Multi-level participation for building adaptive capacity: Formal agency-community interactions in northern Kenya

Multi-level, networked participation is a vital component in building social–ecological resilience and the capacity to adapt to environmental change. This paper outlines the ways in which multi-level participation contributes to adaptive capacity and, in so doing, takes a step toward articulating a theory of participation based on resilience thinking. We use a case study of Gabra pastoralist communities of northern Kenya to illustrate how multi-level participation may lead to increasing adaptive capacity, above and beyond existing pastoralist adaptations. The findings suggest that adaptive capacity is systemic—that is to say, it is a property of the social–ecological system, including especially the network of institutional linkages that characterizes that system, as much as it is a property of particular actors within the system. We argue that there are three key elements of meaningful multi-level participation: an institutional environment in which the various levels of institutions are linked, inclusivity in decision-making at these various levels, and deliberation. These three features can work together to create meaningful multi-level participation, to facilitate the co-production of knowledge and to build adaptive capacity.     

Linking reforestation policies with land use change in northern Vietnam: Why local factors matter

In many countries worldwide, similar state policies on land management have been implemented as a response to deforestation in mountainous areas. So far, few studies have examined to which extent these policies have actually contributed to reforestation. This is the focus of our analysis, based on a case study in Vietnam. Because land access and land use were traditionally governed by common rules, we examine land use changes from an institutional perspective. We use the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework, coupled with an historical perspective and the analysis of actors’ perception and dominant narratives on land management and forests. Results show that national policies significantly interfered with local factors, leading to a complex course of decision-making and action. Substantial reforestation in the area was not a response by farmers to policy incentives but rather the unexpected outcome of the disruption of local institutions by these policies. We argue that, because national interventions have relied on false or exaggerated narratives and beliefs, their implementation is in conflict with the local reality in upland areas, leading to unpredictable and locally dependent outcomes. We defend hence the need for local level studies and also recommend considering local institutions for land use change analysis in contexts where land use systems are characterised by a high degree of human interaction.     

Ideals and institutions: Systemic reasons for the failure of a social forestry program in south-west Bangladesh

We explore the contradictions between the ideals and principles of Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) and the local-level institutional processes encountered in their implementation. In particular, we examine the design, implementation, and outcomes of the Social Forestry Program (SFP) in the south-west coastal region of Bangladesh through case studies of two villages in Khulna District. The SFP was a component of the donor-funded Sundarban Biodiversity Conservation Project (SBCP), intended to improve the livelihoods of poor households and protect the landscape through strip plantations on both sides of the large embankments that surround the farming land in the coastal region. Our findings show the gap between the national and international context in which the SFP was formulated and the realities of the local context in which formal and informal institutions worked to frustrate the achievement of CBNRM ideals. Hence the SFP failed to significantly increase forest cover or improve the livelihoods of the target populations. We document the specific ways in which the SFP deviated from the assumptions of CBNRM. However, we conclude that the problem is systemic, related to the top-down imposition of a supposedly bottom-up process, and not simply a matter of improving project implementation. Thus improving rural livelihoods and natural resource management in complex marginal environments such as south-west coastal Bangladesh will require far more transformative institutional change than can be achieved by donor-initiated project interventions, no matter how worthy the ideals.     

Negotiating conflict resolution mechanisms for transboundary water treaties: A transaction cost approach

Conflict resolution mechanisms are recognised as indispensable constituting elements of transboundary water agreements. Earlier studies confirm, however, that such mechanisms are either incomplete, unsophisticated or absent from treaties. We argue that transaction costs, which occur during treaty negotiation, may constitute a barrier to the adoption of conflict resolution mechanisms in water treaties. Transaction costs are never equal and depend largely on the context in which negotiations take place. A content analysis of the treaties in the Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database demonstrates that the adoption of conflict resolution mechanisms to transboundary water treaties is not random, but may be affected by external factors that influence the transaction cost of negotiating such mechanisms. Water scarcity and a history of cooperative hydro-relations are factors that coincide with the presence of conflict resolution mechanisms in treaties and are therefore considered to lower transaction costs. External resource dependency is believed to stir transaction costs to such an extent that it prevents the adoption of mature mechanisms. The same goes for political freedom, political heterogeneity and the presence of colonial signatories as these factors correlate with mechanism absence and the adoption of a low number of conflict resolution mechanisms per treaty. The effect of hydrological variability resulted insignificant, indicating that variability remains largely ignored by negotiators of transboundary water treaties. Our research further shows that if a mechanism for conflict resolution contains one element of maturity (e.g. institutionalisation or an activation procedure based on a unilateral rule) other elements of maturity are also likely to be present, providing negotiators with an incentive to negotiate conflict resolution mechanisms with at least one mature characteristic. Finally, the adoption of a high number of mechanisms coincides with the presence of institutionalised forms for conflict resolution, supporting the incentive of negotiating more than two mechanisms per treaty.     

Institutional and ethical dimensions of resilience in fishing systems: Perspectives from co-managed fisheries in the Pacific Northwest

Resilience defines the ability of a system to retain control of function and structure despite changing conditions. In human-natural systems this is related to the capabilities of social institutions. This paper presents insights into institutional and ethical dimensions of resilience, focusing on case studies in the Pacific Northwest that involve cooperative management of Pacific salmon by tribal, state and federal governments. Several characteristics enhance resilience, including institutional nesting and linkages, responsiveness, flexibility, adaptive capacity, opportunities for cross-cutting cleavages, collaborative problem definition, routinization of conflict, knowledge generation, dissemination and feedback loops, and ethical underpinnings that enlarge the boundaries of community.     

Sociocultural institutions in Norwegian fisheries management

Many policymakers attribute the success of fisheries management regimes to the design and implementation of particular regulatory tools. While sound design and effective implementation are crucial elements of any successful regulatory action, fisheries policymakers and regulators should also account for the heterogeneous sociocultural institutions of partner communities. The success of fisheries policies relies on compliance and, ideally, cooperation (accepting policies, i.e. not protesting or otherwise strongly agitating against the system) from fisheries stakeholders. Even a policy that is sound in design and flawless in execution is at risk of failure if target stakeholders obstruct or otherwise undermine the system. This paper investigates how institutions, at various levels of scale and formality, play a role in determining the degree of compliance and/or cooperation that a fisheries management regime enjoys. In particular, it will examine the issue of Individual Vessel Quotas (IVQs) in Norway, and the response of fishing communities to the trade liberalization of IVQs.     

Governing jurisdictional fragmentation: Tracing patterns of water governance in Ontario,Canada

This article examines how jurisdictional fragmentation has been addressed in Ontario’s governance of the Great Lakes Basin from 1912 to 2012. The water resources literature has frequently lamented fragmentation in water governance and called for integration; however, it infrequently specifies how and what to integrate. By examining key moments in water quality and quantity governance, this study provides insight on how the presence or absence of particular institutional arrangements in the context of jurisdictional fragmentation produced different governance patterns and outcomes. Specifically, to determine governance patterns the study focused on four elements: an institution that facilitates coordination, agreement on roles and responsibilities, agreement on the issue management plan, and the scope of the issue. Combinations of these elements can produce governance patterns that are cooperative, conflictual or reactive and outcomes that are innovative, stagnant, or piecemeal. The study results suggest that when governing in the context of jurisdictional fragmentation efforts may best be directed at particular institutional arrangements. Further, it suggests that jurisdictional fragmentation be understood as a feature of the institutional complexity of water management that can be mobilized to develop unique solutions to multi-scalar water governance challenges.