Combining adaptive and transformative capacity – Polycentricity as promising design principle for water governance and management systems

Abstract:

Adaptive management has been advocated as a management approach that supports structured learning and has the capacity to deal with uncertainty arising from the inherent complexity of the systems to be managed as well as from changes in external factors, in particular climate change. The concept of adaptive management focusses on the management process. However, governance and management processes are strongly influenced by governance and societal structure (e.g. institutional settings, prevailing norms and principles, power constellations). Hence adaptive management has to be embedded in an overall approach to integrated system design.

Polycentricity is a promising concept guiding such system design. Polycentric (water) governance systems combine distribution of power and authority with effective coordination among various decision-making centers and across spatial levels. The modular structure characterizing polycentric systems increases resilience and the capacity for dealing with shocks and disturbance. Coordinated centers of decision making that have a certain degree of autonomy support experimentation and learning. Therefore, polycentric regimes are assumed to have high performance to dealing with emerging challenges such as climate change - both with respect to adaptive (short-term) and to transformative (long-term) capacity.

The paper will discuss the concept of polycentric water governance and management systems. Empirical evidence will be provided from comparative analyses of case studies in developed and developing countries. Selected cases will be discussed in more depth to illustrate factors that support or hinder vertical (across administrative levels and spatial scales) and horizontal (across sectoral and spatial borders) coordination, learning and knowledge production. Furthermore, the paper will also address the role of crises as triggers for long-term transformative change.