Embracing conceptual diversity to integrate power and institutional analysis: Introducing a relational typology

Within environmental governance scholarship, an increasing interest in integrating the study of power with institutional analysis is generating novel theoretical and empirical perspectives for understanding human-environment relationships. The array of different approaches employed to integrate power into institutionalist work promises a range of insights. However, building a cohesive research agenda depends on efforts to grapple with the conceptual and theoretical diversity that characterizes the study of power. To this end, we introduce a typology of relationships between power and institutions. The typology brings together diverse conceptualizations of power and institutions within a common analytical space and situates them around two overarching research questions: How does power shape institutions? And how do institutions shape power? The structure of the typology aids researchers in generating specific, operationalizable research questions within the broader research agenda on power and institutions. In the paper, we describe the theoretical basis for the development of the typology, which draws on political ecology and Bloomington school institutionalism. Then, we employ the typology to organize a review of environmental governance literature on power and institutions. This exercise demonstrates the utility of the typology not only for organizing the currently disjointed body of work on power and institutions but also for identifying new research questions. Furthermore, it facilitates discussions about deeper ontological, epistemological, and methodological challenges associated with bringing together different theoretical approaches. Ultimately, the typology defines pathways for integrating two important disciplines studying environmental governance, political ecology and institutionalism, and facilitates the accumulation of a coherent body of knowledge

Lessons learned from synthetic research projects based on the ostrom workshop frameworks

A generalized knowledge of social-ecological relationships is needed to address current environmental challenges. Broadly comparative and synthetic research is a key method for establishing this type of knowledge. To date, however, most work on social-ecological systems has applied idiosyncratic methods to specific systems. Several projects, each based on the frameworks developed by Elinor Ostrom and colleagues, stand out for their application of consistent methods across a broad range of cases. In this paper we compare seven of these projects and draw conclusions regarding their potential benefits and the challenges that scholars can expect in conducting this type of research. The two main challenges that we identified are (1) the collective-action dilemmas that collaborators face in producing and maintaining the social and technical infrastructure that is needed for such projects; and (2) balancing complexity and comparability in the structure of the databases used and the associated methods for characterizing complex social-ecological cases. We discuss approaches for meeting these challenges, and present a guiding checklist of questions for project design and implementation to provide guidance for future broadly comparative research

Assessing Trade-Offs in Large Marine Protected Areas

Large marine protected areas (LMPAs) are increasingly being established and have a high profile in marine conservation. LMPAs are expected to achieve multiple objectives, and because of their size are postulated to avoid trade-offs that are common in smaller MPAs. However, evaluations across multiple outcomes are lacking. We used a systematic approach to code several social and ecological outcomes of 12 LMPAs. We found evidence of three types of trade-offs: trade-offs between different ecological resources (supply trade-offs); trade-offs between ecological resource conditions and the well-being of resource users (supply-demand trade-offs); and trade-offs between the well-being outcomes of different resource users (demand trade-offs). We also found several divergent outcomes that were attributed to influences beyond the scope of the LMPA. We suggest that despite their size, trade-offs can develop in LMPAs and should be considered in planning and design. LMPAs may improve their performance across multiple social and ecological objectives if integrated with larger-scale conservation efforts. © 2018 Davies et al

The Process of Implementing the Western Gulf of Maine Area Closure: The Role and Perception of Fisher\u27s Ecological Knowledge

