From applying panaceas to mastering complexity: Toward adaptive water governance in river basins

The most persistent obstacles for the sustainable management of water resources lie in the realm of water governance. Numerous recommendations often relying on simplistic 'standard' panaceas have been put forward for water governance reform without testing of appropriateness in diverse con...

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Main Authors: Claudia Pahl-Wostl, Louis Lebel, Christian Knieper, Elena Nikitina
Format: Journal
Published: 2018
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Online Access:https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=84866752958&origin=inward
http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/51683
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Institution: Chiang Mai University
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spelling th-cmuir.6653943832-516832018-09-04T06:15:02Z From applying panaceas to mastering complexity: Toward adaptive water governance in river basins Claudia Pahl-Wostl Louis Lebel Christian Knieper Elena Nikitina Environmental Science Social Sciences The most persistent obstacles for the sustainable management of water resources lie in the realm of water governance. Numerous recommendations often relying on simplistic 'standard' panaceas have been put forward for water governance reform without testing of appropriateness in diverse contexts. Here we present the first comprehensive comparative analysis of complex water governance and management systems in national river basins, compiling insights from 29 basins in developed and developing/emerging countries. To support a generic but contextual diagnostic approach an analytical framework was developed that makes a distinction between water governance regime, regime performance and environmental and socio-economic context. Results provide evidence that polycentric governance regimes characterized by a distribution of power but effective coordination structures have higher performance. This finding is valid for diverse contexts. The results show a weaker and more context dependent influence of legal frameworks on performance. The ability to respond to challenges from climate change is strongly related to polycentric governance and innovative ways for dealing with uncertainty. Furthermore, our results support findings that economic and institutional development often focuses on and leads to fulfilling needs of the human population at the expense of the environment. Rivers in comparatively good condition in countries with poor governance regimes highlight the urgent need to develop effective water governance structures in parallel to economic development. These exploratory analyses provide valuable methodological and conceptual insights and pave the way for follow-up studies to build a comprehensive knowledge base on complex resource governance systems and diverse management practices worldwide. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. 2018-09-04T06:06:16Z 2018-09-04T06:06:16Z 2012-11-01 Journal 18736416 14629011 2-s2.0-84866752958 10.1016/j.envsci.2012.07.014 https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=84866752958&origin=inward http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/51683
institution Chiang Mai University
building Chiang Mai University Library
country Thailand
collection CMU Intellectual Repository
topic Environmental Science
Social Sciences
spellingShingle Environmental Science
Social Sciences
Claudia Pahl-Wostl
Louis Lebel
Christian Knieper
Elena Nikitina
From applying panaceas to mastering complexity: Toward adaptive water governance in river basins
description The most persistent obstacles for the sustainable management of water resources lie in the realm of water governance. Numerous recommendations often relying on simplistic 'standard' panaceas have been put forward for water governance reform without testing of appropriateness in diverse contexts. Here we present the first comprehensive comparative analysis of complex water governance and management systems in national river basins, compiling insights from 29 basins in developed and developing/emerging countries. To support a generic but contextual diagnostic approach an analytical framework was developed that makes a distinction between water governance regime, regime performance and environmental and socio-economic context. Results provide evidence that polycentric governance regimes characterized by a distribution of power but effective coordination structures have higher performance. This finding is valid for diverse contexts. The results show a weaker and more context dependent influence of legal frameworks on performance. The ability to respond to challenges from climate change is strongly related to polycentric governance and innovative ways for dealing with uncertainty. Furthermore, our results support findings that economic and institutional development often focuses on and leads to fulfilling needs of the human population at the expense of the environment. Rivers in comparatively good condition in countries with poor governance regimes highlight the urgent need to develop effective water governance structures in parallel to economic development. These exploratory analyses provide valuable methodological and conceptual insights and pave the way for follow-up studies to build a comprehensive knowledge base on complex resource governance systems and diverse management practices worldwide. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.
format Journal
author Claudia Pahl-Wostl
Louis Lebel
Christian Knieper
Elena Nikitina
author_facet Claudia Pahl-Wostl
Louis Lebel
Christian Knieper
Elena Nikitina
author_sort Claudia Pahl-Wostl
title From applying panaceas to mastering complexity: Toward adaptive water governance in river basins
title_short From applying panaceas to mastering complexity: Toward adaptive water governance in river basins
title_full From applying panaceas to mastering complexity: Toward adaptive water governance in river basins
title_fullStr From applying panaceas to mastering complexity: Toward adaptive water governance in river basins
title_full_unstemmed From applying panaceas to mastering complexity: Toward adaptive water governance in river basins
title_sort from applying panaceas to mastering complexity: toward adaptive water governance in river basins
publishDate 2018
url https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=84866752958&origin=inward
http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/jspui/handle/6653943832/51683
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