Building resilience through adaptive co-management : the role of adaptive governance in the FLMMA network, Fiji

Abstract

Adaptive co-management is an emerging approach to natural resource management, which aims to create cross scale, collaborative schemes, that foster resilience in socioecological systems. However the social mechanisms and processes, which create and sustain adaptive co-management are under investigated and misunderstood. The objective of this study is to determine the social sources of resilience in a scheme of comanagement in Fiji, called the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Areas Network (FLMMAN). Using the theoretical framework of adaptive governance to examine networks and linkages, this study aims to determine the adaptive social mechanisms and processes in the FLMMAN network which enable resilient outcomes. The study finds that strong leadership, the presence of shadow epistemic communities and the role of FLMMAN as a bridging organisation, have been crucial. However the adaptive capacity has been inhibited by cultural and political barriers.