Impact of disasters on co-management governance networks : insights from a longitudinal comparative analysis of Chilean coastal small-scale fisheries

• Collaborative management networks are considered to increase users' resilience to environmental change and other hazards. Recent studies have explored which kinds of network structures better accommodate deliberate adaptive management to deal with uncertainty and change. However, we know little about how co-management networks change or adapt in response to actual social and ecological perturbations and disasters. In this research, we draw on longitudinal data to assess whether and how co-management facilitating relationships have changed after the 2010 Chilean tsunami in 21 fisher organizations in Bio-Bio region, as compared to 16 non-impacted organizations in Valparaiso region (control group). We specifically look at emergent patterns in the relationships between fisher organizations and multi-sector fishery counterparts (e.g., associated with post-disaster management and livelihood recovery needs) that might indicate changes in co-management governance networks. Our findings indicate that disasters, as the one analyzed, and other external perturbations are likely to change resource users’ relationships due to new priorities, needs and demands. These network adaptations can change information and resources distribution throughout these networks, affecting overall conditions and development opportunities for actors. Higher levels of trust, increased centralization and reduced fragmentation of relationships in BioBio region suggest higher adaptability of the network to eventual large external shocks.  Post-disaster adaptive co-management policies, in Chile and elsewhere, may highly benefit from being open to support, take advantage of and integrate post-disaster emerging relationships in decision-making. Attention to changing networks can help securing equitable access to key resources and information and enhancing the long-term sustainability of co-management. 

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

artisanal

benthic

territorial user rights

hazards

shocks

adaptive networks

Sustainability Science

vetenskap om hållbar utveckling

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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