Role In Natural Resource Management Research Articles

Development of a convolutional neural network to accurately detect land use and land cover

The detection and modeling of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) play pivotal roles in natural resource management, environmental modeling and assessment, and ecological connectivity management. However, addressing LULCC detection and modeling constitutes a complex data-driven process. In the present study, a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is employed due to its great potential in image classification. The development of these tools applies the deep learning method. A methodology has been developed that classifies the set of land uses in a natural area of special protection. This study area covers the Sierra del Cando (Galicia, northwest Spain), considered by the European Union as a Site of Community Interest and integrated in the Natura 2000 Network. The results of the CNN model developed show an accuracy of 91 % on training dataset and 88 % on test dataset. In addition, the model was tested on images of the study area, both from Sentinel-2 and PNOA. Despite some confusion especially in the residential class due to the characteristics in this area, CNNs prove to be a powerful classification tool.•Classifications based on a CNN model•LULC are classified into 10 different classes•Training and test accuracy are 91 % and 88 %, respectively

Investigating the Role of Geography Education in Natural Resource Management

Geography education plays a pivotal role in natural resource management by fostering an understanding of optimal conservation practices. Through comprehensive examination of regional environments and geography, we can gauge the impact of human activities on natural resources and propose sustainable solutions. By increasing environmental awareness, geography education elucidates the repercussions of activities such as deforestation, pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change. This heightened awareness empowers us to refine policies and management practices, ensuring the judicious utilization and preservation of natural resources. This article underscores the paramount importance of geography education in natural resource preservation. Employing an applied and descriptive approach, the research methodology involves library studies. The findings highlight that geography education establishes vital links between individuals and their environment, facilitating informed resource management decisions. By analyzing regional geography and its influence on natural resources, optimal preservation strategies emerge. For instance, studying precipitation patterns enables efficient water management and drought mitigation. Ultimately, geography education equips us with the knowledge and tools to identify effective resource preservation methods, fostering sustainable utilization practices through enhanced environmental comprehension and spatial awareness.

Enhancing Soil Degradation Assessment through the Integration of GIS and RS: A Comprehensive Review

GIS and RS are powerful tools that play a crucial role in natural resource management, especially when it comes to assessing soil degradation. Soil degradation is a long-standing global problem, and to understand the role of GIS and RS in addressing it, data from secondary sources were collected and analyzed. Several researchers have utilized GIS and RS, integrated with the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), to assess soil degradation. Their findings reveal that soil erosion, triggered primarily by water, is a critical form of land degradation. This erosion significantly reduces the potential capacity of the soil, posing threats to economic growth, environmental resources, and social assets. Furthermore, the severity of soil erosion varies across different regions of the country. Despite the valuable insights gained through studies using GIS and RS for soil degradation assessment, their contributions are not yet widely recognized by government organizations, NGOs, policymakers, decision-makers, environmentalists, and researchers. This lack of recognition hinders the attention and action that could be directed towards mitigating soil degradation. To address this issue, this paper aims to comprehensively review the contributions of GIS and RS in assessing soil degradation. By doing so, it seeks to raise awareness among key stakeholders and foster greater attention and support for tackling this critical environmental challenge.

“Collaborative NGO Analysis in NRM: When your collaborator is also your unit of analysis”

NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) continue to take more responsibility in Natural Resource Management (NRM). This requires in-depth analyses of the roles NGOs play in NRM. Collaborative NGO Analysis (CNGOA), whereby scholars take an expert role and partner with an NGO to study the organization, its impacts/activities, and its partnerships, can provide new insight into NGO roles in NRM. Existing collaborative studies in NRM primarily apply participatory and community-based approaches whereby researchers partner with organizations to study a problem, such as climate change. However, few studies use CNGOA. This research note addresses this gap by presenting three cases that use CNGOA. CNGOA can create new opportunities to apply theoretical constructs and open spaces for NGO reflexivity. Flexible agreements that include conditions for NGO involvement and anonymity support the approach and can protect the NGO and address some equity concerns. Findings lay the groundwork for additional studies that apply CNGOA in NRM.

