Addressing the Challenge of Institutional Infrastructure in a Technically Focussed World - Climate Change and Water Governance: Adaptive Capacity in Chile and Switzerland - page 322

addressing intra-jurisdictional challenges to promote efficiency in Chile, or
enhancing ecological and social benefits in Switzerland. Stakeholders across both
case areas, though predominantly at regional and federal or national levels, cited the
importance of research networks and knowledge partnerships in developing their
understanding of the challenges and solutions to climate change impacts.

16.2.2.1 Findings 1

The initial research question sought to better understand how governance regimes
and mechanisms within these regimes can facilitate adaptive capacity in the water
sector. Adaptive outcomes from the Swiss cases correspond with more transforma-
tive and adaptive actions and management approaches as well as a more positive
correlation with the adaptive capacity indicators. On the other hand, the adaptive
outcomes in the Chilean case correspond with less transformative outcomes as well
as a less positive correlation to the adaptive capacity indicators. However, despite
the different governance modes of the two cases, both share common challenges in
the development and mobilisation of proactive and reactive adaptive capacity, per-
haps partly since both models ascribe a similar level if not type of autonomy to the
local level.
The synthesis presented in Chap. 13 highlights the tension between the rigid and
inflexible legislative context in the Chilean case, with the higher levels of autonomy
at the user levels, which frustrates and constricts the ability of water managers and
the owners of use rights to adapt in a more proactive manner to hydrological changes
and stresses in the basin. While reactive coping techniques can be quickly called on
through the networks and traditions that exist, more long term preparations and
transformative approaches for meeting the mounting challenges are blocked by lack
of trust and cooperation, lack of agency at regional operational levels and lack of
accessible and appropriate information on water resources. Indicators from the
Swiss case suggests that the highly networked layers of governance allow knowl-
edge and learning to be transferred vertically across different levels of capacity but
has greater challenges with horizontal integration (which mirror the challenges
associated with the implementation of IWRM). Despite being characterised by
more transformative and persistent adaptation, the table highlights that the areas of
rule making and division of responsibility remain a challenge.

16.2.2.2 Findings 2

The second core research questions related to identifying and better understanding
the key tensions implicit in building adaptive capacity across different contexts and
scales. An emergent theme in the analytical process was the underlying tension of
balancing predictability, guidance and certainty from higher levels of governance
with flexibility and autonomy of users and rights holders at lower scales. The
literature recognises that clarity in rules and legal certainty is fundamental for