Institutional linkages and landscape governance systems: The case of Mt. Marsabit, Kenya

The desire to overcome fragmented management of the natural ecosystems on which human beings depend has contributed to a growing interest in landscape approaches and to deeper questions about landscape governance systems. We assessed the emergent governance system that corresponds to the Mt. Marsabi...

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Main Authors: Robinson, Lance W., Kagombe, J.K.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Resilience Alliance, Inc. 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/91683
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author Robinson, Lance W.
Kagombe, J.K.
author_browse Kagombe, J.K.
Robinson, Lance W.
author_facet Robinson, Lance W.
Kagombe, J.K.
author_sort Robinson, Lance W.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The desire to overcome fragmented management of the natural ecosystems on which human beings depend has contributed to a growing interest in landscape approaches and to deeper questions about landscape governance systems. We assessed the emergent governance system that corresponds to the Mt. Marsabit landscape ecosystem in northern Kenya, applying a framework that includes 17 different indicators. We found that in this governance system, the most important spaces where coordination and joint planning took place were district level coordination committees, within which representation of communities and voices from the grassroots was poor. Institutional and organizational linkages were such that those parts of the governance system for which legitimacy and accountability were strongest were the parts for which ability to generate resources was weakest, while the parts of the governance system that had the best access to resources was where accountability was weakest or the most indirect. In this paper we use the Mt. Marsabit case study to explore the role that organizational and institutional linkages play in the strengths and weaknesses of landscape governance systems, and consider the implications for governance design at landscape level. Institutional linkages play a critical role in determining how landscape governance systems function across scales and levels, and their degree of fit. Appropriate linkages can help to create connections among key dimensions of effective governance within the system, dimensions such as use of knowledge, capacity to generate resources, fit, learning, legitimacy, accountability, and responsiveness, strengthening the system as a whole. Of the various linkages that characterize a governance system, it is those that give community-level actors a meaningful voice at higher levels and in spaces where key decisions are being made that are most critical for enabling effective landscape governance.
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spelling CGSpace916832024-04-25T06:01:36Z Institutional linkages and landscape governance systems: The case of Mt. Marsabit, Kenya Robinson, Lance W. Kagombe, J.K. landscape governance The desire to overcome fragmented management of the natural ecosystems on which human beings depend has contributed to a growing interest in landscape approaches and to deeper questions about landscape governance systems. We assessed the emergent governance system that corresponds to the Mt. Marsabit landscape ecosystem in northern Kenya, applying a framework that includes 17 different indicators. We found that in this governance system, the most important spaces where coordination and joint planning took place were district level coordination committees, within which representation of communities and voices from the grassroots was poor. Institutional and organizational linkages were such that those parts of the governance system for which legitimacy and accountability were strongest were the parts for which ability to generate resources was weakest, while the parts of the governance system that had the best access to resources was where accountability was weakest or the most indirect. In this paper we use the Mt. Marsabit case study to explore the role that organizational and institutional linkages play in the strengths and weaknesses of landscape governance systems, and consider the implications for governance design at landscape level. Institutional linkages play a critical role in determining how landscape governance systems function across scales and levels, and their degree of fit. Appropriate linkages can help to create connections among key dimensions of effective governance within the system, dimensions such as use of knowledge, capacity to generate resources, fit, learning, legitimacy, accountability, and responsiveness, strengthening the system as a whole. Of the various linkages that characterize a governance system, it is those that give community-level actors a meaningful voice at higher levels and in spaces where key decisions are being made that are most critical for enabling effective landscape governance. 2018 2018-03-15T08:28:34Z 2018-03-15T08:28:34Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/91683 en Open Access Resilience Alliance, Inc. Robinson, L.W. and Kagombe, J.K. 2018. Institutional linkages and landscape governance systems: The case of Mt. Marsabit, Kenya. Ecology and Society 23(1): 27
spellingShingle landscape
governance
Robinson, Lance W.
Kagombe, J.K.
Institutional linkages and landscape governance systems: The case of Mt. Marsabit, Kenya
title Institutional linkages and landscape governance systems: The case of Mt. Marsabit, Kenya
title_full Institutional linkages and landscape governance systems: The case of Mt. Marsabit, Kenya
title_fullStr Institutional linkages and landscape governance systems: The case of Mt. Marsabit, Kenya
title_full_unstemmed Institutional linkages and landscape governance systems: The case of Mt. Marsabit, Kenya
title_short Institutional linkages and landscape governance systems: The case of Mt. Marsabit, Kenya
title_sort institutional linkages and landscape governance systems the case of mt marsabit kenya
topic landscape
governance
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/91683
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AT kagombejk institutionallinkagesandlandscapegovernancesystemsthecaseofmtmarsabitkenya