Gender role in climate change adaptation on the peat swamp ecosystem in Pulang Pisau Regency Central Kalimantan

Climate change has the most severe impact on women, but studies on adaptation in a gender perspective are still limited. The purposes of this study were to find out: (1) gender role changes in response to climate change, and (2) the impact of gender role changes on the vulnerability of women. This study was conducted on the peat-swamp ecosystem in Pulang Pisau Regency, Central Kalimantan. Gender roles in natural resource management in adapting to climate change in the peat-swamp ecosystem were descriptively qualitatively analyzed which emphasized relations and gender roles in the household. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. This study used documentation methods with secondary data types. From the results of the study, it can be seen that the gender role of women is divided into three, namely productive roles, reproductive roles, and social community roles. Climate change in Pulang Pisau Regency will interact and be sustainable with gender inequality and which disadvantages women than men, especially among the poor community, so that access to the availability of natural resources is needed in order to solve existing vulnerabilities and increase more real participation in the current climate change adaptation process.

A case study of runoff and sediment yield in areas subjected to different forest thinning operations in a northern New Mexico forest

Forest thinning practices play a fundamental role in natural resource management and are used to reduce forest density, particularly in the southwestern United States. Increased forest density can significantly influence fuel loads and subsequent fire severity. Moderate and high fire severity may increase surface runoff and sediment yield during postfire rainfall events. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of thinning treatments on runoff and sediment yield in northern New Mexico forests. Four cover types were tested to evaluate how they influenced runoff and sedimentation. The four cover types included control (nonthinned), interspace (between slash piles), lop-scatter (slash was scattered and burned), and pile (slash was piled and burned). In addition, each cover type was tested on two categories of slopes: mild slopes (<5%) and moderate slopes (5% to 20%). Rainfall simulations (~16 cm h^–1) for both dry and wet runs were used to measure runoff and sediment yield in 2015 and 2017. Results showed pile treatments had significantly higher time to runoff initiation than did control plots during dry runs. Time to peak runoff was significantly different in mild slope (38.1 min) than moderate slope (25.4 min) in the dry run. Wet run time to peak runoff was found to be greater under the pile treatment as compared to other treatments. Sediment yield was significantly greater on moderate slopes in pile and lop-scatter treatments as compared to control for dry runs. For wet runs, a significant effect was detected between slopes; moderate (greater) slopes produced greater sediment than mild (lesser) slopes. The pile treatments may provide beneficial impacts for watersheds despite the delayed peak runoff in response to rainfall on milder slopes. However, high sediment yield with runoff for pile thinning treatments in steeper slope locations will be important to include when evaluating management impacts on natural resources in the future. Overall, this case study shows that thinning activities in conifer forests of New Mexico have the potential to impact the hydrological function of the watershed and should be considered as part of an overall forest and watershed management strategy.

Nutrient value of wild fodder species and the implications for improving the diet of mithun (Bos frontalis) in Dulongjiang area, Yunnan Province, China

Wild fodder plants are valuable because they provide an important livestock feed resource globally, especially for smallholder farmers, and have important roles in natural resource management. In-depth knowledge of wild forage plants can motivate local people for feed resource and habitat conservation of threatened herbivores such as Mithun (Bos frontalis). Mithun occur in small patches in the mountains of Dulongjiang, nearby villagers domesticated this animal but left animal to freely graze in the mountains. Many fodder plants occur in these mountains, however, little is known about their nutritional value. We conducted an ethnobotanical survey to document important wild fodder plants consumed by mithun in the Dulongjiang Township. The nutritional content of 21 highly mentioned wild fodder plants in an ethnobotanical survey was examined. Laboratory analysis showed that Fagopyrum dibotrys were the fodder species with the highest crude protein (CP) content (26.89%), followed by Polygonum molle (21.88%) and Hydrangea longipes (21.12%). Synthesis of relative feed value index and grey relational grade, P. molle, H. longipes and Tetrastigma obtectum were ranked the top three nutritional fodders. There was a significant difference between 21 species on their in vitro digestibility and the most highly digestible fodder species was Elatostema hookerianum. Linear model analysis on relationship between frequency of citation of 21 wild forage plants by local farmers and their nutrient composition showed that the frequency was significantly positively correlated with the nutritional value of the feed (R2 = 0.28, P < 0.05). We concluded that these species have high nutritional values to improve mithun production in integrated crop-livestock systems. Fodder species or mixtures of species with useful nutritional characters could be cultivated to improve livestock productivity, habitat conservation including that of mithun and wild forage resource management.

