Pub Date : 2022-03-04DOI: 10.1080/1523908X.2022.2044296
K. Korhonen-Kurki, S. Bor, M. Faehnle, A. Kosenius, S. Kuusela, J. Käyhkö, M. Pekkonen, H. Saarikoski, M. Keskinen
ABSTRACT Merging scientific and stakeholder knowledge plays a critical part in knowledge co-production processes, yet it is far from straightforward. We describe knowledge co-production processes by drawing on experiences from four strategic research cases that all sought to integrate scientific and stakeholder knowledge, while demonstrating the different settings and methodological choices for knowledge co-production in environmental research. To facilitate systematic analysis, we utilized the knowledge-weaving framework by Tengö et al. (2017) to examine co-production through the phases of knowledge mobilizing, translating, negotiating, synthesizing and applying. We also considered the inclusiveness of the weaving processes, where our results show that all of the study cases were able to engage participants across the four phases. Our analysis indicates that the framework is useful for unpacking the different phases of the knowledge-weaving process as well as the variety of activities that are used throughout the process. However, the results also emphasize the long-term nature of these processes, as knowledge-weaving activities were used predominantly in the mobilize and translate/negotiate phases and less at later phases of the process. This indicates that the benefits may be foreseen in similar future actions through the initiated learning and change processes.
{"title":"Empirical insights into knowledge-weaving processes in strategic environmental research","authors":"K. Korhonen-Kurki, S. Bor, M. Faehnle, A. Kosenius, S. Kuusela, J. Käyhkö, M. Pekkonen, H. Saarikoski, M. Keskinen","doi":"10.1080/1523908X.2022.2044296","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2022.2044296","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Merging scientific and stakeholder knowledge plays a critical part in knowledge co-production processes, yet it is far from straightforward. We describe knowledge co-production processes by drawing on experiences from four strategic research cases that all sought to integrate scientific and stakeholder knowledge, while demonstrating the different settings and methodological choices for knowledge co-production in environmental research. To facilitate systematic analysis, we utilized the knowledge-weaving framework by Tengö et al. (2017) to examine co-production through the phases of knowledge mobilizing, translating, negotiating, synthesizing and applying. We also considered the inclusiveness of the weaving processes, where our results show that all of the study cases were able to engage participants across the four phases. Our analysis indicates that the framework is useful for unpacking the different phases of the knowledge-weaving process as well as the variety of activities that are used throughout the process. However, the results also emphasize the long-term nature of these processes, as knowledge-weaving activities were used predominantly in the mobilize and translate/negotiate phases and less at later phases of the process. This indicates that the benefits may be foreseen in similar future actions through the initiated learning and change processes.","PeriodicalId":15699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning","volume":"64 1","pages":"733 - 748"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2022-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91361799","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-24DOI: 10.1080/1523908X.2022.2044297
Jeffrey Chow, C. Du, Xun Wu
ABSTRACT Uncertainty has been considered both a driver of and barrier to collaborative governance. Uncertainty concerning pollution sources, its impacts, and the effectiveness of control measures can undermine incentive structures necessary for collaborative governance. This paper examines the uncertainties in air pollution policy formulation in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta Greater Bay Area, as well as the role of science in reducing such uncertainties to foster and sustain collaborative governance. Through a case study of shipping emissions control, we find that science can play a critical role in addressing substantive uncertainties, the mitigation of which facilitates voluntary agreements and other collaborative arrangements that reduce strategic and institutional uncertainties to enable the enactment of official policy solutions. This study shows that science can reduce uncertainties and facilitate collaborative governance under circumstances that permit the avoidance of key challenges raised by other scholars. The mitigation of these uncertainties can allow a collaborative governance framework to evolve across typological levels during the policy development process.
