Theory and practice of governance collaboration : institutional assessment in collaborative natural resource governance

[摘要] ENGLISH SUMMARY : Complexities of the post-New Public Management (NPM) era have resulted in a new governance regime that hinges on 'collaboration', a network-based model that links various stakeholders (state and non-state actors) to promote sustainable governance. This study sets out to examine the theory and practice of collaborative natural resource governance (CNRG) with a special focus on the triggers of collaboration and institutional evolution using the experience of Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary in Ghana. The study's first two objectives are conceptual in nature to advance knowledge in the field of CNRG which culminated in publishing two peer-reviewed articles (Chapters Five and Six). The first article 'Rising to the challenge: A framework for optimising value in collaborative natural resource governance provides pointers to enhance the process of natural resource collaboration (Chapter Five). A second article 'Institutional assessment in natural resource governance conceptualises the interplay of formal and informal institutions in natural resource governance (Chapter Six). Empirically, the study adapts the philosophy of transdisciplinary research approach (published as peer-reviewed article in Chapter Four), interspersed with ethnography, to advance three key objectives. The first empirical objective was to identify the trajectory of institutional evolution as well as the triggers. Results and conclusions are published as a third article 'Complex Crisis' and the rise of Collaborative Natural Resource Governance: Institutional Trajectory of a Wildlife Governance Experience in Ghana in Environment, Development and Sustainability Journal (Chapter Seven). A second empirical objective was to examine the interplay of formal and informal institutions in the governance of wildlife in the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary (BFMS). This is to be published as a fourth article 'Two sides of the same coin: Synergy between formal and informal institutions in natural resource governance (Chapter Eight). A final phase of the study discussed a 'bottom-up approach to natural resource governance collaboration to foster sustainable governance of resources. This was also published as 'Comparative Conservation Studies: A 'Bottom-up Natural Resource Collaborative Governance (Chapter Nine). A general conclusion derived from the study is that the ability of a natural resource governance system to adjust or readjust its institutional underpinnings and governance regime in the face of threat, of whatever form or intensity, contributes immensely to the viability of the particular ecosystem. Institutions must necessarily evolve to adapt when there is sufficient evidence that the existing regime has become weakened in the face of the changing internal and external conditions of social-ecological systems.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University