Natural Resource Consumption and Lockdown

Resource consumption is about the consumption of non-renewable or renewable resources. Water, oil, natural gas, environmental degradation, deforestation, resource depletion, energy consumption etc. unsustainable consumption by steadily increasing population may lead to resource depletion. Natural resource management is the management of natural resources like water, land soil, plants and animals. With a particular focus on how management focus on living styles for present and future generations. India is fast moving towards crisis of ground water(GW) overdose. National per capita annual availability of water has reduced 15% from 2001 to 2011. A common man has important role in natural resource management. Even being at home he might be consuming or conservating natural resources in terms of fuel for vehicle, gas for kitchen, water for bath, electricity for light and gadgets. Two things need to be focused one the environment in which we live and other our own body.We need to know how much we consume our natural resources daily so we consume less and conserve more, we can leave behind a healthy future for generations to come. We need to know what natural resources are and out of them what actually we daily consuming even being at home. Lockdown has increased or decreased consumption of natural resources, how much our life style depleting these natural resources and how to conserve it for future generations, is central theme of this paper. Awareness, conservation of natural resources and its consumption in home, is analyzed in the paper.

Trends in Environmental Valuation: The Challenge to Nigerian Geography and Sustainable Development

Environmental valuation, which is interdisciplinary in scope and practice, has a considerable role in natural resource management. This paper contends that assessment studies required to prioritize and preserve the ecological integrity of Nigeria’s varied environments have been limited in geography and argues the need to realign with newer perspectives. The review problematizes the relative value of the seemingly more robust, precise but conventional quantitative tools of assessment widely deployed in the discipline and the efficacy of the experiential perspectives espoused by humanistic geographers, whose impetus comes from conceptual borrowings. The propriety of these borrowings is evaluated. The paper then suggests that while the increasing interest in valuation has largely been spurred by the need to establish criteria for minimizing and managing the impact of human activities on the environment, the validity of much of the methodologies adopted has been far from clear, although a notable contribution in Nigerian geography is the attempt at reducing a composite or aggregate index of environmental quality. While this approach has benefits for environmental planning and design, the paper also outlines new directions for more impactful research, especially against the backdrop of the upsurge of interest in environmental or resource economics.

Progress and Challenges in Ex Situ Conservation of Forage Germplasm: Grasses, Herbaceous Legumes and Fodder Trees.

Forages provide an important livestock feed resource globally, particularly for millions of smallholder farmers, and have important roles in natural resource management and carbon sequestration, reducing soil erosion and mitigating the effects of climate change. Forage germplasm remains the basis for the selection and development of new, higher-yielding and better adaptedgenotypes to meet the increasing demand for livestock feed. Rapid rates of genetic erosion of forage diversity due to land-use change from natural pastures and rangelands to crop production to meet the food security requirements of a growing global population, together with pressures from a changing climate, highlight the necessity for ex situ seed conservation of forage genetic resources to provide germplasm for use by future generations. Whilst many forage species have orthodox seeds, the diverse range of genera and species which provide forage is a challenge in terms of the wide scope of information and understanding on conservation methods that genebank managers require—particularly for tropical forages, many of which are comparatively under-researched. We review the challenges to the conservation of tropical forage species by seed in ex situ genebanks and provide information on optimum methods for their management.

Review on Contribution of GIS and RS for Soil Degradation Assessment in Ethiopia

GIS and RS are an advanced tools and playing a great role in natural resource management, particularly for assessing soil degradation. Soil degradation is the chronic problem in the world including Ethiopia. To review the contribution of GIS and RS, data collected from secondary data sources then discussion made based on their key findings.Accordingly, a few authors have assessed soil degradation by using GIS and RS integrated with USLE in Ethiopia. According to their findings, land degradation in the form of soil erosion is a critical issue. It is triggering by water soil erosion. Because of soil erosion, the potential capacity of the soil highly deteriorated. The amount of soil loss estimated in a different place all above the maximum (22t ha−1 year−1) soil loss tolerant considered for Ethiopia. Consequently, it threatens economic growth, environmental resource, and social assets. Moreover, its severity is uneven in all parts of the country. Even though the study conducted on soil degradation by using GIS and RS technique, its contribution is yet not pronounced to government organizations, NGOs, policymakers, and decision-makers, environmentalist and researchers in reviewed form. This will be reducing the attention that could be given to it. Therefore, to tackle this issue, this paper aimed to review the GIS and RS contribution for soil degradation assessment in Ethiopia. Keywords: GIS, RS, Soil degradation, Soil loss, and effects DOI : 10.7176/JEES/9-12-01 Publication date: December 31 st 2019