{"title":"Uncertainty and collaborative governance: the role of science in combating shipping air pollution in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, China","authors":"Jeffrey Chow, C. Du, Xun Wu","doi":"10.1080/1523908X.2022.2044297","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2022.2044297","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Uncertainty has been considered both a driver of and barrier to collaborative governance. Uncertainty concerning pollution sources, its impacts, and the effectiveness of control measures can undermine incentive structures necessary for collaborative governance. This paper examines the uncertainties in air pollution policy formulation in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta Greater Bay Area, as well as the role of science in reducing such uncertainties to foster and sustain collaborative governance. Through a case study of shipping emissions control, we find that science can play a critical role in addressing substantive uncertainties, the mitigation of which facilitates voluntary agreements and other collaborative arrangements that reduce strategic and institutional uncertainties to enable the enactment of official policy solutions. This study shows that science can reduce uncertainties and facilitate collaborative governance under circumstances that permit the avoidance of key challenges raised by other scholars. The mitigation of these uncertainties can allow a collaborative governance framework to evolve across typological levels during the policy development process.","PeriodicalId":15699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning","volume":"88 1","pages":"29 - 41"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2022-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80677503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-23DOI: 10.1080/1523908X.2022.2042675
Meron Tesfamichael
ABSTRACT Anchored by ambitions of economic growth and energy security, governments in developing countries are building large-scale energy infrastructures at a fast pace. While committed to making modern energy accessible to all, many are also reconfiguring their institutions to hasten the sector transformation into a market-oriented entity. In some cases, these ambitious agendas are also being pursued in the context of deteriorating infrastructure and supply shortfalls. The paper uses the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) to explore how political elites and citizens construct visions of the desirable future to be realised through large scale energy projects. After documenting how dominant accounts align with and diverge from citizens expectations, the paper explores how urban households reconcile the energy abundance large-scale projects promise with their experience of inadequate and increasingly expensive access to electricity. Furthermore, noting the absence of a meaningful and effective citizens engagement in the sector governance, the paper highlights the inherent risks of large-scale projects from an energy justice perspective.
{"title":"Caught between hope and reality: how citizens reconcile ambitious dominant energy imaginaries with everyday service shortfalls","authors":"Meron Tesfamichael","doi":"10.1080/1523908X.2022.2042675","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2022.2042675","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Anchored by ambitions of economic growth and energy security, governments in developing countries are building large-scale energy infrastructures at a fast pace. While committed to making modern energy accessible to all, many are also reconfiguring their institutions to hasten the sector transformation into a market-oriented entity. In some cases, these ambitious agendas are also being pursued in the context of deteriorating infrastructure and supply shortfalls. The paper uses the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) to explore how political elites and citizens construct visions of the desirable future to be realised through large scale energy projects. After documenting how dominant accounts align with and diverge from citizens expectations, the paper explores how urban households reconcile the energy abundance large-scale projects promise with their experience of inadequate and increasingly expensive access to electricity. Furthermore, noting the absence of a meaningful and effective citizens engagement in the sector governance, the paper highlights the inherent risks of large-scale projects from an energy justice perspective.","PeriodicalId":15699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning","volume":"25 1","pages":"421 - 432"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2022-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84106597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-18DOI: 10.1080/1523908X.2022.2037412
F. X. Johnson, Nella Canales, M. Fielding, Ganna Gladkykh, M. Aung, R. Bailis, M. Ogeya, O. Olsson
ABSTRACT The bioeconomy offers a cross-cutting perspective on the societal transformation towards long-term sustainability and the transition away from the non-renewable economy. Identification of future pathways towards a sustainable bioeconomy can be related to different ‘visions’ of the bioeconomy, including an ecological vision, a bioresource development vision and a biotechnology vision. This paper synthesises empirical work from stakeholder dialogues conducted in Colombia, Rwanda, Sweden, and Thailand. The dialogues were structured around elaboration of bioeconomy pathways arising from different visions. The dialogues considered key driving factors and enabling conditions for different institutional levels ranging from local to regional. By conducting analysis across multiple countries and regions, we aimed to look across different economic development levels, different sectoral perspectives, and different innovation and bioresource strategies. Key components for bioeconomy pathways were identified with respect to bio-based products and resources, sectoral alignment, innovation clusters or hubs, and landscape transitions. The choice of different bioeconomy pathways is characterised by tensions between sector-based development and cross-cutting approaches, which in turn reflect differences between the bioresource and ecological visions, whereas the biotechnology vision tends to be viewed more as a means of implementation. The comparative analysis suggests some future lines of research on governing bioeconomy pathways.
