Fostering collective action through participation in natural resource and environmental management: An integrative and interpretative narrative review using the IAD, NAS and SES frameworks

Abstract

Solving humanity's social-environmental challenges calls for collective action by relevant actors. Hence, involving these actors in the policy process has been deemed necessary and promising. But how and to what extent can participatory policy interventions (PIs) foster collective action for sustainable environmental and natural resource management? Lab and lab-in-the-field experiments on co-operation in the context of collective action challenges (i.e., social dilemmas) and case study research on participatory processes offer insights but have hitherto mainly remained unconnected. In this article, we review, synthesise and analyse these insights using the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework in combination with the network of action situations (NAS) framework and the social-ecological systems (SES) framework. Our review shows that PIs can foster collective action by (a) helping the relevant actors craft suitable and legitimate institutional arrangements and (b) addressing or influencing critical attributes for sustained collective action, namely the relevant actors' (individual and shared) understandings, beliefs and preferences. Soundly designed and implemented PIs that carefully consider and incorporate the relevant context and provide appropriate follow-up, enforcement and conflict resolution mechanisms will most likely fulfil this potential. The combined use of conceptual frameworks such as the IAD, NAS and SES frameworks and of research methods such as (lab and lab-in-the-field) experiments, comparative analyses, literature reviews and meta-analyses can help researchers and practitioners further assess these conclusions, disentangle PIs' mechanisms and impacts, and integrate the research and practice of participatory governance and collective action.