好中哈跨界河流问题具有积极现实意义。     

Mineral waters of the projected specially protected natural territory “Istoki Amura”

We examine the various types of mineral waters occurring on the projected specially protected transboundary natural territory “Istoki Amura”, on the Hentei-Dauria neotectonic high. We suggest the pattern of rational utilization of the mineral springs according to the nature conservation status of the terrain (nature reserves, national parks, and public access areas).     

The 2012 Olympic Learning Legacy Agenda – the intentionalities of mobility for a new London model

This paper investigates the emergence of a Learning Legacy Agenda (LLA) in the wake of the London 2012 Olympic Games as a governmental tool for the dissemination of urban development and infrastructure project delivery best practice. Focusing on the inception, coordination and implementation of the LLA we outline the intentionalities of mobility that underpin its formation and appropriation and suggest how this points to the emergence of a new “London model” of development and governance. Three intentionalities of knowledge capture, public duty and extra-local salience are unpacked to demonstrate the range of ways in which the bureaucratically initiated LLA banner has been used by various development actors and organisations to validate their existing practices. The case study of the LLA as an institutionalised governance apparatus is used to analyse the impact of specific forms of social relations on the ways in which “models” are produced, what their content consists of, how dominant agendas and narratives co-evolve with the priorities of an assemblage of actors and the processes of selective abstraction used to curate particular messages and forms of fixed and potentially mobile knowledge, yet dubious claims of “learning”.     

中国城市区域治理的尺度重构与尺度政治

系统回顾西方尺度理论,尤其是尺度生产(尺度重构与尺度政治)理论,借此阐释中国城市区域治理形成的尺度逻辑.研究发现,中国城市区域包括城市群与都市区2个地理尺度;治理尺度是以行政权力为核心,形成自上而下的行政权力金字塔;治理尺度的动态重配并与地理尺度相耦合的过程是中国城市区域治理的尺度建构的本质;改革开放后,中国宏观政治经...     

Unpacking ‘Success’: Applying Local Perceptions to Interpret Influences of Water Fund Payments for Ecosystem Services in the Ecuadorian Andes

NGOs, government agencies, and green businesses proclaim water fund arrangements in Latin America as successful payments for ecosystem services (PES) systems. Associated success narratives emphasize that PES allows downstream ecosystem service beneficiaries to incentivize upstream land managers to pursue conservation activities. However, recent scholarship questions their on-the-ground influence. This article assesses the success narrative of Quito, Ecuador’s Fondo para la protección del Agua’s (FONAG) as a model water fund PES arrangement. Using a novel perceived directionality framework, the author compares the FONAG claims about its influence to ethnographic evidence from three participating rural communities. The findings suggest that statements of direct, causal influence on local conservation activities overlook local context and ignores nuance within the interactions between program incentives and in community activity. This study urges future assessments of PES arrangements to recognize complexities in political, economic, and social context.     

An island in transition: governing conservation and development in Seram,Indonesia

Seram is Indonesia's 8th largest island. It is central to the historic spice islands, once a hotbed for international trade of profitable tree-products, primarily clove and nutmeg. Recent increased rates of social and ecological change, including costly conflicts, present Seram with new challenges and opportunities for conservation and development. Using place-based transdisciplinary research methods, we diagnose the problems emerging in Seram. Engaging with actors across multiple scales and sectors, we explore drivers of change, social-ecological impacts, and institutional arrangements that might achieve improved inclusive and sustainable development outcomes. Traditional and formal governance arrangements require harmonizing to optimize the benefits and costs from large-scale investments arriving in Seram. Organizations wishing to achieve positive impact can more strategically engage with the broad range of actors to harmonize divergent visions for the future and confront the reality of incoming investments and infrastructure.     

粤港澳大湾区协同发展中的尺度陷阱

区域协同发展是区域发展战略的重要目标之一,也是人文地理学研究的核心议题之一。论文基于区域协同发展和尺度理论的新进展,探讨了粤港澳大湾区区域协同发展中的尺度陷阱,包括功能定位的尺度范围、自身尺度形式选择和多尺度主体的尺度政治。论文认为,粤港澳大湾区区域协同发展涉及不同尺度的功能定位、复杂的尺度形态和多尺度的利益博弈关系,在实证分析和政策设计中,必须尊重区域协同发展的过程性和诸多矛盾的普遍性,通过对比多尺度实证分析和方案设计的结果,推动积极有效的制度和模式创新,避免落入尺度错位和尺度政治的陷阱。文章在深化区域协同发展的理论和拓展尺度陷阱的应用两方面做出了贡献。     

Paving the Way for Social Learning When Governance Is Weak: Supporting Dialogue Between Stakeholders to Face a Groundwater Crisis in Morocco

Approaches to improve the governance of social–ecological systems are difficult to define in situations where governance is weak, that is, involving limited interactions between the actors and weak management of natural resources. This article analyzes an action research process implemented in the Chaouia coastal region of Morocco, where weak governance of the social–ecological system led to a groundwater and agricultural crisis. A dialogue between local actors was set up with the aim of identifying strategies to address the crisis. First separately and then together, farmers’ groups and staff members of public organizations analyzed the existing situation, scenarios for the future of the area, and strategies to cope with the crisis. Contrary to the expectations of the participants, farmers and staff members of public organizations had productive discussions. This approach clarified how social learning can be achieved and governance improved in this situation of weak governance.     

The Sun City Wars: Chapter 3

A revealing indicator of social fragmentation in metropolitan America is the proliferation of common interest developments (CIDs), communities defined by restrictive covenants, deed restrictions, community associations, and citizens groups that wield substantial political influence and power. In Phoenix, large-scale retirement communities represent a conspicuous form of CID, populated by Anglo, middle, and upper-middle class elderly migrants who display high levels of political organization and participation. We present a case study of heated conflict between retirees in Sun City West—who see themselves as separate from the larger metropolitan region—and surrounding communities in the Dysart School District. The conflict is fraught with age, social class, and cultural tensions and evolves around seniors wielding political muscle in defeating school funding measures, controlling the Dysart governing board, and seeking to de-annex themselves out of the district to avoid paying school taxes. We argue that political conflict between advantaged seniors and neighboring working class Latino communities is symptomatic of troubling divisions across urban social space in America, raising thorny questions about the nature and scale of community, political representation and power, and fostering the public good in the face of "secession of the successful" from the larger polity.     

城市新陈代谢视角下的城市公共健康风险

城市公共健康风险是当代城市研究的一个重要主题,在中国人文地理学界尚未得到充分关注。国内既有研究主要集中在两个维度——健康城市建设和城市风险治理,然而这些研究受到城市/自然二元论的影响。自20世纪90年代以来,城市政治生态学在西方人文地理学界迅速崛起,提出了以社会关系为核心的城市新陈代谢理论,在空间和联系两个层面将社会与自然,人类行为体与非人类行为体联系起来,实现了对二元论的超越。基于这一理论,本文从空间和联系层面对城市公共健康风险的具体形式进行分析,指出在空间层面上,存在空间流转和重叠的公共健康风险和空间生产和再生产活动的公共健康风险;就联系层面而言,存在“新陈代谢断裂”的公共健康风险和公众认知的公共健康风险。