Spatially bounded regions for resource governance

Abstract

D espite a growing body of theory that emphasises the importance of socio-spatial aspects in the r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f c o m m u n i t y i n t e r e s t s

Watershed management in an urban setting: process, scale and administration

“…According to Rhodes (1996), these arrangements are based on trust and cooperation and "are an alternative to, not a hybrid of, markets [efficiency through price competition] and hierarchies [planning and regulation through administrative orders] and they span the boundaries of the public, private and voluntary sectors" (Rhodes, 1997:52). This phenomenon of 'network governance' contradicts traditional models that assume policy is contained within a spatial unit (such as a catchment) or a level of government (Reeve et al, 2007;Morrison, 2007) and also reflects that "ecological change occurs in a patchy, cross-scale manner.. [and that] there is no single right scale for management" (Pritchard and Sanderson, 2002, p. 150). Furthermore, while governments have sought to deconcentrate environmental responsibility to local and regional levels, through indirect policy mechanisms such as economic instruments promoting regional organisation and civic action, they have still retained ultimate control (Gunningham and Grabosky, 1998;Wallington et al, 2008).…”