Crises in social-ecological systems--whether they are
natural, such as prolonged periods of extreme drought (see Texas 2011) or of
the human produced variety, ie. the “great recession”--when viewed under an
adaptive governance lens (see also adaptive co-management), can be seen as an
opportunity for societal transformation into a preferred state.
Of course, upon first thought, this appears to be oxymoronic. Should crises not be avoided at all
costs? Undoubtedly, it would be preferable
to remain in a steady-state of relative equilibrium; who prefers to deal with
dramatic change? However, if the
aforementioned examples are any indication, it is best that societies learn to
deal with periods of intense uncertainty, or risk further stagnation and
possible atrophy.
The predominant literature on adaptive governance tends to
argue that rather than manage our social and natural systems under the
assumption that disturbance is bad, we should in fact embrace uncertainty and
manage our resources knowing good and well that circumstances will change. In this light, flexibility and continuous
learning are the keys to resilience in an uncertain world.
But back to crises as opportunities. Taking the example of the Texas drought
above, in a perfect adaptive governance world, we would apply the lessons
learned from the drought—and subsequent wildfires--to policies which better regulate
our use of water and land management.
These policies could include both increased voluntary incentive based
programs as well as mandatory conservation measures in areas particularly vulnerable
to limited water or prevent suburban sprawl within fire prone areas. In essence, the drought could be used as the
trigger to transform Texas water governance and planning practices across
multiple scales.
To quote Rahm Emanual, “you never want a serious crises to go
to waste.”
--
No comments:
Post a Comment