Social networks supporting governance of coastal ecosystems in Solomon Islands

Abstract

To address biodiversity loss and secure livelihoods reliant on natural resources, environmental governance is increasingly focused on connecting local management to higher scales of policy and planning. Governance networks can foster cross-scale relations between actors for collective purposes. We examine a governance network of non-governmental organizations, government agencies, and local communities involved in adaptive co-management of coastal ecosystems in Solomon Islands. We use quantitative social network analysis to examine patterns of collaborative and knowledge-exchange relations among agencies. We examine network structure alongside qualitative data to understand the potential of the network to facilitate coordination and learning among management actors. We identify social networks that transcend the formal membership of the governance network. Cross-scale analysis highlights that network members are the only functional pathway for cross-scale knowledge-exchange and higher-level representation of local issues. We find midscale managers (e.g., provincial governments) are poorly connected. The governance network also provides the primary means for knowledge-exchange between agencies and is important for multi-actor learning about best practice for conservation. Yet, we identify geographic, logistical, and institutional barriers and tradeoffs to multi-actor and cross-scale coordination and learning.