The development and intersection of highland-coastal scale frames: a case study of water governance in central Peru

Abstract

Scale framing makes an important difference to how complex environmental policy issues are defined and understood by different groups of actors. Increasing urban water demand and uncertain future climatic conditions in the Andes present major water governance challenges for the coastal regions of Peru. An understudied dimension of Peruvian water governance is how scale framing shapes the way problems are defined, and solutions are pursued. Here, we aim to strengthen the understanding of scale framing as it relates to highland-coastal interactions in central Peru between 2004 and 2015. By analysing this period of significant water governance reforms, we identify five prominent water-related frame dimensions and three differently scaled policy storylines and reveal how they developed and intersected over time. The storylines, supported by particular visualisations, either foreground 'urbanshed'-level investment in water supply infrastructure, community-level cultural restoration for improved local agricultural production, or nationwide watershed-level financial mechanisms for highland ecosystem conservation. Our study shows how the intersection of these storylines at different moments during the policy process often had a strengthening effect, creating a coalition of actors who were then able to generate sufficient momentum and support within the Peruvian government for the implementation of conservation-based watershed investments.

Tailoring Infographics on Water Resources Through Iterative, User‐Centered Design: A Case Study in the Peruvian Andes

“…Based on previous studies from the Mountain‐EVO project (see Grainger et al, ; Zulkafli et al, ), we selected a pre‐Inca practice of artificial infiltration (locally known as “amunas” or “mamanteo”; Ochoa‐Tocachi et al, ) as a water resource‐related topic of confirmed interest to a wide range of actors. The practice had recently been promoted in the Lima region as a “greener” and more cost‐effective alternative to “gray” water supply infrastructure, at both local and regional water governance scales (Grainger et al, ). This practice uses a community‐scale network of stone canals that divert water from small streams to hand dug ditches and permeable slopes.…”

“…Climate change, urbanization, and highland degradation in these watersheds highlight the need for more sustainable water management approaches to avoid future shortages in Lima. The use of new approaches, such as nature-based solutions, has triggered activities to generate relevant hydrological evidence, which needs to be communicated to decision makers and other stakeholders (Grainger et al, 2019;Veiga et al, 2015).…”

“…As explained in section 2.4.4, a draft product was not shared with farmers in Huamantanga. Consequently, the user-centered rationale stemmed entirely from our preparatory governance analysis (see Grainger et al, 2019) and feedback on initial visual ideas (see section 3.1.1). Interview findings indicated that farmers would not necessarily spend time reading a lot of text and quantitative information without any immediate reward for that investment.…”

“…The Mountain-EVO project had conducted multiple field studies of the community and its relationship with governmental and international actors in Lima (Grainger et al, 2019;Zulkafli et al, 2017). Prolonged engagement with farmers in Huamantanga and a range of water-related actors in Lima helped us establish a certain amount of credibility and legitimacy during the subsequent consultations.…”

The power to define resilience in social–hydrological systems: Toward a power‐sensitive resilience framework

“…Scale choices automatically include or exclude spatial entities whose resilience is to be considered or ignored (Ingalls & Stedman, 2016). Since there is no objective way to determine the appropriate scale level for resilience, defining spatial scales involves scale framing (Grainger et al, 2019;Van Lieshout, Dewulf, Aarts, & Termeer, 2017) and politics of scale (Lebel, Garden, & Imamura, 2005). When a national authority frames a problem as local, for example, this can be a way to avoid responsibility or to withhold funding.…”