Mandates to Coordinate: The Case of the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act

Abstract

Policymakers are increasingly mandating intergovernmental coordination. As a result, new questions have arisen about how bureaucrats interpret and respond to these directives. Drawing on the perspectives of top-down implementation and institutional theory, this article suggests that mandates to coordinate will result in structural efforts such as hierarchy, centralization, and formalization to signal coordination and demonstrate compliance with the mandate. However, such efforts can be ineffective for achieving coordination. These claims are explored through a case study of the implementation of the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act of 1998, which called on federal land management agencies to coordinate with units of local government in southern Nevada to develop a regional system of parks, trails, and natural areas. The discussion draws on interviews with 14 participants to provide context and explanation for the actions of the implementing agents, including how the mandate affected the structures, processes, and procedures that were put in place to realize the goal of coordination.

Disconnected dots?: A systematic review of governance challenges for natural resource management

“…In some cases, there may only be a limited number of challenges limiting the capacity of governance systems, more frequently, however, there are numerous interconnected governance challenges preventing the governance system from succeeding in delivering its desired outcomes. Governance challenges may include conflict between stakeholders (Schafer, 2016), lack of resources to undertake certain strategies (Scheba, 2017), absence of political support for specific environmental strategies (Hill, 2013), or a lack of inclusion or availability of indigenous knowledge for understanding natural systems (Chief et al, 2016). While there has been a substantial focus on identifying and addressing these governance challenges in recent decades, worldwide environmental degradation has continued worldwide (O'Neill, 2017).…”

Sustainable Groundwater Management in California: A Grand Experiment in Environmental Governance

“…An intriguing question that is being researched in connection with SGMA implementation is how interagency collaboration functions when it is mandated rather than being a voluntary arrangement between agencies. This has been a topic of inquiry in studies of other settings besides water management (e.g., Brummel, Nelson, and Jakes 2012;Caruson and MacManus 2006;Cheng 2006;Lance, Georgiadou, and Bregt 2009;Schafer 2016). The article by Milman and Kiparsky examines what "horizontal governance" means in this context.…”

Seeing Polycentrically

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