Governance, scale and the environment: the importance of recognizing knowledge claims in transdisciplinary arenas

Any present day approach of the world’s most pressing environmental problems involves both scale and governance issues. After all, current local events might have long-term global consequences (the scale issue) and solving complex environmental problems requires policy makers to think and govern beyond generally used time-space scales (the governance issue). To an increasing extent, the various scientists in these fields have used concepts like social-ecological systems, hierarchies, scales and levels to understand and explain the “complex cross-scale dynamics” of issues like climate change. A large part of this work manifests a realist paradigm: the scales and levels, either in ecological processes or in governance systems, are considered as “real”. However, various scholars question this position and claim that scales and levels are continuously (re)constructed in the interfaces of science, society, politics and nature. Some of these critics even prefer to adopt a non-scalar approach, doing away with notions such as hierarchy, scale and level. Here we take another route, however. We try to overcome the realist-constructionist dualism by advocating a dialogue between them on the basis of exchanging and reflecting on different knowledge claims in transdisciplinary arenas. We describe two important developments, one in the ecological scaling literature and the other in the governance literature, which we consider to provide a basis for such a dialogue. We will argue that scale issues, governance practices as well as their mutual interdependencies should be considered as human constructs, although dialectically related to nature’s materiality, and therefore as contested processes, requiring intensive and continuous dialogue and cooperation among natural scientists, social scientists, policy makers and citizens alike. They also require critical reflection on scientists’ roles and on academic practices in general. Acknowledging knowledge claims provides a common ground and point of departure for such cooperation, something we think is not yet sufficiently happening, but which is essential in addressing today’s environmental problems

Non-state actors in global environmental governance : new arrangements beyond the state

Globalization processes are propelling a transformation of governance. As political problems become more transnational, public as well as private actors increasingly perform governance activities beyond the level of individual states. This book examines the wide variety of forms that governance can take in the global system and their consequences. An overarching analytical framework is applied to global institutions and initiatives in areas such as trade liberalization, financial market regulation, privacy protection, cybercrime, and food safety

Common Agricultural Policy Reform and its Impact on Biodiversity and Livelihoods in Developing Countries - A review of scientific literature

This paper provides a review of scientific literature on the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and its impacts on biodiversity in developing countries. The review was requested by Europe External Policy Advisors (EEPA) and Tilburg University to validate the findings of the study by Van Reisen and Ramanjaneyulu (2011). It serves as a contribution to their study for the Dutch Foreign Ministry, in the light of the upcoming CAP reforms (due in 2013)

Bedrijfsmatig werken in bos- en natuurbeheer : ambities in relatie tot resultaten

In discussies over afnemende subsidies en de zoektocht naar andere financieringsbronnen wordt vaak gefocust op financiële prikkels. Uit dit project, dat InnovatieNetwerk samen met de leerstoelgroep Bos- en Natuurbeleid van de WUR vorm gaf, blijkt dat een kwart van de natuureigenaren geen ambitie heeft om bedrijfsmatig te werken, bijvoorbeeld omdat zij hun bezit beschouwen als een hobby. Voor deze groep is het niet erg als het bedrijf meer kost dan het oplevert. Wil je deze groep ondernemers stimuleren tot innovatie, dan is het zaak om aan te sluiten bij hun ambities en behoeften, wetend dat geld voor hen niet de primaire motivatie is. Aanleiding tot deze studie zijn de komende bezuinigingen op zowel het Nederlandse natuurbeheer als het EU landbouwbelei

Embracing complexity in international forest governance: a way forward; Policy Brief

This Policy Brief summarizes the findings of a comprehensive assessment of scientific information about international forest governance carried out by an Expert Panel of over 30 of the world's leading scientists working in the areas of environmental governance and international forest law. It aims to provide policy and decision makers with essential knowledge and building blocks required for a more effective and inclusive governance of the world's forest