Learning for Transformation of Water Governance: Reflections on Design from the Climate Change Adaptation and Water Governance (CADWAGO) Project

Chris Blackmore,Lotten Westberg,Pier Roggero,Annemarieke De Bruin,Natalie Foster,Kevin Collins,Giovanna Seddaiu,Neil Powell,Jasper De Vries,Severine Van Bommel

doi:10.3390/w8110510

Abstract

This paper considers how learning for transformation of water governance in the context of climate change adaptation can be designed for and supported, drawing examples from the international climate change adaptation and water governance project (CADWAGO). The project explicitly set out to design for governance learning in the sense of developing elements of social infrastructure such as workshops, performances and online media to bring stakeholders together and to facilitate co-learning of relevance to governance. CADWAGO drew on a variety of international cases from past and ongoing work of the project partners. It created a forum for dialogue among actors from different contexts working at different levels and scales. The range of opportunities and constraints encountered are discussed, including the principles and practicalities of working with distributed processes of design and leadership of events. A range of concepts, tools and techniques were used to consider and facilitate individual and collective learning processes and outcomes associated with water governance in the context of climate adaptation. Questions were addressed about how elements of past, present and future water governance thinking and practice are connected and how multi-level systemic change in governance can take place. Some reflections on the effectiveness of the design for learning process are included. The nature of the contribution that projects such as CADWAGO can make in learning for transformation of water governance practices is also critically considered.

Highlights

Water governance means different things to different people, depending on whether the act of governing is seen as about guiding, directing, ruling and/or valuing water
We set out in this paper to address the question of how learning processes of relevance to water governance transformation can be designed and supported, where there are diverse stakeholders at different levels
It was found that different perspectives on water governance could be brought together through the designed and emergent event processes described, which were in part an outcome of the modification of the project design that gave increased explicit emphasis to learning and was supported by the online media

Summary

Introduction

Water governance means different things to different people, depending on whether the act of governing is seen as about guiding, directing, ruling and/or valuing water. 291) suggest that “Governance provides a way of conceptualizing [the] emerging network of relationships between different sectors and interests in society enabling us to analyse how governments, the public and private sectors, civil society, citizens groups and individual citizens forge networks and linkages to provide new ways for society to order itself and manage its affairs.”. Their focus on emerging networks and linkages recognises the dynamic nature of governance and its context. It is claimed that the transformations required are to move from existing water governance regimes that lead to unsustainable water management practices to more systemic and adaptive governance regimes [5,6]

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Conclusion