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Identifying Legal, Ecological and Governance Obstacles, and Opportunities for Adapting to Climate Change

Author

Listed:
  • Barbara Cosens

    (College of Law and Waters of the West, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA)

  • Lance Gunderson

    (Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA)

  • Craig Allen

    (Geological Survey, Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583, USA)

  • Melinda Harm Benson

    (Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA)

Abstract

Current governance of regional scale water management systems in the United States has not placed them on a path toward sustainability, as conflict and gridlock characterize the social arena and ecosystem services continue to erode. Changing climate may continue this trajectory, but it also provides a catalyst for renewal of ecosystems and a window of opportunity for change in institutions. Resilience provides a bridging concept that predicts that change in ecological and social systems is often dramatic, abrupt, and surprising. Adapting to the uncertainty of climate driven change must be done in a manner perceived as legitimate by the participants in a democratic society. Adaptation must begin with the current hierarchical and fragmented social-ecological system as a baseline from which new approaches must be applied. Achieving a level of integration between ecological concepts and governance requires a dialogue across multiple disciplines, including ecologists with expertise in ecological resilience, hydrologists and climate experts, with social scientists and legal scholars. Criteria and models that link ecological dynamics with policies in complex, multi-jurisdictional water basins with adaptive management and governance frameworks may move these social-ecological systems toward greater sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Barbara Cosens & Lance Gunderson & Craig Allen & Melinda Harm Benson, 2014. "Identifying Legal, Ecological and Governance Obstacles, and Opportunities for Adapting to Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-19, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:6:y:2014:i:4:p:2338-2356:d:35379
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. A. Park Williams & Craig D. Allen & Alison K. Macalady & Daniel Griffin & Connie A. Woodhouse & David M. Meko & Thomas W. Swetnam & Sara A. Rauscher & Richard Seager & Henri D. Grissino-Mayer & Jeffre, 2013. "Temperature as a potent driver of regional forest drought stress and tree mortality," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 3(3), pages 292-297, March.
    2. W. Neil Adger, 2003. "Social Capital, Collective Action, and Adaptation to Climate Change," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 79(4), pages 387-404, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rong Sheng & Tuo Lin, 2019. "Evolutionary Assessment of the Ecological Governance under the Metropolitan Background: Evidence from Chongming Eco-Island, Shanghai, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-23, September.
    2. Verena Rodorff & Marianna Siegmund-Schultze & Maike Guschal & Sonja Hölzl & Johann Köppel, 2019. "Good Governance: A Framework for Implementing Sustainable Land Management, Applied to an Agricultural Case in Northeast-Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-20, August.
    3. Ralph Lasage & Sanne Muis & Carolina S. E. Sardella & Michiel A. Van Drunen & Peter H. Verburg & Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts, 2015. "A Stepwise, Participatory Approach to Design and Implement Community Based Adaptation to Drought in the Peruvian Andes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-32, February.
    4. Valérie Nicollier & Marcos Eduardo Cordeiro Bernardes & Asher Kiperstok, 2022. "What Governance Failures Reveal about Water Resources Management in a Municipality of Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-30, February.
    5. S. A. Tulaeva, 2022. "Sustainable Development Governance in the Arctic Regions (Review of International Approaches and Research)," Administrative Consulting, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. North-West Institute of Management., issue 2.
    6. Craig R. Allen & Hannah E. Birge & Shannon Bartelt-Hunt & Rebecca A. Bevans & Jessica L. Burnett & Barbara A. Cosens & Ximing Cai & Ahjond S. Garmestani & Igor Linkov & Elizabeth A. Scott & Mark D. So, 2016. "Avoiding Decline: Fostering Resilience and Sustainability in Midsize Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-24, August.
    7. Lorenzen, Matthew & Orozco-Ramírez, Quetzalcóatl & Ramírez-Santiago, Rosario & Garza, Gustavo G., 2021. "The forest transition as a window of opportunity to change the governance of common-pool resources: The case of Mexico’s Mixteca Alta," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    8. Joan David Tàbara & Francesc Cots & Simona Pedde & Katharina Hölscher & Kasper Kok & Anastasia Lovanova & Tiago Capela Lourenço & Niki Frantzeskaki & John Etherington, 2018. "Exploring Institutional Transformations to Address High-End Climate Change in Iberia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-22, January.
    9. Thomas J. Timberlake & Courtney A. Schultz, 2017. "Policy, practice, and partnerships for climate change adaptation on US national forests," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 257-269, September.

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