148
M. Bavinck and J. Kooiman
nine cells (which would be theoretically feasible, but impractical in terms of length),
we have chosen to limit ourselves to illustrating the three interaction modes.
Case 13: Implementation of the CITES-List (hierarchical mode: high complexity,
low diversity and low dynamics). The government of India rati fi ed the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in
1976 and added a list of species – including a signi fi cant number of marine fl ora and
fauna – to the Wildlife Protection Act (1972). Wildlife wardens were put in charge
of local enforcement; these of fi cers make use of the machinery and hierarchical
governance style of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, by whom they are employed.
The implementation of regulations prohibiting the harvest and trade of endangered
species, such as sea cucumbers in the ecologically-rich Gulf of Mannar, is, however,
resented by fi shers and traders alike. Not only are these rules therefore frequently
evaded, but Forest Department personnel are occasionally threatened with physical
violence (Bavinck and Vivekanandan 2011 ) .
Being nested at international, national and local levels, the interactions over
CITES rulings are necessarily complex. A hierarchical – top-down – mode of interaction between decision makers at the national level and local people partaking in
the system-to-be-governed has resulted in low legitimacy and substantial levels of
illegal fi shing.
Case 14: Time-Zoning in the Palk Bay (co-governing mode: medium-level diversity,
complexity and dynamics) . The large-scale violence that erupted between smallscale and trawler fi shers in the Palk Bay from the 1970s onwards resulted in a
special governance arrangement found nowhere else along the Tamil Nadu coastline. Rather than introducing a spatial zoning system, recommended by the Tamil
Nadu Fishing Regulation Act (1983) and nominally implemented (see Case 8 above),
the administrators of adjoining districts decided to proceed on the basis of a timezoning agreement reached by the con fl icting parties themselves. According to the
terms of this agreement, trawler fi shers from adjacent harbor locations are allowed
to fi sh in the Palk Bay for three days a week, with the remaining days being reserved
for small-scale fi shing. This rule is monitored through concerted action by the
Fisheries Department (which only provides trawler fi shers with subsidized fuel on
their fi shing days), the Indian Coast Guard and local fi sher organizations. It has
survived, with minor modi fi cations, for over 30 years (Bavinck 2003 ) .
In this case, governing interactions are centered at the district level, and involve
governmental administrators and fi sher leaders from both sides. With the issue
deemed both urgent and, there was great pressure to fi nd a mutually satisfactory
solution. The result – the endorsement by government of an agreement between the
two fi sher parties – was legitimate and long-lasting. It could not, however, be easily
transferred to other geographical regions, where different conditions prevail.
Case 15: Gear regulations (self-governing mode: high diversity and dynamics,
low complexity). The trammel net, which was introduced to Tamil Nadu’s
Coromandel Coast in the 1980s, triggered excitement as well as trepidation. Many
M. Bavinck and J. Kooiman
nine cells (which would be theoretically feasible, but impractical in terms of length),
we have chosen to limit ourselves to illustrating the three interaction modes.
Case 13: Implementation of the CITES-List (hierarchical mode: high complexity,
low diversity and low dynamics). The government of India rati fi ed the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in
1976 and added a list of species – including a signi fi cant number of marine fl ora and
fauna – to the Wildlife Protection Act (1972). Wildlife wardens were put in charge
of local enforcement; these of fi cers make use of the machinery and hierarchical
governance style of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, by whom they are employed.
The implementation of regulations prohibiting the harvest and trade of endangered
species, such as sea cucumbers in the ecologically-rich Gulf of Mannar, is, however,
resented by fi shers and traders alike. Not only are these rules therefore frequently
evaded, but Forest Department personnel are occasionally threatened with physical
violence (Bavinck and Vivekanandan 2011 ) .
Being nested at international, national and local levels, the interactions over
CITES rulings are necessarily complex. A hierarchical – top-down – mode of interaction between decision makers at the national level and local people partaking in
the system-to-be-governed has resulted in low legitimacy and substantial levels of
illegal fi shing.
Case 14: Time-Zoning in the Palk Bay (co-governing mode: medium-level diversity,
complexity and dynamics) . The large-scale violence that erupted between smallscale and trawler fi shers in the Palk Bay from the 1970s onwards resulted in a
special governance arrangement found nowhere else along the Tamil Nadu coastline. Rather than introducing a spatial zoning system, recommended by the Tamil
Nadu Fishing Regulation Act (1983) and nominally implemented (see Case 8 above),
the administrators of adjoining districts decided to proceed on the basis of a timezoning agreement reached by the con fl icting parties themselves. According to the
terms of this agreement, trawler fi shers from adjacent harbor locations are allowed
to fi sh in the Palk Bay for three days a week, with the remaining days being reserved
for small-scale fi shing. This rule is monitored through concerted action by the
Fisheries Department (which only provides trawler fi shers with subsidized fuel on
their fi shing days), the Indian Coast Guard and local fi sher organizations. It has
survived, with minor modi fi cations, for over 30 years (Bavinck 2003 ) .
In this case, governing interactions are centered at the district level, and involve
governmental administrators and fi sher leaders from both sides. With the issue
deemed both urgent and, there was great pressure to fi nd a mutually satisfactory
solution. The result – the endorsement by government of an agreement between the
two fi sher parties – was legitimate and long-lasting. It could not, however, be easily
transferred to other geographical regions, where different conditions prevail.
Case 15: Gear regulations (self-governing mode: high diversity and dynamics,
low complexity). The trammel net, which was introduced to Tamil Nadu’s
Coromandel Coast in the 1980s, triggered excitement as well as trepidation. Many