Civic Recreation: Outdoor Recreationists as Advocates, Stewards, and Managers of Natural Resources

Recently, groups representing the human-powered outdoor recreation community are playing an important role in natural resource management and conservation. Such civic recreation-recreation-based stewardship and advocacy aimed at preserving, creating, and restoring recreational resources-offers promise in an era of limited capacity on the part of land managers and efforts to promote innovative, participatory, and collaborative civic environmentalism. Despite this growing trend, little research has looked at these civic recreation organizations or their role in natural resource management. Drawing from a mixed-method research design combining an exploratory case study of local civic recreation organizations with survey research, this article aims to describe civic recreation in practice and explores how it fits into natural resource management of the twenty-first century. Specifically, the goal is to understand why, how, and to what end these organizations emerge and function. The findings reveal that civic recreation organizations often emerge as grassroots initiatives to either address a threat to access or implement the vision of an innovative leader who seeks to create a recreational resource. These organizations primarily focus on direct stewardship, collaboration with land managers, and innovative private-public partnerships for the purposes of preserving or creating recreational resources. Outcomes and benefits span environmental, community, and management domains, offering promise to an era of collaborative and community-based natural resource management.

Simulation of precipitation time series using tree-rings, earlywood vessel features, and artificial neural network

Precipitation forecasting plays a key role in natural resource management, agriculture management, and water requirement provision. Hence, dendroclimatology methods and artificial neural network (ANN) are used to estimate precipitation values in the past times. Moreover, a geographic information system (GIS) can be applied as a tool to demonstrate the spatial variation of precipitation. In this study, earlywood vessel features and tree-rings of Siberian elm species were used to simulate precipitation. The vessel features, the tree-ring extent, and the secondary data of climatologic station from the different sites were studied. At first, cross-dating and standardization of the tree-rings and vessels were performed. Then, time series analysis was done. In the next step, the relations between vessel chronologies and tree-rings with the precipitation were defined. The input parameters were selected tree-ring width and vessel features for the modeling, whereas precipitation of the growing season was selected as the output. The model or network was trained and verified by taking a case study of Fomanat plain (northern part of Iran). The results showed that the combinatory usage of vessel features and tree-rings extent in precipitation simulating can increase simulation capability. Further, different isohyets were generated using the simulated precipitation values, an interpolation technique in a GIS system. The results showed that the highest precipitation and the lowest precipitation have occurred in 1926 and 1986 during the last century.

Aproximaciones al estudio del comportamiento de los productores agropecuarios en el Chaco Seco

In our country, ecologists are increasingly called to play a more active role in natural resource management and in rural ecosystem and landscape planning. The effectiveness of management and planning depends to a large extent on the ability to transform the human behaviors that most influence the state of ecosystems and landscapes. Therefore, the capacity of research processes and results in ecology to transform the reality of territories can be enhanced by its integration with conceptual and methodological elements of the human behavioral sciences. In the territory, changes in land use and land cover are the result of a multiplicity of decisions made by those individuals that affect and beneft from ecosystems, mostly farmers. This paper reviews theories, concepts, methods and applications of social psychology to make visible and discuss their real and potential contributions to the research and management of rural ecosystems and landscapes subject to transformation by agriculture, which are illustrated by studies in the Argentine Dry Chaco. The Theory of Planned Behavior proved to be a conceptual and analytical model of great synoptic value to understand the endogenous motivational factors that influence the formation of intentions to conserve remnant forests by agricultural producers. The social valuation of ecosystem services made it possible to observe the diversity of identities and valuation profles that coexist in the territory. Finally, overlapping trade-off and indifference curves proved to be a simple and powerful tool for linking ecological and preference trade-offs, and for identifying barriers and opportunities for farmers to transition to land use systems that are both biophysically efficient and socially acceptable. https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.18.28.2.0.644

