The Problem of Fit among Biophysical Systems, Environmental and Resource Regimes, and Broader Governance Systems: Insights and Emerging Challenges

Abstract

Abstract This chapter begins with a short description of “the problem of fit” and the relationship between human and biophysical systems in the ecosystems as detailed in the research of the Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change. It goes on to represent the misfits between environmental institutions and biophysical and socioecological systems. A major part of the chapter discusses the correlation and the anatomy of misfits between biophysical, environmental, and resource regimes with reference to the governance systems. The challenges involved in the governance systems cover the subsequent parts of the chapter, which also explores the emergence and evolution of knowledge-producing systems from the “problem of fit.” The concluding part of the chapter briefly explains the possible ways of dealing with the disturbing misfits between biophysical systems and governance, and also states that the fit between the preceding systems can be enhanced but with attention to the broader governance systems.