Abstract
Bottom-up approaches are often presented as a remedy to environmental governance problems caused by poorly aligned social institutions and fragmented ecosystems. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence demonstrating how such social–ecological fit might emerge and help achieve desirable outcomes. This paper combines quantitative social–ecological network analysis with interviews to investigate whether bottom-up approaches in lake governance improve the fit. We study groups of residents seeking to improve management of a network of lakes in Bengaluru, India. Results show that 23 ‘lake groups’ collaborate in a way that aligns with how lakes are hydrologically connected, thus strengthening the social–ecological fit. Three groups founded around 2010 have mobilized support from municipal officers and introduced an ecosystem-based approach to lake management that recognizes their ecological functions and dependence on, the broader hydrological network. These groups have also changed how other lake groups operate: groups founded after 2010 are more collaborative and more prone to contribute to social–ecological fit compared to the older lake groups. This paper demonstrates the utility of a theoretically informed method for examining the impact of bottom-up approaches, which, we argue, is important for a more informed perspective on their relevance and potential contribution to urban environmental governance.
Highlights
The ‘problem of fit’ refers to the failure of social institutions to adequately match or align with ecosystems’ spatial, temporal, or functional features and dynamics (Lee 1993; Folke et al 2007; Galaz et al 2008)
It should be noted that since ‘lake chain collaborations’ are not overrepresented, we can conclude that the observed fit is primarily a result of the way individual lake groups choose to work with lakes, rather than a tendency among groups to collaborate in ways that increase fit
How can social–ecological fit be improved in cities, where land is modified beyond recognition and large numbers of people inhabit ecosystems often without understanding their dynamics? In Bengaluru, part of the answer appears to be ‘‘gradually, through collaboration, and from the bottomup.’’ The good fit displayed in how lake groups engage with the city’s network of lakes is driven by the most recent generation of such groups; it builds on wisdom from previous initiatives and many years of efforts to protect the city’s water bodies
Summary
The ‘problem of fit’ refers to the failure of social institutions to adequately match or align with ecosystems’ spatial, temporal, or functional features and dynamics (Lee 1993; Folke et al 2007; Galaz et al 2008). Urbanization, a key driver of global environmental change and an unprecedented transformation of human societies worldwide (Elmqvist et al 2013; UN-Habitat 2013; McPhearson et al 2016), tends to exacerbate problems of fit by assigning land use and administrative boundaries according to societal dynamics rather than local ecology (Grimm et al 2008; Andersson et al 2017) This obstructs the governance of the urban green spaces that are needed to create more livable cities and, importantly, for the provision of ecosystem services that underpin the well-being of urban dwellers (Millenium Ecosystem Assessment 2005; Elmqvist et al 2013).
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