Land cover change detection using focused time delay neural network

The development of improved satellite technology generates a huge amount of remote sensing data, these data play the crucial role in natural resource management. The land use and land cover (LULC) change intensely affects local environment, as well as the global environment. Therefore, the quantifiable knowledge about LULC changes occur in global scale is important to make effective planning for conservation and precise use of natural resources, that has motivated the scientists to develop the various land cover change detection techniques. In this paper, we have proposed neural network-based approach, i.e., focused time delay neural network (FTDNN)-based approach for land cover change detection, which is a time series prediction-based approach and detect the sudden change in the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) time series. The performance of the proposed method has been addressed by using quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques. For the quantitative evaluation, the proposed algorithm is applied to the standard synthetic data set, which are analogous to EVI time series data set. The performance result of the proposed method compares with the four previously existing data mining-based benchmark techniques. The analysis was shown that the FTDNN-based method significantly outperforms than other techniques. For qualitative analysis, the San Francisco Bay Area data set has been used, which comprises real EVI time series. The proposed FTDNN-based method is applied to the San Francisco Bay Area data set and observe the interesting land cover changes. These outcomes indicate the effectiveness of data mining techniques for the land cover change detection problem.

무제치늪에 자생하는 식물의 뿌리에서 분리한 내생진균의 군집분석 및 다양성 분석

이 논문은 무제치늪에서 채집한 기장대풀(Isachne globosa Kuntze), 솔방울고랭이(Scirpus karuisawensis Makino), 이삭귀개(Utricularia racemosa Wall.), 좀개수염(Eriocaulon decemflorum Maxim.)등 4종의 식물 뿌리에서 서식하는 내생곰팡이의 분포 및 다양성을 확인하기 위해 조사하였다. 총 226 균주가 분리되었고, 3문(Phyla), 7강(Class), 10목(Order), 22과(Family), 31(genera)속으로 분리되었다. 내생진균에서 가장 많이 분리된 속은 Acephala (19.9%), Tolypocladium (16.3%), Neopestalotiopsis (11.5%), Perenniporia (7.1%) 순으로 확인하였다. 다양성지수 분석에 있어서, 이삭귀개(Ur)가 다른 식물 종에 비해 종 풍부도 (Menhinick's index = 2.37), (Margalef's index = 4.46)와, 종 균등도 (Simpson's index diversity = 0.91), 그리고 종 다양성(Shannon's indx = 2.57)로 높게 나왔다. 이러한 분석 결과를 봤을 때, 이삭귀개(Ur)에서 내생진균이 가장 다양하게 서식할 수 있는 것으로 보여진다. Wetlands exhibit intermediate characteristics of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and the biodiversity is rich in these unique biological habitats. The symbiotic relationships between plants and fungi that inhabit these wetlands play an important role in natural resource management, biodiversity, and conservation. Accordingly, the mujechi, having academic value for the study of the natural environment, was investigated in terms of genetic diversity of endophytic fungi, which inhabit the roots of wild plants. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was amplified to identify fungal strains. In total, 226 strains were isolated and categorized into three phyla, seven classes, 10 orders, 22 families, and 31 genera. In plants by endophytic fungi were classified in Isachne globosa (Ig) to 19 genera, Scirpus karuisawensis (Sk) to 11 genera, Utricularia racemosa (Ur) to 19 genera, and one incertae sedis, Eriocaulon decemflorum (Ed) to 11 genera. The fungal taxa was identified the genera Acephala (19.9%), Tolypocladium (16.3%), Neopestalotiopsis (11.5%), and Perenniporia (7.1%). The fungal group isolated from Isachne globosa (Ig) grew the largest number of isolated fungal strains. After comprehensive evaluation, the endophytic fungal group from Utricularia racemosa (Ur) ranked highest in diversity analyses. From the roots of wild plant in mujechi-neup, it confirmed the distribution and diversity of endophytic fungi. This study provides the basic data to understand fungal community structure in peat wetlands.

Analyzing Collaborative Governance Through Social Network Analysis: A Case Study of River Management Along the Waal River in The Netherlands.