The quality of fisher\u27s ecological knowledge (FEK) and its value to fishery management has been long present in scientific literature. However, the extent of its use has not been readily identified. This study sought to understand the extent of FEK use in one particular management decision under the New England Fishery Management Council\u27s (NEFMC) jurisdiction. The implementation of the Western Gulf of Maine Area Closure (WGoMAC) in 1998 was a management response to deteriorating Gulf of Maine cod stock. Using a combination of techniques (online and mail surveys and interviews), I collected information from major stakeholder groups that were active during the creation of the area closure: NEFMC members, Groundfish Advisory Panel members, Groundfish Plan Development Team members, and Maine groundfishers. Data were analyzed both quantitatively (χ2 for uniformity) and qualitatively. The goal of the study was (1) to determine whether the different knowledge systems of fishers and scientists were expressed in this particular event, (2) to evaluate the extent that stakeholder group recognizes FEK as a potential factor in policy creation and formulation in the NEFMC, and (3) to evaluate stakeholder perceptions of the effectiveness of the WGoMAC. Results suggested that respondents believed that fishers possess ecological knowledge that could be used in the fishery management process (χ2 = 64.474; p = 0.000). In the case of WGoMAC creation, significant number of respondents indicated that FEK played a role (χ2 = 14.000; p = 0.001) even though a significant number of respondents emphasized there were obstacles present to the use of FEK in the management process (χ2 = 44.895; p = 0.000). Interviews indicated that FEK was able to improve upon the spatial resolution of scientific data by identifying seasonal migrational patterns of pre-spawning schooling cod and indicating behavioral differences between juvenile and adult cod and in that way fine-tune the exact location of the closure. Analysis of the perception of WGoMAC effectiveness among surveyed groups indicated that a significant majority believed the closure reduced fishing mortality, protected habitat, and helped in the long-term recovery of groundfish stocks. These findings suggest that there are ways to incorporate FEK into fishery management and use it for the purposes of stock and habitat conservation. Additionally, the benefit of having ecological information that spans across different spatial scales for fishery management was apparent. By combining the two knowledge systems of fishers and scientists, managers were able to capture some of the finer-scale ecological information that was not available at the scale at which landings data were reported. In this way managers created a regulation that was ecologically sound from the perspective of preserving the Gulf of Maine cod stock

The Effects of Bottom-Tending Mobile Fishing Gear and Fiber-Optic Cable Burial on Soft-Sediment Benthic Community Structure

Fishing with mobile gear is the most common source of anthropogenic disturbance in marine systems, and can directly alter the biological structure of benthic communities, thereby changing functionality of the benthos. Consequently, the use of mobile fishing gear has the potential to cause ecosystem perturbation with a long-term impact on benthic communities. To address the question of how these communities change in the presence of different levels of anthropogenic disturbance as well as the extent of their recovery associated with the cessation of anthropogenic disturbance, we designed a four-year observational study (2001-2004) in the southern part of the Gulf of Maine. Infaunal communities associated with both fished and closed areas in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) and Western Gulf of Maine Fishery Closure (WGoMFC) were sampled using a Smith-McIntyre grab. Epifaunal sampling was conducted using still-photographs and video imagery. Statistical analyses (Mann-Whitney U test; Kruskal-Wallace test) indicated a significant decrease in abundance of structure-forming organisms (tube builders: Maldanidae, Ampharetidae, and Terebellidae; Cucumaridae, Molgulidae, and Porifera) at fished sites. While sand infauna appeared to be more resilient to fishing disturbance than mud infauna, both mud and sand epifaunal community structure was statistically different between fished and unfished sites (MDS; ANOSIM analysis). Analysis of pulse disturbance associated with cable burial suggested a lack of observable long-term effects on epifaunal community structure

Participation for Conservation: The Role of Social Capital in Multi-level Governance of Small-scale Fisheries

<p>The need for effective multi-level governance arrangements is becoming increasingly apparent because of the high functional interdependencies between biophysical and socioeconomic factors in the realm of natural resource governance. Such arrangements provide a basis for the exchange, discussion, and deliberation of information, knowledge, and data across diverse user groups and entities. Multi-level governance is operationalized by using a microinstitutional analysis that links decision-making arenas across three distinct levels: operational, collective-choice, and constitutional. Within this context, I argue that the effectiveness and success of actors' participatory processes across these three levels depend on the amount of social capital among actors within the governance system. I assessed the concept of social capital using two different models: (1) a structural approach focused on resources embedded within an individual's network, and (2) a combined structural-cultural approach that incorporates various aspects of group membership with relations of trust, rules, and norms. To explore the effects of social capital on participatory processes related to the implementation and management of natural resources, I analyzed different small-scale fisheries governance regimes from the Gulf of California, Mexico. I collected data using surveys (n=371), interviews (n=82), and participant observation techniques conducted among the residents of four small-scale fishing communities that live adjacent to marine protected areas along the Baja California, Mexico, peninsula. Data analysis included both quantitative (logit regression model), and qualitative (narrative analysis) approaches. Overall, my results suggest that both social capital models reveal the multidimensional nature of social capital where none of its individual types form a consistent and statistically significant relationship with the six outcomes that I measured. However, these types are related in different ways to fishers engagement in participatory processess across the three levels. The extent of fishers' engagement in participatory processess across different levels was not high. Qualitative analysis revealed that participatory processes related to fisheries conservation and management, although present do not reach their full potential and are stymied by a historical context and a lack of general participatory culture.</p>Dissertatio