{"title":"A comparative analysis of bioeconomy visions and pathways based on stakeholder dialogues in Colombia, Rwanda, Sweden, and Thailand","authors":"F. X. Johnson, Nella Canales, M. Fielding, Ganna Gladkykh, M. Aung, R. Bailis, M. Ogeya, O. Olsson","doi":"10.1080/1523908X.2022.2037412","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2022.2037412","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The bioeconomy offers a cross-cutting perspective on the societal transformation towards long-term sustainability and the transition away from the non-renewable economy. Identification of future pathways towards a sustainable bioeconomy can be related to different ‘visions’ of the bioeconomy, including an ecological vision, a bioresource development vision and a biotechnology vision. This paper synthesises empirical work from stakeholder dialogues conducted in Colombia, Rwanda, Sweden, and Thailand. The dialogues were structured around elaboration of bioeconomy pathways arising from different visions. The dialogues considered key driving factors and enabling conditions for different institutional levels ranging from local to regional. By conducting analysis across multiple countries and regions, we aimed to look across different economic development levels, different sectoral perspectives, and different innovation and bioresource strategies. Key components for bioeconomy pathways were identified with respect to bio-based products and resources, sectoral alignment, innovation clusters or hubs, and landscape transitions. The choice of different bioeconomy pathways is characterised by tensions between sector-based development and cross-cutting approaches, which in turn reflect differences between the bioresource and ecological visions, whereas the biotechnology vision tends to be viewed more as a means of implementation. The comparative analysis suggests some future lines of research on governing bioeconomy pathways.","PeriodicalId":15699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning","volume":"95 1","pages":"680 - 700"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2022-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74757528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-13DOI: 10.1080/1523908X.2022.2037413
V. Mitroi, Véronique Maleval, J. Deroubaix, B. Vinçon-Leite, J. Humbert
ABSTRACT Urban lakes and ponds (L&Ps) provide numerous ecological and social services for local populations living in urban areas. Their monitoring and management are mostly based on water quality and ecological indicators and poorly consider public preferences and expectancies related to these artificial ecosystems. Even fewer studies bring together expert indicators and public expectations to inform management objectives for urban lakes. Based on an interdisciplinary study, this paper compares an expert assessment of the ecological quality of three urban L&Ps located in the Ile-de-France area with the public perception of these lakes. This approach permits us to explore the compatibilities and incongruences between the various ways in which scientists, managers and urban users assess urban L&P quality. Based on these data, we discuss how it could be possible to define management objectives that integrate quality indicators and expect these objectives to be used in a territorial approach that might allow to obtain a better adequacy between social users’ expectations and the ecological status of these L&Ps.
