Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
This brings us to the notion of participatory governance, or, in the parlance of
interactive governance, the co-governance mode. Participatory governance is com-
monly founded on the principle that people have the right to participate in decisions
that affect their lives. This principle is advocated in a number of international policy
instruments that have been adopted by various governments worldwide (e.g., Princi-
ple 10 of the Rio Declaration, 1992; the Convention on Biodiversity, 1992; WSSD,
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, 2002; the Aarhus Convention, 2001). These
calls for participation have led to experimentation with various forms of resource man-
agement that involve users in decisions and management actions, thereby shifting the
locus of power from the 'governors' to a more equitable power-sharing relationship
(Jentoft and McCay 1995; Pomeroy and Carlos 1997; Berkes et al. 2001; Hauck and
Sowman 2003; McConney et al. 2003; McClanahan and Castilla, 2007; Pinkerton
2009). A key focus of such governance approaches the establishment of appropriate
institutional arrangements to manage such socio-ecological systems, including putting
in place procedures to resolve conflicts, negotiate compromises and build consensus
(Charles 2007; Jentoft 2007; McClanahan et al. 2009; Pinkerton 2009). Increas-
ingly, evidence from research on participatory forms of governance suggests that such
approaches are more likely than top-down, technocratic approaches to lead to sustain-
able outcomes (Pomeroy 1995; Hauck and Sowman 2003; Defoe and Castilla 2005;
Kooiman et al. 2005; McCalanahan and Castilla 2007). However, determining the
most appropriate mode of governance - who should participate, when and how such
participation should take place, and what level of involvement would be most appro-
priate - depends on a variety of factors, not least of which is the capacity at the local
level to take on governance functions.
9.3 COLLECTIVE ACTION ANDTHE ORIGIN OF FISHING LAW
Fishing is one of the world's oldest occupations, having developed in many coastal
zones in the era that human societies relied heavily on hunting and gathering. As early
fishers depended on opportunities provided by their immediate environments, they
evolved different fishing technologies and practices. Von Brandt's (1984)
Fish Catching
Methods of the World
- a standard work for those interested in the vocation - testifies
to the breadth of human ingenuity as it has evolved over the ages.
Until a century ago, fisheries in most parts of the world, although integrated into
markets, were geographically, economically and politically marginal to the rest of
society. This might well have been a mutual kind of arrangement - whereas seafood
was seldom crucial to society and states generally had little interest in the people who
carried out the profession, fishers themselves may well have practiced 'the art of not
being governed'.
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This is the title of a influential topic by the political scientist and anthropologist James Scott
on the tribal population of Southeast Asia. Scott (2009) suggests that fisher peoples have often
practiced the same 'art'.
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