Collaborative environmental governance: Achieving collective action in social-ecological systems

Abstract

Managing ecosystems is challenging because of the high number of stakeholders, the permeability of man-made political and jurisdictional demarcations in relation to the temporal and spatial extent of biophysical processes, and a limited understanding of complex ecosystem and societal dynamics. Given these conditions, collaborative governance is commonly put forward as the preferred means of addressing environmental problems. Under this paradigm, a deeper understanding of if, when, and how collaboration is effective, and when other means of addressing environmental problems are better suited, is needed. Interdisciplinary research on collaborative networks demonstrates that which actors get involved, with whom they collaborate, and in what ways they are tied to the structures of the ecosystems have profound implications on actors' abilities to address different types of environmental problems.

Effects of fisheries management on local ecological knowledge

“…Cognitive maps provide a framework for analyzing relationships between variables, while our use of social network analyses on those maps allowed us to systematically examine how human connections to marine resources shape ecological knowledge. This novel approach was informed by a recognition of the need to move beyond studies of complex systems that silo social and ecological components (Bodin 2017).…”

The social structural foundations of adaptation and transformation in social–ecological systems

“…These hypotheses were refined through an in-depth review of the social processes highlighted as important for adaptation and transformation in the resilience and sustainability science literature, coupled with multiple workshops held between 2015-2017 where these processes were deliberated and discussed in relation to network theory by an interdisciplinary team of scholars and practitioners. Our arguments draw on a multilevel "social-ecological network" approach (Bodin andTengö 2012, Wang et al 2016), contributing a novel theorization of how social structures relate to ecological structures and the specific environmental problem at hand. Rather than provide an exhaustive review of all processes that might be relevant for adaptation or transformation, we focused on a set of processes where the network perspective was particularly relevant.…”

Collaborative lessons towards marine sustainability: a long-term collective engagement

“…The capacity to reach an agreement on the modification of alienation rights within the MPA, demonstrates that collective action under collaborative governance may deliver important negotiated outcomes, well beyond the compilation of individual wish-lists or joint noncommittal declarations (Bodin, 2017). This agreement managed to address a legitimate concern of the local community (since the long-term application of this rule could lead to the elimination of fishing in the area) without ignoring the necessity to devise new mechanisms to control fishing effort and reduce effort creeping (through the purchase of additional gear licenses from external fleets).…”

“…Management of common-pool resources poses a challenge to both natural and social scientists, given high demand for consumption and complex institutional arrangements to organize extraction (Dietz et al, 2003;Bodin, 2017). This becomes even more challenging in highly humanized landscapes, due to a more intense pressure on resources and a greater diversity of stakeholders that feel the need to be given a voice.…”