{"title":"What urban lakes and ponds quality is about? Conciliating water quality and ecological indicators with users’ perceptions and expectations about urban lakes and ponds quality in urban areas","authors":"V. Mitroi, Véronique Maleval, J. Deroubaix, B. Vinçon-Leite, J. Humbert","doi":"10.1080/1523908X.2022.2037413","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2022.2037413","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Urban lakes and ponds (L&Ps) provide numerous ecological and social services for local populations living in urban areas. Their monitoring and management are mostly based on water quality and ecological indicators and poorly consider public preferences and expectancies related to these artificial ecosystems. Even fewer studies bring together expert indicators and public expectations to inform management objectives for urban lakes. Based on an interdisciplinary study, this paper compares an expert assessment of the ecological quality of three urban L&Ps located in the Ile-de-France area with the public perception of these lakes. This approach permits us to explore the compatibilities and incongruences between the various ways in which scientists, managers and urban users assess urban L&P quality. Based on these data, we discuss how it could be possible to define management objectives that integrate quality indicators and expect these objectives to be used in a territorial approach that might allow to obtain a better adequacy between social users’ expectations and the ecological status of these L&Ps.","PeriodicalId":15699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning","volume":"12 1","pages":"701 - 718"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2022-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87999766","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-11DOI: 10.1080/1523908X.2022.2037414
J. Witzell, M. Henriksson, M. Håkansson, K. Isaksson
ABSTRACT This article presents findings from a qualitative in-depth analysis of a four-year Swedish national policy initiative where six public agencies were commissioned to produce a strategic plan for a transition towards a fossil-free transport sector. The aim of the article is to provide empirically grounded insights on principles and practices of importance for building transformative capacity in strategic, long-term transport planning. In the analysis, the concepts stewarding, unlocking, transforming and orchestrating are applied to explore and discuss transformative features of the policy initiative. Altogether, several elements of transformative capacity were developed through the process. Of specific importance was the establishment of an open and explorative approach to carrying out the commission, and ways in which the organizations involved started to challenge dominant perspectives and analytical practices in conventional transport planning. Shared principles and practices for analysis and assessment were developed, which allowed for a broadened consideration of climate mitigation measures. However, due to a lack of coordination with formalized planning settings and a lack of political decisions to sustain the commission, there are yet no signs of the work influencing conventional transport planning. Even so, gained experience and insights from this case can inform future change-oriented initiatives.
{"title":"Transformative capacity for climate mitigation in strategic transport planning – principles and practices in cross-sectoral collaboration","authors":"J. Witzell, M. Henriksson, M. Håkansson, K. Isaksson","doi":"10.1080/1523908X.2022.2037414","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2022.2037414","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article presents findings from a qualitative in-depth analysis of a four-year Swedish national policy initiative where six public agencies were commissioned to produce a strategic plan for a transition towards a fossil-free transport sector. The aim of the article is to provide empirically grounded insights on principles and practices of importance for building transformative capacity in strategic, long-term transport planning. In the analysis, the concepts stewarding, unlocking, transforming and orchestrating are applied to explore and discuss transformative features of the policy initiative. Altogether, several elements of transformative capacity were developed through the process. Of specific importance was the establishment of an open and explorative approach to carrying out the commission, and ways in which the organizations involved started to challenge dominant perspectives and analytical practices in conventional transport planning. Shared principles and practices for analysis and assessment were developed, which allowed for a broadened consideration of climate mitigation measures. However, due to a lack of coordination with formalized planning settings and a lack of political decisions to sustain the commission, there are yet no signs of the work influencing conventional transport planning. Even so, gained experience and insights from this case can inform future change-oriented initiatives.","PeriodicalId":15699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning","volume":"15 1","pages":"719 - 732"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2022-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80463483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-09DOI: 10.1080/1523908X.2022.2038104
Simon Haikola, Jonas Anshelm
ABSTRACT In contrast to its successful decarbonisation of the electricity system, Sweden has failed to achieve momentum in its attempts to decarbonise transport. This paper examines the reasons for this failure by investigating the discourse around investment in Swedish transport infrastructure. Our analysis focusses specifically on discussions about establishing high-speed rail (HSR) spanning 25 years. We identify three central discursive themes: the issue of financing, the role of the state in socio-technical change, and fatalism. We then trace these themes to storylines within the HSR discourse that each tell a story about good transport governance, informed by a specific interpretation of Swedish modernisation. Four storylines converge in a ‘‘deflationary’’ discourse coalition, characterised by ideas of sound finance and depoliticised governance, that reinforces material dependencies on existing transport infrastructure. A competing, ‘‘Weberian’’ discourse coalition is united through a contrasting storyline that instead highlights state capacity as evidenced by Swedish modernisation.
