Cultural Factors as Co-Determinants of Participation in River Basin Management

Enserink, Bert; Patel, Mita; Kranz, Nicole; Maestu, Josefina

doi:10.5751/es-02096-120224

Cited by 52 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Ecology and Society 17(1): 30 http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol17/iss1/art30/ Question 3: participation as an instrument for institutional, social, and ecological change Overview With regard to the third question of this feature, a recent article in this journal suggested that one means of developing and sustaining desired ecological, social, and political states is through the practice of stakeholder involvement and public participation (Enserink et al 2007). These authors state specifically that "[p]ublic participation is both a prerequisite and an element of good governance and the sustainable management of natural resources."…”

Section: Discussion In This Featurementioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing Participatory Water Management: Recent Advances in Theory, Practice, and Evaluation

Korff¹,

Daniell²,

Moellenkamp³

et al. 2012

E&S

129

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ABSTRACT. Many current water planning and management problems are riddled with high levels of complexity, uncertainty, and conflict, so-called "messes" or "wicked problems." The realization that there is a need to consider a wide variety of values, knowledge, and perspectives in a collaborative decision making process has led to a multitude of new methods and processes being proposed to aid water planning and management, which include participatory forms of modeling, planning, and decision aiding processes. However, despite extensive scientific discussions, scholars have largely been unable to provide satisfactory responses to two pivotal questions: (1) What are the benefits of using participatory approaches?; (2) How exactly should these approaches be implemented in complex social-ecological settings to realize these potential benefits? In the study of developing social-ecological system sustainability, the first two questions lead to a third one that extends beyond the one-time application of participatory approaches for water management: (3) How can participatory approaches be most appropriately used to encourage transition to more sustainable ecological, social, and political regimes in different cultural and spatial contexts? The answer to this question is equally open. This special feature on participatory water management attempts to propose responses to these three questions by outlining recent advances in theory, practice, and evaluation related to the implementation of participatory water management. The feature is largely based on an extensive range of case studies that have been implemented and analyzed by cross-disciplinary research teams in collaboration with practitioners, and in a number of cases in close cooperation with policy makers and other interested parties such as farmers, fishermen, environmentalists, and the wider public. Key Words: adaptive management, collaborative decision making, evaluation, interactive planning, participatory modeling, participatory research, process design, public participation, social learning, stakeholder participation, water resources management FOCUS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE SPECIAL FEATUREMany current water planning and management problems are riddled with high levels of complexity, uncertainty, and conflict, so-called "messes" (Ackoff 1979) or "wicked problems" (Rittel and Webber 1973). These problems are increasingly encountered in the public policy sphere as resources become scarce, conflicts between water users and interest groups proliferate, and the ecological and social aspects of water planning become more prominent. As a result, it is increasingly rare that technical water managers have sufficient decision making authority and capacity to implement plans and water management actions by themselves. Furthermore, the realization that there is a need to consider a wide variety of values, knowledge, and perspectives in a collaborative decision making process has led to a multitude of new methods and processes being proposed to aid water planning and managem...

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Section: Discussion In This Featurementioning

confidence: 99%

Implementing Participatory Water Management: Recent Advances in Theory, Practice, and Evaluation

Korff¹,

Daniell²,

Moellenkamp³

et al. 2012

E&S

129

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…For example, Enserink et al (2007) examined the institutional arrangements that four societies used to implement the European Union's Water Framework Directive. They found that societies that more rigidly adhered to the "traditional masculine work role model of male achievement, control, and power" (e.g., United Kingdom) tended to used centralized forms of environmental decision making to the exclusion of community-based approaches.…”

Section: Class and Gender (U2 U6)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Participation and Institutional Fit: A Social–Psychological Perspective

DeCaro¹,

Stokes²

2013

E&S

111

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ABSTRACT. Public participation plays a role in the development and long-term maintenance of environmental institutions that are well-matched to local social-ecological conditions. However, the means by which public participation impacts such institutional fit remains unclear. We argue that one major reason for this lack of clarity is that analysts have not clearly outlined how humankind's sense of agency, or self-determination, influences institutional outcomes. Moreover, the concept of institutional fit is ambiguous as to what constitutes a good fit and how such fit could be diagnosed or improved. This is especially true for "social fit," or how well institutions match human expectations and local behavioral patterns. We develop an interdisciplinary framework based on principles of human agency and institutional analysis from social psychology to address these problems. Using the concept of "institutional acceptance" as an indicator of social fit, we show how analysts can define, diagnose, and improve social fit of participatory programs. We also show how such fit emerges and is sustained over time. This interdisciplinary perspective on fit and participation has important implications for participatory approaches to environmental management and the scientific study of institutional evolution.

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“…In the Como case, there was little communication by decision makers about the project, even during the implementation phase when some modifications were made. There was also a relatively low proactive interest among the public with regard to the project, which to some extent reflects a cultural attitude (Massarutto et al 2003, Enserink et al 2007), but was also due to the technical nature of the available information and thus the lack of opportunity to develop and express informed opinions about it (see Fischer 2000, Barbier 2005). …”

Section: A Case For Integrated and Adaptive Catchment Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Wall out of Place: a Hydrological and Sociocultural Analysis of Physical Changes to the Lakeshore of Como, Italy

Laborde¹,

Imberger²,

Toussaint³

2012

E&S

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A wall out of place: a hydrological and sociocultural analysis of physical changes to the lakeshore of Como, Italy. ABSTRACT. The construction of a flood protection structure that obscured views of the lake in Como, northern Italy, led to unprecedented public protest in 2009-2010 and to the eventual dismantlement of the structure. This provided a focus to investigate the delicate interplay of technical and cultural matters in environmental policy-in this case, catchment management and flood prevention. This article shows how a focus on hydrological control in isolation from the rest of the catchment and from the sociocultural context contributed to the project's failure. A key message of the article is that data and analyses from the environmental and social sciences are both pivotal to environmental planning, as they inform different yet interdependent components of a single project. There is value in integrating technical and sociocultural knowledge, both at the academic level, as illustrated by the mixed methods used in this article, and at the policy level, through management frameworks that emphasize cross-sectoral learning and public participation. The analysis also reveals that the notion of "place" has a central role to play in this process of integration, both as a conceptual bridge between technical and sociocultural components of environmental studies and as an emphasis in environmental planning activities to foster the interest and engagement of communities.

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Cultural Factors as Co-Determinants of Participation in River Basin Management

Cited by 52 publications

References 10 publications

Implementing Participatory Water Management: Recent Advances in Theory, Practice, and Evaluation

Implementing Participatory Water Management: Recent Advances in Theory, Practice, and Evaluation

Public Participation and Institutional Fit: A Social–Psychological Perspective

A Wall out of Place: a Hydrological and Sociocultural Analysis of Physical Changes to the Lakeshore of Como, Italy

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Cultural Factors as Co-Determinants of Participation in River Basin Management

Cited by 52 publications

References 10 publications

Implementing Participatory Water Management: Recent Advances in Theory, Practice, and Evaluation

Implementing Participatory Water Management: Recent Advances in Theory, Practice, and Evaluation

Public Participation and Institutional Fit: A Social&#8211;Psychological Perspective

A Wall out of Place: a Hydrological and Sociocultural Analysis of Physical Changes to the Lakeshore of Como, Italy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Public Participation and Institutional Fit: A Social–Psychological Perspective