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14 Approaches and Tools for Examining Governability
adapts and copes with said change. Composite tools such as environmental and
social impact assessment, along with measurement of social-ecological resilience,
vulnerability and adaptation are particularly useful (Harris 2007 ) . When associating
the change in the socio-ecological system with environmental change, various
approaches, ranging from modeling the relationships (e.g. Cinner et al. 2009 ) to
developing scenarios, are possible. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and its
sub-assessments provide an accessible example of how four scenarios were used at
the global level to provide a picture of different possible futures that would depend
on the response to the current state of the planet (MEA 2005 ) . Such scenario exploration helps us understand the dynamics of the coupled socio-ecological system,
and thereby facilitates better natural resource use planning and environmental
policies.
Social and ecological systems are also linked through the fi sheries production
chain. Chain analyses focusing on supply or global values can therefore be employed
to examine issues such as fl ows of commodities, movement of labor and in fl uence
of markets (Béné et al. 2009 ) . Value chain analysis focuses on the links in the fi shing
industry and describes the full range of activities required to bring fi shery products
from harvest and different phases of production to different levels of consumers.
Global value chain analysis, in particular, has been very useful to not only track
commodities and fl ows of goods and services, but also to understand the power
dynamics of actors along the chain (Ponte 2007 ) . Recognizing the importance of
this dimension in affecting governability, the interactive governance approach
employs the concept of the ‘ fi sh chain’ as an analytical lens to examine the role of
states, markets and civil society in pre-harvest, harvest and post-harvest activities.
Governing System
Governing systems for fi sheries vary according to their mode of operation: hierarchical; co-governance, or co-management; and self-governance. The appropriateness of each mode depends on the characteristics of the natural and social systems
that the governing system is tasked with. There may be characteristics and qualities
of the governing systems that make them highly effective in performing governing
tasks. Given the emerging demands for governing systems to cope with environmental and global change, and the usual constraints such as budget and knowledge,
they are required to be increasingly adaptive, robust and resilient. Stability, endurance and effectiveness are some of the key measures used to gauge the quality of the
governing system and, thus, its contribution to governability. The characteristics of
the governing system, however, can be examined using methods that are similar to
those of the social system-to-be-governed.
The function and roles of the governing system at international, regional, national
and local levels can be described using organization charts. These can explain, to a
certain extent, the simple horizontal and vertical relationships between various
components in the system. Methods such as content analysis of policy documents
14 Approaches and Tools for Examining Governability
adapts and copes with said change. Composite tools such as environmental and
social impact assessment, along with measurement of social-ecological resilience,
vulnerability and adaptation are particularly useful (Harris 2007 ) . When associating
the change in the socio-ecological system with environmental change, various
approaches, ranging from modeling the relationships (e.g. Cinner et al. 2009 ) to
developing scenarios, are possible. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and its
sub-assessments provide an accessible example of how four scenarios were used at
the global level to provide a picture of different possible futures that would depend
on the response to the current state of the planet (MEA 2005 ) . Such scenario exploration helps us understand the dynamics of the coupled socio-ecological system,
and thereby facilitates better natural resource use planning and environmental
policies.
Social and ecological systems are also linked through the fi sheries production
chain. Chain analyses focusing on supply or global values can therefore be employed
to examine issues such as fl ows of commodities, movement of labor and in fl uence
of markets (Béné et al. 2009 ) . Value chain analysis focuses on the links in the fi shing
industry and describes the full range of activities required to bring fi shery products
from harvest and different phases of production to different levels of consumers.
Global value chain analysis, in particular, has been very useful to not only track
commodities and fl ows of goods and services, but also to understand the power
dynamics of actors along the chain (Ponte 2007 ) . Recognizing the importance of
this dimension in affecting governability, the interactive governance approach
employs the concept of the ‘ fi sh chain’ as an analytical lens to examine the role of
states, markets and civil society in pre-harvest, harvest and post-harvest activities.
Governing System
Governing systems for fi sheries vary according to their mode of operation: hierarchical; co-governance, or co-management; and self-governance. The appropriateness of each mode depends on the characteristics of the natural and social systems
that the governing system is tasked with. There may be characteristics and qualities
of the governing systems that make them highly effective in performing governing
tasks. Given the emerging demands for governing systems to cope with environmental and global change, and the usual constraints such as budget and knowledge,
they are required to be increasingly adaptive, robust and resilient. Stability, endurance and effectiveness are some of the key measures used to gauge the quality of the
governing system and, thus, its contribution to governability. The characteristics of
the governing system, however, can be examined using methods that are similar to
those of the social system-to-be-governed.
The function and roles of the governing system at international, regional, national
and local levels can be described using organization charts. These can explain, to a
certain extent, the simple horizontal and vertical relationships between various
components in the system. Methods such as content analysis of policy documents