603
Collaborative geodesign (see Sect. 17.6.1) is an example of a collaborative tool
that engages stakeholders in landscape design using a tool that interactively lets
them test and receive feedback for different design decisions. The benefit of this
approach is that the stakeholders can immediately see the impact of their design
decisions on biophysical and social indicators. Collaborative geodesign is a step
forward to initiate discussions among stakeholders and domain scientists. Thus, the
actual parties (i.e., stakeholders) that are affected by the decisions have the opportunity to communicate their concerns with the scientific community as well as the
policymakers to make better and more realistic design decisions.
21.4 Case Studies in Opportunity
21.4.1 Watershed Integration Case Study
Globally, watersheds are diverse in terms of their scale, resource uses, and governance structures and they are also subject to different pressures from interactions
at the FEW nexus. Watersheds often share multiple municipal, regional, or national
borders, and this characteristic suggests the need for systems of cross-border governance and resource management. The challenges for cross-border governance
vary widely because of the differences in geological, ecological, economic, and
sociopolitical contexts. While the challenges are real, so are the opportunities to
use watersheds to solve Nexus problems. Certain geographic and socioeconomic
conditions provide greater opportunity, momentum, and political will for applying
the integrated scientific study of the FEW nexus to real-world practice at the watershed scale.
In the context of watersheds, building institutional capacity for transboundary
governance that is inclusive, equitable, and well-coordinated is likely to be more
effective in the context of abundant water resources (not scarce resources)—such as
the success of the Great Lakes Compact in the Great Lakes region of North America
(Sects. 8.1.1 and 19.2), where significant success has been achieved. However, there
are also numerous governance issues that may impede coordination in addressing
FEW nexus challenges under conditions of resource abundance—specifically, the
issues identified above in Table 19.4, including:
• Institutional capacity for effective decision-making;
• Scale of the watershed;
• Inclusiveness in decision-making;
• Coordination in integrated action;
• Distributional issues related to benefits or negative externalities;
• Heterogeneity among stakeholders and their objectives;
• Political system, and associated trust in its efficacy;
• Social mobility across socioeconomic strata; and
• Political economy and alignment of relations with law, custom, and government.
21 Opportunities at the Nexus
Collaborative geodesign (see Sect. 17.6.1) is an example of a collaborative tool
that engages stakeholders in landscape design using a tool that interactively lets
them test and receive feedback for different design decisions. The benefit of this
approach is that the stakeholders can immediately see the impact of their design
decisions on biophysical and social indicators. Collaborative geodesign is a step
forward to initiate discussions among stakeholders and domain scientists. Thus, the
actual parties (i.e., stakeholders) that are affected by the decisions have the opportunity to communicate their concerns with the scientific community as well as the
policymakers to make better and more realistic design decisions.
21.4 Case Studies in Opportunity
21.4.1 Watershed Integration Case Study
Globally, watersheds are diverse in terms of their scale, resource uses, and governance structures and they are also subject to different pressures from interactions
at the FEW nexus. Watersheds often share multiple municipal, regional, or national
borders, and this characteristic suggests the need for systems of cross-border governance and resource management. The challenges for cross-border governance
vary widely because of the differences in geological, ecological, economic, and
sociopolitical contexts. While the challenges are real, so are the opportunities to
use watersheds to solve Nexus problems. Certain geographic and socioeconomic
conditions provide greater opportunity, momentum, and political will for applying
the integrated scientific study of the FEW nexus to real-world practice at the watershed scale.
In the context of watersheds, building institutional capacity for transboundary
governance that is inclusive, equitable, and well-coordinated is likely to be more
effective in the context of abundant water resources (not scarce resources)—such as
the success of the Great Lakes Compact in the Great Lakes region of North America
(Sects. 8.1.1 and 19.2), where significant success has been achieved. However, there
are also numerous governance issues that may impede coordination in addressing
FEW nexus challenges under conditions of resource abundance—specifically, the
issues identified above in Table 19.4, including:
• Institutional capacity for effective decision-making;
• Scale of the watershed;
• Inclusiveness in decision-making;
• Coordination in integrated action;
• Distributional issues related to benefits or negative externalities;
• Heterogeneity among stakeholders and their objectives;
• Political system, and associated trust in its efficacy;
• Social mobility across socioeconomic strata; and
• Political economy and alignment of relations with law, custom, and government.
21 Opportunities at the Nexus