Into the deep blue sea: Commons theory and international governance of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

The need to understand how to sustainably govern oceanic fisheries has become increasingly urgent as their contribution to global food security and livelihoods are threatened by declining stocks. Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (ABFT) is a prominent example of the complexities associated with widely distributed oceanic resources, extending in this case to include much of the North-Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. This distribution has led to limited attention from commons theorists that tend to focus on small-scale social ecological systems. Therefore in order to explore the fit between theories of the commons developed in small-scale systems, we apply the Social-Ecological Systems Meta-Analysis Database (SESMAD) to systematically analyze ABFT governance over a 22 year period. The results, which focus on the effects of resource characteristics, broadly correspond to the expectations of commons theory. Interestingly, however, the addition of resource storage in the form of ABFT ranches appears to be contributing to unsustainable harvests. This stands in contrast to previous findings in the commons literature that storage tends to enhance prospects for sustainable governance. Therefore several alternative hypotheses are developed by comparing and contrasting attributes of ABFT and canal irrigation storage. These hypotheses may be used in future research to evaluate the conditions in which storage enhances prospects for sustainable governance

Into the deep blue sea: Commons theory and international governance of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

The need to understand how to sustainably govern oceanic fisheries has become increasingly urgent as their contribution to global food security and livelihoods are threatened by declining stocks. Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (ABFT) is a prominent example of the complexities associated with widely distributed oceanic resources, extending in this case to include much of the North-Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. This distribution has led to limited attention from commons theorists that tend to focus on small-scale social ecological systems. Therefore in order to explore the fit between theories of the commons developed in small-scale systems, we apply the Social-Ecological Systems Meta-Analysis Database (SESMAD) to systematically analyze ABFT governance over a 22 year period. The results, which focus on the effects of resource characteristics, broadly correspond to the expectations of commons theory. Interestingly, however, the addition of resource storage in the form of ABFT ranches appears to be contributing to unsustainable harvests. This stands in contrast to previous findings in the commons literature that storage tends to enhance prospects for sustainable governance. Therefore several alternative hypotheses are developed by comparing and contrasting attributes of ABFT and canal irrigation storage. These hypotheses may be used in future research to evaluate the conditions in which storage enhances prospects for sustainable governance

Implementing the Western Gulf of Maine Area Closure: The Role and Perception of Fishers' Ecological Knowledge

The debate about the quality of fishers' ecological knowledge (FEK) and its value to fisheries management has long been present in the literature. This study sought to understand the role of FEK in a particular fisheries management decision in the U.S. and to evaluate the extent that different stakeholder groups recognized and used FEK in fisheries policy creation. The 1998 implementation of the Western Gulf of Maine Area Closure (WGoMAC) was a management response to the rapid decline in the Gulf of Maine cod (Gadus morhua) stock. Using structured surveys and semistructured interviews, we collected information from major stakeholder groups that were active during the creation of the area closure: New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) members, Groundfish Advisory Panel members, Groundfish Plan Development Team members, and Maine groundfishers. Results indicated that 95% of respondents believed that fishers possess ecological knowledge that could be useful in the fishery management process. In the case of the WGoMAC creation, 62% of respondents indicated that FEK played a role in the decision, even though 85% recognized obstacles to the use of FEK in the management process. Interviews demonstrated that FEK was able to improve upon the spatial resolution of scientific data by identifying seasonal migration patterns of prespawning cod and behavioral differences between juvenile and adult cod. This information was a product of a peer-reviewed process among groundfishers and it was used to fine-tune the exact location of the closure. These findings suggest that there are ways to incorporate FEK into fishery management for the purposes of stock and habitat conservation. Additionally, the benefit of having ecological information that spans different spatial scales for fishery management was observed in this study. By combining the knowledge systems of fishers and fisheries scientists, managers were able to capture ecological information at a finer scale than the scale at which landings data are reported and fish stocks analyzed