Analyzing cross-sectoral coordination gaps in water governance with a network approach

The implementation of integrated modes of water governance requires an improved understanding of the intertwined interplay among water supply and water uses across different sectors and levels. The Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus has gained growing interest in recent years as a promising approach to reduce trade-offs and increase synergies in supporting goals of water, energy and food security. Various qualitative and quantitative methods from different disciplines have been used to understand Nexus issues, but just few of these take into account (1) the role of institutions on interactions, and (2) the intertwinedness of social and ecological interactions, which cause social-ecological patterns in WEF Nexus issues. This paper introduces an approach to address that methodological gap. Specifically, the paper links two nascent approaches –the Networks of Action Situations (NAS) approach and the Social-Ecological Action Situations (SE-AS) framework. Elements of the NAS approach focus on social action situations and their outcome, which are influenced by the knowledge of the participating actors and by formal and informal institutions such as public policies and local arrangements. The SE-AS framework contributes to the conceptualization of social-ecological interactions acknowledging the deep intertwinedness between them instead of two separate social and ecological systems where one system acts as an exogenous “driver” on the other. This view underlines the co-evolutionary processes of social and ecological elements and their complex interplay across spatial and temporal scales. The value and the potential of the approach is illustrated for two WEF Nexus cases in Switzerland regarding drinking water, hydropower production, and agricultural irrigation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews between 2018 and 2020 and document analysis. Data were analysed through qualitative content analysis. The results show how governance gaps and coordination problems (unintendedly) prioritise energy production in both WEF Nexus cases and drinking water in one case. Both cases do not take into account food production in the coordination processes. The paper concludes with reflections how the combined approach can usefully advance analysis of cross-sectoral coordination in water governance.