Governing Through Networks: Working Toward a Sustainable Management of West Africa’s Coastal Mangrove Ecosystems - The Land/Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone of West and Central Africa - page 188

each member allows for decision making at the most
appropriate level for the citizen' (Goldsmith and Eggers
2004 , p. 38).
The move toward networked governance acknowledges
the need to promote learning and cooperation at multiple
and linked scales. Such loosely structured arrangements
depend on collaboration and connect smaller governance
systems and capable actors operating at the local level with
actors who are capable of addressing macro-level, regional
issues.
If the network functions well, individuals and local
institutions are empowered to effectively join their efforts
with those of national networks that interact with regional
ones. Furthermore, knowledge sharing must be promoted
between entities in flexible, non-hierarchical ways for the
capacity of organizations to be enhanced. Dedeeurwaedere
( 2005 ) states that the function of networked governance 'is
to create a synergy between different competences and
sources of knowledge in order to deal with complex and
interlinked problems' (p. 2). In all effective networks, the
empowerment of local actors to effectively contribute to
shared agendas is a major strength of governance. Thus, a
commitment to capacity building and mutual learning is a
necessary component of successful networked governance
in the domain of conservation and natural resource man-
agement. Lastly, collaboration is ensured when all members
buy-into and accept the polycentric institutional arrange-
ments that are characteristic of networks, thus accepting
shared power between many different decision-making units
and scales. The networks that are highlighted in this chapter
are generally organized to allow mutual learning and joint
problem solving at local scales and experimentation with
possible solutions at the regional level.

This section demonstrates the pertinence of harnessing
networked governance models, in particular the PRCM to
confront the threats to West Africa's ecosystems. Figure 2
below summarizes how PRCM interventions in policy,
capacity building, and investment in local areas are targeted
at solving the complex multi-faceted problem of conserva-
tion in West Africa.

The PRCM: A Brief History

Before the PRCM was founded, coastal zone conservation
efforts in West Africa were limited to a few marine pro-
tected areas (MPAs) and a small number of scattered pro-
jects (PRCM 2012a ). In response to the need for a
coordinated approach, a Regional Coastal Planning Net-
work (RESOCOTAO) was set up in 1997. Designed as a
network of expertise, the RESOCOTAO set out a number of
guidelines, which foreshadowed the advent of the PRCM,
most notably with respect to the need to address ecoregional
issues.
It was with this in mind that a workshop on 'Priorities for
coastal conservation in West Africa' was held in St. Louis,
Senegal in 2000. The workshop's participants were struck
by the strong similarities in the priorities stated by the
representatives of the countries involved, with special
emphasis being placed on the establishment of MPAs,
sustainable management of fisheries resources, and man-
grove biodiversity conservation. It was at this workshop that
the principle of collaboration among the international
organizations gained acceptance, a principle that was to
become official soon thereafter when a Memorandum of
Understanding and Partnership was signed by the Interna-
tional Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the
Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), the International
Foundation for the Banc d'Arguin (FIBA), and Wetlands
International.
The strategy emerging from the workshop embraced a
shared vision and regional approach to conservation based
on: an understanding of the central role played by local
communities, a belief in the effectiveness of shared gover-
nance, an understanding that the cultural dimension is
inextricably linked to the environment, the direct linkage to
the issue of fisheries, and the need for strong institutions.
The project portfolio was subsequently presented at a
regional workshop held in Dakar in 2003, which was the
venue of the first meeting of the program's technical and
financial partners and of the official launch of the PRCM. It
was there that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed
with the Permanent Secretariat of the Sub-regional Fisheries
Commission (SRFC), whose geographical scope covers the
same countries as the PRCM. This MOU affirmed the

Case Study of Networked Governance
in Practice in West African Mangrove
Conservation Efforts

The networked governance approach is exemplified in the
PRCM (in West Africa), which has for the last ten years
acted as a network of networks that has empowered each
participating organization to focus on its core conservation
mission while multiplying the impact of individual actions
(PRCM 2008 , 2012a ). Effective governance networks such
as the PRCM bring together the combined might of orga-
nizations whose missions complement each other and
simultaneously address different aspects of complex prob-
lems. This has allowed all stakeholders to work collectively
toward the shared goal of the conservation and sustainable
management of the West African region's natural resources
and ecosystems.