Welcome to Stockholm Resilience Centre – Research for Governance of Social-Ecological Systems Governance networks in a changing climate Christian Stein Symposium The Governance of Adaptation March Amsterdam, Netherlands

Outline 1.Why a network perspective might be useful 2.Social network analysis as a method & theory 3.Agricultural water management an example 4.Preliminary findings and reflections

Governance of adaptation… involves a range of actors related to each other through complex governance arrangements, i.e. networks Figure: adapted from Bodin and Crona 2009

Adaptive governance recognize the crucial role of cross-scale interactions and argue for tapping into or establishing boundary spanning social networks entails “an implicit assumption about the establishment of social networks“, i.e. a notion of network management or network governance. Carlsson and Sandström 2008

Why a network perspective? Adaptation strategies are often biophysically and/or socially linked Functional interdependencies occur, and Actors are forced to operate in the context of networks to find comprehensive solutions to interconnected problems Source: Young 2002; Koppenjan and Klijn 2004

Can be used for analyzing across different sectors and scales Focuses on relationships between social entities and the implications of these relationships Figure: Ernstson et al 2010 Social network analysis

Social networks… are more than just neat pictures (also analytical)

ROW | Attributes COLUMN 25 Female 23 Male 22 Male 56 Female 18 Female

Governance networks are: reoccurring (formally or informally) institutionalized relationships that shape governance processes and outcomes Source: Newig et al 2010

The AgWater Solutions Project Aims to improve the livelihoods of poor and marginalized smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia through agricultural water management (AWM) solutions.

Agriculture in a changing climate Burkina Faso: Relation between rainfall and cereal production

The need for adaptation Dry spells impact yields 2 out of every 3 harvests and cause the failure of 1 out of 5 in sub-Saharan Africa Increasing variability in precipitation patterns and extreme weather events due to climate change Agricultural water management -key for adaptation to climate change

Stylized networks illustrating the network approach Analyse the social network structure Identify opportunities and constrains Figure: Ernstson et al 2010

Summary of case study areas CountryWatershedNo of actors (surveyed) Size (km 2 ) Burkina FasoNariale TanzaniaMkindo70913 ZambiaMwembeshi714118

Basic building blocks for modelling a system as a network Actors o Organizations influencing NRM in the watersheds Relationships o Reciprocated collaborative relationships regarding NRM Attributes o Type of organization, up-/downstream, scale etc. Boundaries o “Problemsheds” (def. spatially and relationally)

Data collection Social-ecological inventory Interviews, group discussions and organisational survey Multi-scale assessment, complemented by PGIS livelihood assessment and hydrological modelling

Networks of collaborative relations

Key actors in the system

Cohesive subgroups Tanzania, Mkindo

Findings Informal networks play a crucial role in the management and governance of natural resources Local (informal) governance arrangements are often not recognized by higher level authorities

Finding cont. At the landscape level the social networks become more fragmented, i.e. limited horizontal interaction Local governance arrangements are often disconnected from the broader (formal) governance context, i.e. limited vertical interaction

Implications for the governance of adaptation Lack of clear implementation pathways Adaptation strategies should acknowledge and may benefit from building upon existing social structures Social network analysis provides a promising approach to systematically describe and analyse certain aspects of social complexity

Some reflections Social network analysis –is an interesting approach to systematically describe and analyse multi-actor and multi-scalar governance arrangements –can makes hidden actors and relationships visible –does not capture the political nature of (cross scale) interactions, e.g. weak conceptualization of power

Thank you for listening!

Future research Scale-crossing brokers –A quantitative approach Intermediary & boundary organizations –What functions do they perform and why? The problem of institutional fit – Politics of rescaling

Social networks - just one perspective

Overall research context How to… balance water for humans and nature in agricultural systems

Multi scalar challenge Figure: Barron 2008

Cross-scale interactions in SES Figure: adapted from Ernstson 2010

Cross-scale interactions Figure: Cash et al 2006

Scale Multi-scale assessment Focal scale –Meso-scale ( km 2 )

Research questions What actors are there? How do they relate to each other: –Horizontally, and –Vertically Who are the influential actors? What influence do relational patterns have on governance process and outcomes?

Analytical dimension Institutional interplay –Horizontally –Vertically Key actors –Influence –Scale crossing brokers