Until recently, governmental organizations played a dominant and decisive role in natural resource management. However, an increasing number of studies indicate that this dominant role is developing towards a more facilitating role as equal partner to improve efficiency and create a leaner state. This approach is characterized by complex collaborative relationships between various actors and sectors on multiple levels. To understand this complexity in the field of environmental management, we conducted a social network analysis of floodplain management in the Dutch Rhine delta. We charted the current interorganizational relationships between 43 organizations involved in flood protection (blue network) and nature management (green network) and explored the consequences of abolishing the central actor in these networks. The discontinuation of this actor will decrease the connectedness of actors within the blue and green network and may therefore have a large impact on the exchange of ideas and decision-making processes. Furthermore, our research shows the dependence of non-governmental actors on the main governmental organizations. It seems that the Dutch governmental organizations still have a dominant and controlling role in floodplain management. This challenges the alleged shift from a dominant government towards collaborative governance and calls for detailed analysis of actual governance.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00267-015-0606-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Potential for Applying Intergenerational Practice to Protected Area Management in Mountainous Regions

One way of preserving the natural and cultural diversity of mountain areas and supporting their sustainable development is the establishment of protected areas. The scientific literature acknowledges the importance of participation by local stakeholders and of considering social cohesion in protected area management. Intergenerational practice has been shown to enhance participation and improve social cohesion; however, its potential role in natural resource management has not been considered by the research community. This paper explores the potential for integrating intergenerational practice into protected area management in mountainous regions, guided by 3 research questions: What challenges of protected area management could benefit from intergenerational practice? How can intergenerational practice help to address these challenges? And how could intergenerational practice be more strongly integrated into current protected area management? The paper focuses on selected management challenges, mostly related to the development function of protected areas, and suggests intergenerational practice solution pathways for each challenge, derived from qualitative content analysis of the literature, interviews with protected area and regional development experts, and participation in the project Big Foot: Crossing Generations, Crossing Mountains, which tested intergenerational learning approaches in 3 rural municipalities—one each in Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy. Recommendations are proposed for integrating intergenerational practice into protected area management policy and practice at the global, regional, and local levels.

Co-evolution of soil and water conservation policy and human–environment linkages in the Yellow River Basin since 1949

Policy plays a very important role in natural resource management as it lays out a government framework for guiding long-term decisions, and evolves in light of the interactions between human and environment. This paper focuses on soil and water conservation (SWC) policy in the Yellow River Basin (YRB), China. The problems, rural poverty, severe soil erosion, great sediment loads and high flood risks, are analyzed over the period of 1949–present using the Driving force–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) framework as a way to organize analysis of the evolution of SWC policy. Three stages are identified in which SWC policy interacts differently with institutional, financial and technology support. In Stage 1 (1949–1979), SWC policy focused on rural development in eroded areas and on reducing sediment loads. Local farmers were mainly responsible for SWC. The aim of Stage 2 (1980–1990) was the overall development of rural industry and SWC. A more integrated management perspective was implemented taking a small watershed as a geographic interactional unit. This approach greatly improved the efficiency of SWC activities. In Stage 3 (1991 till now), SWC has been treated as the main measure for natural resource conservation, environmental protection, disaster mitigation and agriculture development. Prevention of new degradation became a priority. The government began to be responsible for SWC, using administrative, legal and financial approaches and various technologies that made large-scale SWC engineering possible. Over the historical period considered, with the implementation of the various SWC policies, the rural economic and ecological system improved continuously while the sediment load and flood risk decreased dramatically. The findings assist in providing a historical perspective that could inform more rational, scientific and effective natural resource management going forward.

Planning for success in a climate change future: Collaborative water governance in the Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment, southeastern Australia

Collaboration between stakeholders plays an important role in natural resource management (NRM). It is particularly key to managing water resources, which often cross jurisdictional boundaries and are typically managed by multiple stakeholders. The role of social capital in making NRM collaborations successful has also been recognised. In this paper, we explore the development of social capital in NRM governance networks through an analysis of the Actions for Clean Water (ACWA) project, a collaborative NRM planning process in the Upper Murrumbidgee Catchment, southeastern Australia. We argue that the success of collaborative processes like ACWA is related to the strength of linkages between stakeholders, and the stocks of social capital that these linkages contribute to. We further suggest that collaborative processes can stimulate linkages between participating organisations, paving the way for further collaboration and facilitating the integrated management of water resources. However, their ability to do so is strongly influenced by the geographical, historical, institutional, political and economic contexts in which they are embedded. These contextual factors must be taken into account if natural resource managers are to design collaborative processes that can strengthen governance networks and improve water resource management outcomes in a climate change future.