Socio-ecological resilience:the role of organizations

Paper submitted to European Group for Organizational Studies conference 201

Coping with changing water resources: The case of the Syr Darya river basin in Central Asia

This paper discusses how climatic-hydrological and socio-political developments will affect water allocation in the Syr Darya river basin and which adaptation measures will be needed to cope with changing water resources. In view of the geo-political complexity, climate-driven changes in water availability are of particular importance in this region. Water shortages during summer will become more frequent as precipitation is expected to further decrease and glacial meltwater releases will decrease in the long-term due to reduced glacier volume. Being the main valve to the entire Syr Darya river system, the Toktogul reservoir in Kyrgyzstan could take over, at least partly, the role of glaciers as seasonal water redistributors, thus allowing the generation of energy in winter – benefiting upstream countries – and irrigation for large-scale agriculture in summer – benefiting downstream countries. To date, however, there is no regional consensus on a balanced reservoir management, which currently favours irrigation according to past Soviet priorities. Moreover, the perception of water as a ‘national concern' in Central Asia discourages efforts towards cooperation between states at the regional level. So far, climate change adaptation has focused on technical rather than institutional solutions. We suggest that policy-relevant adaptation measures should include consistent data collection and dissemination, cross-sectoral collaboration, promotion of national responsibility and initiative, and agreeing on a regional strategy

Alpine aquatic ecosystem conservation policy in a changing climate

Freshwater ecosystems are often of high conservation value, yet many have been degraded significantly by direct anthropogenic impacts and are further threatened by global environmental change. Traditionally, conservation science and policy has promoted principles based on preservation and restoration paradigms, which are linked to assumptions of stationarity and uniformitarianism. Adaptation requires new approaches based on flexibility, iterativity, non-linearity, and redundancy. Many high alpine river networks represent near natural, pristine river systems and important biodiversity 'hotspots' of European freshwater fauna. However, there remains a lack of guidance on alpine river conservation strategies under a changing climate at EU, regional and local levels. A critical evaluation of current conservation and adaptation principles and governance frameworks was undertaken with relation to predicted climate change impacts on freshwater ecosystems. Case studies are presented from two alpine zones in mainland Europe (the Pyrénées and the Swiss Alps). The complexity of climate change impacts on hydrological regimes, habitat and biota from both case study regions suggests that current legislative and policy mechanisms, which frame conservation approaches, need to be realigned. In particular, a shift in focus from species-centric approaches to more holistic ecosystem functioning conservation is proposed. A methodological approach is set out that may help conservationists and resource managers to both prioritise their efforts, and better predict future habitat and biotic responses to set ecological baseline conditions. Due to the complexity and limited potential for preventative intervention in these systems, conservation strategies should focus on: (i) the maintenance and enhancement of connectivity within and between alpine river basins and (ii) the control and reduction of additional anthropogenic stressors

The adaptive capacity of institutions in Canada, Argentina, and Chile to droughts and floods

The increasing evidence of global warming calls on all states to enhance their adaptive capacity to deal with climate change. This paper compares the adaptive capacity of two Canadian provinces, the province of Mendoza, Argentina and the administrative region of Coquimbo, Chile in relation to the vulnerability of farmers to droughts and floods by applying the adaptive capacity wheel (ACW). It concludes that Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada are particularly weak in terms of double- and triple-loop learning and in developing adaptive capacity in an equitable manner, probably attributable to strong climate scepticism in society and the weak economy. In the developing countries of Chile and Argentina, resources to assist with adaptation are often lacking; in Coquimbo, future learning is precarious because of information deficits in relation to data, memory, trust, and responsiveness; in Mendoza, institutions lack variety (redundancy of programs), resources, and governance processes are inadequately responsive. The paper makes contributions at the regional level by recommending that specific institutional weaknesses and lack of responsiveness be remedied by adopting appropriate missing instruments (perhaps, for example, water transfer provisions in Mendoza). New findings are made in relation to the dimensions of fair governance and learning capacity in the ACW. While learning capacity was closely linked to the dimension of leadership, the deficit of equity was closely linked to other indicators of fair governance (legitimacy, responsiveness, and accountability)