Adapting to Socio-Environmental Change: Institutional Analysis of the Adaptive Capacity of Interacting Formal and Informal Cooperative Water Governance

Abstract

Much of the world’s agricultural lands are projected to face hydrologic and climatic changes that will lead to water scarcity and corresponding food insecurity. The emergent response of complex social-ecological systems to change requires rapid response and tailored solutions. Top-down responses without room for local self-organization may fail to implement effective solutions, yet self-organization alone may be too slow to respond in a period of rapid change and may lack the accountability necessary in the management of a public resource such as water. This research relies on concepts of governing complexity to assess the role of local self-organization nested within formal institutions in developing adaptive solutions to conflict involving irrigated agriculture in Idaho’s Upper Snake River Basin. While formal institutions have provided a framework, steering, and resources for local action, the organization of water users dependent on the resource plays a large role in the ability of the region to adapt to water supply disturbances, highlighting the importance of local capacity within an umbrella of governmental steering to respond to rising water resources issues in semi-arid regions.