{"title":"The modern railway and the Swedish state – competing storylines about state capacity, modernisation and material dependencies in the Swedish high-speed rail discourse, 1995–2020","authors":"Simon Haikola, Jonas Anshelm","doi":"10.1080/1523908X.2022.2038104","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2022.2038104","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In contrast to its successful decarbonisation of the electricity system, Sweden has failed to achieve momentum in its attempts to decarbonise transport. This paper examines the reasons for this failure by investigating the discourse around investment in Swedish transport infrastructure. Our analysis focusses specifically on discussions about establishing high-speed rail (HSR) spanning 25 years. We identify three central discursive themes: the issue of financing, the role of the state in socio-technical change, and fatalism. We then trace these themes to storylines within the HSR discourse that each tell a story about good transport governance, informed by a specific interpretation of Swedish modernisation. Four storylines converge in a ‘‘deflationary’’ discourse coalition, characterised by ideas of sound finance and depoliticised governance, that reinforces material dependencies on existing transport infrastructure. A competing, ‘‘Weberian’’ discourse coalition is united through a contrasting storyline that instead highlights state capacity as evidenced by Swedish modernisation.","PeriodicalId":15699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning","volume":"14 1","pages":"325 - 342"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2022-02-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76694078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-02-01DOI: 10.1080/1523908X.2022.2031928
Hui Li, S. Tang, C. Lo
ABSTRACT ENGOs are an essential part of the institutional fabric of environmental governance. A key issue is how they participate in environmental policymaking through different strategies, including legal, administrative, and media advocacy. Using original data on Chinese ENGOs, this article examines how ENGOs’ dependency on government funding and donations, and their perceptions of the broader political environment, affect their engagement in policy advocacy. Our empirical analysis shows that a) government funding increases ENGOs’ engagement in all advocacy strategies, whereas donations reduce administrative advocacy; and b) the perceived political environment affects ENGO advocacy strategies by changing the dynamics between funders and ENGOs, triggering caution against political risks and increasing ENGOs’ dependence on donors. This study highlights how a restrictive political environment shapes ENGOs’ relations with the state and their philanthropic donors in environmental governance.
{"title":"Resource dependency, perceived political environment, and ENGO advocacy under authoritarian rule","authors":"Hui Li, S. Tang, C. Lo","doi":"10.1080/1523908X.2022.2031928","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2022.2031928","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT ENGOs are an essential part of the institutional fabric of environmental governance. A key issue is how they participate in environmental policymaking through different strategies, including legal, administrative, and media advocacy. Using original data on Chinese ENGOs, this article examines how ENGOs’ dependency on government funding and donations, and their perceptions of the broader political environment, affect their engagement in policy advocacy. Our empirical analysis shows that a) government funding increases ENGOs’ engagement in all advocacy strategies, whereas donations reduce administrative advocacy; and b) the perceived political environment affects ENGO advocacy strategies by changing the dynamics between funders and ENGOs, triggering caution against political risks and increasing ENGOs’ dependence on donors. This study highlights how a restrictive political environment shapes ENGOs’ relations with the state and their philanthropic donors in environmental governance.","PeriodicalId":15699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning","volume":"1 1","pages":"667 - 679"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2022-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86593462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-11DOI: 10.1080/1523908X.2021.2022466
Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan, S. Das, A. Ps
ABSTRACT Providing universal electricity access is India’s national priority and part of its global commitment to sustainable development. India has an increasing urban-rural gap in electricity consumption. Microgrids can evolve as a viable solution, especially for last-mile connectivity in rural areas. Through a field survey, this paper evaluates the functioning and governance of solar microgrid projects in eight villages of Komna Block in the eastern province of India. These projects were hailed for their holistic implementation with a significant portion of the budget invested in governance aspects. However, the field survey showed that most of these projects were dysfunctional and had suffered from the ‘tragedy of commons’, where people over-exploit a common resource leading to its collapse. One of the projects, which was functional, reflected ‘community collective action’, where people cooperate to manage the system. An analysis of these projects revealed that, for the sustainability of microgrids, it is imperative to acknowledge energy aspirations of rural households, to develop the capacity of the local youth for microgrid maintenance, to have a governance based on the common-pool resource theory, and to have complementarity with the main grid. The study also examined the inconsistencies in the definition of microgrids and proposed a forward-looking definition for the global south.
