The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

The political economy of cross-scale networks in resource co-management

The political economy of cross-scale networks in resource co-management
The political economy of cross-scale networks in resource co-management
We investigate linkages between stakeholders in resource management that occur at different spatial and institutional levels and identify the winners and losers in such interactions. So-called crossscale interactions emerge because of the benefits to individual stakeholder groups in undertaking them or the high costs of not undertaking them. Hence there are uneven gains from cross-scale interactions that are themselves an integral part of social-ecological system governance. The political economy framework outlined here suggests that the determinants of the emergence of cross-scale interactions are the exercise of relative power between stakeholders and their costs of accessing and creating linkages. Cross-scale interactions by powerful stakeholders have the potential to undermine trust in resource management arrangements. If government regulators, for example, mobilize information and resources from cross-level interactions to reinforce their authority, this often disempowers other stakeholders such as resource users. Offsetting such impacts, some cross-scale interactions can be empowering for local level user groups in creating social and political capital. These issues are illustrated with observations on resource management in a marine protected area in Tobago in the Caribbean. The case study demonstrates that the structure of the cross-scale interplay, in terms of relative winners and losers, determines its contribution to the resilience of social-ecological systems
1708-3087
1-9
Adger, W. Neil
880deff5-3dde-429f-9b50-4366c54bcfe7
Brown, Katrina
abd484a2-a63a-4cef-b95f-c1076b0625d6
Tompkins, Emma
a6116704-7140-4e37-bea1-2cbf39b138c3
Adger, W. Neil
880deff5-3dde-429f-9b50-4366c54bcfe7
Brown, Katrina
abd484a2-a63a-4cef-b95f-c1076b0625d6
Tompkins, Emma
a6116704-7140-4e37-bea1-2cbf39b138c3

Adger, W. Neil, Brown, Katrina and Tompkins, Emma (2005) The political economy of cross-scale networks in resource co-management. Ecology and Society, 10 (2), 1-9.

Record type: Article

Abstract

We investigate linkages between stakeholders in resource management that occur at different spatial and institutional levels and identify the winners and losers in such interactions. So-called crossscale interactions emerge because of the benefits to individual stakeholder groups in undertaking them or the high costs of not undertaking them. Hence there are uneven gains from cross-scale interactions that are themselves an integral part of social-ecological system governance. The political economy framework outlined here suggests that the determinants of the emergence of cross-scale interactions are the exercise of relative power between stakeholders and their costs of accessing and creating linkages. Cross-scale interactions by powerful stakeholders have the potential to undermine trust in resource management arrangements. If government regulators, for example, mobilize information and resources from cross-level interactions to reinforce their authority, this often disempowers other stakeholders such as resource users. Offsetting such impacts, some cross-scale interactions can be empowering for local level user groups in creating social and political capital. These issues are illustrated with observations on resource management in a marine protected area in Tobago in the Caribbean. The case study demonstrates that the structure of the cross-scale interplay, in terms of relative winners and losers, determines its contribution to the resilience of social-ecological systems

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: 2005
Organisations: Global Env Change & Earth Observation

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 202859
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/202859
ISSN: 1708-3087
PURE UUID: 70bc085a-3aaf-4344-bc97-1d990824aeae
ORCID for Emma Tompkins: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4825-9797

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 10 Nov 2011 14:56
Last modified: 02 Dec 2022 02:44

Export record

Contributors

Author: W. Neil Adger
Author: Katrina Brown
Author: Emma Tompkins ORCID iD

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×