Trimble, Micaela

Water governance at the basin scale requires collaboration between a diversity of actors with very different interests. To address this challenge, water basin committees and similar groups have been promoted as the institutional arrangement to facilitate finding common ground and better governance. However, not all territories may be prepared for such an endeavor, especially if there is no previous history of collaboration, or the adequate institutional mechanisms in place. In Chile, despite the private and productively based water governance system, water basin committees have been promoted by an interministerial group for social ecological transition. Although these have not been implemented yet, learning from similar water group experiences is important to identify challenges that may require policy change. This study presents an evaluation of 7 water users’ organizations in Chile using a Context-Mechanism-Outcome approach (Carr Kelman et al., 2023). The 7 cases identified represent different geographical, historical and management capacities. The analysis shows contexts and mechanisms that may have influenced different collective action in each case. Preliminary analysis uncovers the importance of distinguishing nuances in variables that may intuitively be assessed as similar as they may plan in different ways depending on the context (e.g. users rights established by law). Understanding the mechanisms that may affect water management where water users’ organizations exist, can help preparing for territories where there is no history of collaboration.

References
Carr Kelman, C., Brady, U., Raschke, B. A. & Schoon, M. L., 2023. A Systematic Review of Key Factors of Effective Collaborative Governance of Social-Ecological Systems In: Society and Natural Resources. 36, 11, p. 1452-1470 19

Artisanal fisheries in Uruguay face multiple and interdependent challenges, including those related to resource conditions, socioeconomic, cultural, and governance dimensions. Climate change is one of the drivers that can intensify the so-called fisheries crisis. In this dynamic and uncertain context, fishers’ adaptation becomes crucial. In 2023, the Latin American Network of Participatory Research (RIPAL), joined efforts with Uruguayan academic institutions and other actors (e.g. the National Union of Seaworkers) to lead a transdisciplinary project on this topic involving artisanal fishers. The objectives were (1) to collaboratively analyze challenges imposed by climate change on artisanal fisheries in Uruguay’s coastal and inland areas, and (2) to generate a co-creation and learning environment between researchers and fishers from multiple locations of the country to explore ongoing and potential adaptation strategies. Fifty-five fishers and fishworkers (39 men and 16 women) participated in the project (August - December 2023), belonging to 4 regions of the country with different fishing and environmental characteristics: rivers, Río de la Plata estuary, lagoons, and Atlantic Ocean. The main methods used were photo-voice, semi-structured interviews, and workshops. In this presentation we focus on the communication components of the project, considering both the process and its outcomes/outputs. The combination of in-person, virtual and hybrid activities allowed for the involvement of fishers from multiple locations and promoted learning and relationship-building among them, as well as between academic and non-academic participants. Two important outputs of the project were a web map showing fishers’ perspectives about the changes in the social-ecological systems they inhabit, and a photo-exhibit with pictures shared by fishers (through photo-voice), available online and printed. Communication and participation challenges in this national-level participatory research project are also discussed.

In recent years, studies have analyzed governance dynamics taking in weakly institutionalized contexts, for example, by focusing on how stakeholders develop different strategies to participate in policy venues within polycentric systems. Other studies have also shown how collaborative decision-making venues in weakly institutionalized settings face challenges in emerging as the go-to spaces for addressing policy crises. This is particularly salient in the context of environmental governance, where multiple stakeholders with varying degrees of authority and power coexist. However, the empirical evidence surrounding these claims has been limited largely to cross-sectional analysis, with limited work paying attention to the role of participatory venues in facilitating discussions, fostering dialogue, and building consensus regarding policy problems. In this manuscript, we assess the role of one of such venues, the Santa Lucia River Basin committee in Uruguay, from a longitudinal perspective. The Santa Lucia River Basin committee was created in 2013 to foster collaboration and dialogue among a variety of stakeholders involved in water governance related issues in the basin that provides drinking water to 60% of the population of Uruguay. Over the last decade, the basin committee served as a space for debating water governance issues (including, most recently, one of the country’s most intense water crisis in history) and large infrastructure works. Using data from 22 meeting minutes covering a span of ten years, we apply social network analysis techniques to assess hypotheses regarding the interactions among stakeholders participating in the basin committee’s meetings, as well as the role of the committee as a venue for facilitating such interactions. Our study is among the first to provide a longitudinal and quantitative analysis of discursive dynamics within a basin committee in a weakly institutionalized setting. In doing so, we highlight the challenges and opportunities for the development of long-lasting participatory venues for the governance of water resources in weakly institutionalized settings.