Mechanisms for Inclusive Governance

Abstract

How mechanisms for inclusive governance are understood is built on the framing choices that are made about governance and that which is being governed. This chapter unpacks how governance can be understood and considers different historical and contemporary framings of water governance. A framing of "governance as praxis" is developed as a central element in the chapter. What makes governance inclusive is explored, drawing on theoretical, practical and institutional aspects before elucidating some of the different mechanisms currently used or proposed for creating inclusive water governance (though we argue against praxis based on simple mechanism). Finally, the factors that either constrain or enable inclusive water governance are explored with a focus on systemic concepts of learning and feedback. Keywords Water governance • Participation • Institutional arrangements • Social learning • Adaptive management • Framing Scene SettingWe were invited to address the topic of "mechanisms for inclusive governance". In many ways this is a loaded title as it comprises three terms that cannot be taken for granted: "governance", "inclusive" and "mechanism". For us the pivotal term is governance which, as a contested concept, requires an appreciation of how it might be framed and the possible implications of a given framing choice. Expressed in this way, it is also necessary that we say what we mean by "framing" and "framing choice". In turn, our title leaves open, and thus potentially ambiguous, the question of what is being governed -a river, a catchment, a complex adaptive system, etc.

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