Using systems thinking to improve natural resource governance and strengthen weak networks

Abstract

This paper reports on the decision‐making processes in international conservation as found in two southern African case studies, the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, and the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area. Using systems thinking to approach the model of cross‐border natural resource governance and management provided insights at the landscape scale, particularly regarding the absence of a physical institution that can be evaluated and consequently improved. The overall objective of the research project was to consult with all layers of decision and policy makers involved in order to synthesize the current state of knowledge, identify the range of potential incremental effects of management responses on natural and human systems, and determine the range of values that drive decision‐making processes. The methodology involved analyses of semi‐structured interviews with stakeholders involved in the TFCAs, as well as relevant policies and treaty documents. The findings in the governance and decision making sphere were analysed using Capability Maturity Model theory and the NATO Network Enabling Capability Model theory. The main recommendations suggest improving involvement in decision‐making processes from the grass‐roots or community level, developing communities of practice between the different countries and core protected areas, prioritizing policy harmonization, and establishing a physical TFCA unit with dedicated, longer term staff instead of the current brief rotational cycle. The same Capability Maturity Model theory was then applied to a different type of network; the Regional Inter‐Agency Standing Committee, an informal network of humanitarian aid agencies and organizations. The latter research is an ongoing project, but preliminary results show that strengthening a central platform or institution can greatly improve the connections between entities within a system of systems, as well as the performance within each individual entity.