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Welcome to the website of the research cluster on 'Adaptive Governance'. We are a multidisciplinary team of young and ambitious researchers interested in the governance challenges posed by environmental change.
We are open for collaboration with other research groups, so if you're interested please send us an e-mail.
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Adaptive governance is a relatively new concept as well as a new way of approaching the management of social-ecological systems. When structural changes occur in ecosystems this requires an adequate response from the social system. The term adaptation refers to the process of structural change in response to changing circumstances. Effective adaptation results in "adaptedness", meaning that a certain dynamic structure is effective in dealing with its current external environment. "Adaptability" is about the capacity to adapt to future changes in the environment of a particular system. Adaptive governance is the totality of interactions, by private and public actors, to achieve adaptation and to enhance adaptability. We believe the adaptive governance holds a great promise for improved understanding and better solutions to environmental problems.
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In our research cluster we wish to connect and engage with the evolving literature on "adaptive (co-)management" of social-ecological systems. Although thinkers in the adaptive governance literature have pointed to the importance of socioeconomic, cultural and institutional mechanisms to facilitate (or obstruct) change for a relatively long time, only recently the analysis of governance mechanisms associated with socio-ecological system management has increased. Our cluster aims to contribute to this development by concentrating on the governance and socioeconomic aspects of adaptive co-management.
Research
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Feedback and suggestions for improvement of this website are highly appreciated! If you have comments or suggestions, please write Dave Huitema at dave.huitema@ivm.vu.nl
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