Collaboration, Adaptation, and Scaling: Perspectives on Environmental Governance for Sustainability

Abstract

In preview of the special issue on “Environmental Governance for Sustainability”, this manuscript examines three key themes on governance and sustainability. Governance for sustainability, by its nature, requires long-enduring institutional arrangements. Given the complex adaptive systems in which governance decision-making takes place, we explore three key characteristics of successful, long-term governance. The first of these is working across scale. This includes nested institutions as well as communication and coordination both horizontally and vertically between diverse governance groups. Second, we highlight the importance of collaboration. Building on the previous point, we draw on literature from collaborative governance and co-management to emphasize how collaboration can help to build more enduring governance structures. Third, we examine the importance of adaptation and evolution in the resolution of collective action dilemmas in complex systems filled with nonlinearities, unclear causal chains, and environments in which we have less than a full understanding of the ramifications of governance actions.

Environmental governance in an increasingly complex world: Reflections on transdisciplinary collaborations for knowledge coproduction and learning

“…It is a highly interdisciplinary area of work, where scholars investigate behavioral, social, and political factors believed to shape governance models and regimes. As part of this, there is now an increasing recognition that successful governance must take into account the perspectives and interests of multiple stakeholders and involve them in decision making and implementation (Schoon & Cox, ).…”

Governing for sustainability: How research on large and complex systems can inform governance and institutional theory

“…Similarly, recent findings point to the importance of collaborative governance and the ways in that such systems can foster self-organization and flexibility (Berkes, 2017;Guerrero, Bodin, McAllister, & Wilson, 2015;Schoon & Cox, 2018). Similarly, recent findings point to the importance of collaborative governance and the ways in that such systems can foster self-organization and flexibility (Berkes, 2017;Guerrero, Bodin, McAllister, & Wilson, 2015;Schoon & Cox, 2018).…”

“…Adaptive governance is hence conceptualized as a response to the need for developing flexible, dynamic, and responsive governance system that can address complex and unpredictable feedbacks between social and ecological systems. Similarly, recent findings point to the importance of collaborative governance and the ways in that such systems can foster self-organization and flexibility (Berkes, 2017;Guerrero, Bodin, McAllister, & Wilson, 2015;Schoon & Cox, 2018).…”

Transformational Collaboration for the SDGs: The Alianza Shire’s Work to Provide Energy Access in Refugee Camps and Host Communities

“…Collaborative arrangements that combine the resources, skills and competencies of different actors in society in new and innovative ways are increasingly being proposed as vehicles for achieving transformation through partnership for the SDG agenda [2,3]. However, information on the processes that might foster the full and meaningful participation of different stakeholders in these initiatives in order to generate systemic change is noticeably lacking [4][5][6]39].…”

“…Proposed orchestrators include international institutions, government departments [43][44][45], or professional orchestrators [46]". As multi-actor partnerships are now widely promoted as vehicles for achieving the transformational agenda of the SDGs [1,2], understanding how partnership intermediaries support approaches that contribute to systemic change and the achievement of 'significant economic, social, and environmental value for society, organizations, and individuals' [27] is of growing interest [5,6,28].…”