{"title":"Rural microgrids – ‘Tragedy of commons’ or ‘community collective action’","authors":"Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan, S. Das, A. Ps","doi":"10.1080/1523908X.2021.2022466","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2021.2022466","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Providing universal electricity access is India’s national priority and part of its global commitment to sustainable development. India has an increasing urban-rural gap in electricity consumption. Microgrids can evolve as a viable solution, especially for last-mile connectivity in rural areas. Through a field survey, this paper evaluates the functioning and governance of solar microgrid projects in eight villages of Komna Block in the eastern province of India. These projects were hailed for their holistic implementation with a significant portion of the budget invested in governance aspects. However, the field survey showed that most of these projects were dysfunctional and had suffered from the ‘tragedy of commons’, where people over-exploit a common resource leading to its collapse. One of the projects, which was functional, reflected ‘community collective action’, where people cooperate to manage the system. An analysis of these projects revealed that, for the sustainability of microgrids, it is imperative to acknowledge energy aspirations of rural households, to develop the capacity of the local youth for microgrid maintenance, to have a governance based on the common-pool resource theory, and to have complementarity with the main grid. The study also examined the inconsistencies in the definition of microgrids and proposed a forward-looking definition for the global south.","PeriodicalId":15699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning","volume":"31 1","pages":"391 - 406"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2022-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78762612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-01-07DOI: 10.1080/1523908X.2021.2023354
I. Verhoeven, S. Spruit, Elisabeth van de Grift, E. Cuppen
ABSTRACT Local governments are at the heart of implementing increasingly ambitious national plans for wind energy. While support by local governments for these plans has been studied extensively, only few studies have looked into local governments’ contestation of wind energy development. In this paper we analyze contentious governance processes in which local governments join efforts with citizen action groups to oppose projects proposed by developers or the national government. We focus on the strategic dilemmas that local governments face while engaging in contentious governance. Uncovering strategic dilemmas helps to see contestation by local governments as part of a web of governance relationships, thus moving beyond dichotomous understandings of the players involved in wind farm conflicts. Strategic dilemmas also allow understanding of how stances of local governments and their citizen allies change over time, and how strategic and tactical considerations emerge from interaction patterns.
{"title":"Contentious governance of wind energy planning: strategic dilemmas in collaborative resistance by local governments and citizen action groups","authors":"I. Verhoeven, S. Spruit, Elisabeth van de Grift, E. Cuppen","doi":"10.1080/1523908X.2021.2023354","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2021.2023354","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Local governments are at the heart of implementing increasingly ambitious national plans for wind energy. While support by local governments for these plans has been studied extensively, only few studies have looked into local governments’ contestation of wind energy development. In this paper we analyze contentious governance processes in which local governments join efforts with citizen action groups to oppose projects proposed by developers or the national government. We focus on the strategic dilemmas that local governments face while engaging in contentious governance. Uncovering strategic dilemmas helps to see contestation by local governments as part of a web of governance relationships, thus moving beyond dichotomous understandings of the players involved in wind farm conflicts. Strategic dilemmas also allow understanding of how stances of local governments and their citizen allies change over time, and how strategic and tactical considerations emerge from interaction patterns.","PeriodicalId":15699,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning","volume":"41 1","pages":"653 - 666"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2022-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77704978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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