Adaptive Governance as Strategic Management: Integrating Local Knowledge, Institutional Flexibility, and Social Capital in Socio-Ecological Resilience
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71435/688496Keywords:
Socio-Ecological Systems, Institutional Flexibility, Knowledge IntegrationAbstract
Purpose: This study aims to examine how adaptive governance enhances community resilience in responding to environmental change in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, by analyzing how local institutions, social networks, and knowledge systems interact to support collective adaptation strategies.
Subjects and Methods: A qualitative research design was employed, involving in-depth interviews with community leaders, local government officials, and key stakeholders in both coastal and upland areas. Data collection was supported by direct field observations and document analysis to capture institutional practices, social interactions, and knowledge-sharing processes. The data were analyzed thematically to identify patterns and relationships that illustrate the mechanisms through which governance and community action contribute to resilience.
Results: The findings show that institutional flexibility enables rapid, context-sensitive decision-making and supports the integration of traditional and formal governance structures. Social capital and collective action play vital roles in mobilizing community resources, building trust, and sustaining cooperation in addressing environmental challenges. Knowledge integration, combining local ecological insights with scientific understanding, promotes continuous learning and innovation in adaptation practices. Participatory governance also strengthens legitimacy and community engagement, enhancing the capacity to respond to complex socio-ecological dynamics.
Conclusion: The study concludes that resilience in South Sulawesi is strengthened not through rigid control, but through flexibility, collaboration, and continuous learning within socio-ecological systems. Adaptive governance fosters inclusivity, reflexivity, and co-creation among institutions and communities. It positions managers as facilitators of collective intelligence, encouraging distributed leadership, trust-based networks, and equity-centered decision-making to support sustainable and just futures.
References
Ahmad, S., Bhatti, M. A. A., & Imam, M. A. (2023). Balancing Control and Collaboration: Project Manager Accountability in Multi-Layered Governance Systems. Journal of Professional Research in Social Sciences, 10(2), 134-155. https://doi.org/10.58932/MULA0018
Aksom, H. (2022). Institutional inertia and practice variation. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 35(3), 463-487. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOCM-07-2021-0205
Akther, S., & Evans, J. (2024). Emerging attributes of adaptive governance in the global south. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 12, 1372157. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2024.1372157
Askland, H. H., Shannon, B., Chiong, R., Lockart, N., Maguire, A., Rich, J., & Groizard, J. (2022). Beyond migration: A critical review of climate change induced displacement. Environmental Sociology, 8(3), 267-278. https://doi.org/10.1080/23251042.2022.2042888
Astuti, R. D. P., Mallongi, A., Choi, K., Amiruddin, R., Hatta, M., Tantrakarnapa, K., & Rauf, A. U. (2022). Health risks from multiroute exposure of potentially toxic elements in a coastal community: a probabilistic risk approach in Pangkep Regency, Indonesia. Geomatics, natural hazards and risk, 13(1), 705-735. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2022.2041110
Baharuddin, N. A. I., Zainuddin, M., & NAJAMUDDIN, N. (2022). The impact of ENSO-IOD on Decapterus spp. in Pangkajene Kepulauan and Barru Waters, Makassar Strait, Indonesia. Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity, 23(11). https://doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d231110
Bullock, R. C., Diduck, A., Luedee, J., & Zurba, M. (2022). Integrating social learning, adaptive capacity and climate adaptation for regional scale analysis: a conceptual framework. Environmental Management, 69(6), 1217-1230. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01630-x
Cafer, A., Green, J., & Goreham, G. (2022). A community resilience framework for community development practitioners building equity and adaptive capacity. In Community development for times of crisis (pp. 56-74). Routledge.
Cantelmi, R., Di Gravio, G., & Patriarca, R. (2021). Reviewing qualitative research approaches in the context of critical infrastructure resilience. Environment Systems and Decisions, 41(3), 341-376. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10669-020-09795-8
Chapman, J. M., & Schott, S. (2020). Knowledge coevolution: Generating new understanding through bridging and strengthening distinct knowledge systems and empowering local knowledge holders. Sustainability Science, 15(3), 931-943. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-020-00781-2
Chatterjee, D., & Adhikari, B. S. (2024). Unravelling vulnerabilities: mapping key hazards in the Gori Ganga watershed of Kumaon Himalaya for communication, conservation and management. Discover Environment, 2(1), 30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44274-024-00059-9
Choudhury, M. U. I., Haque, C. E., Nishat, A., & Byrne, S. (2021). Social learning for building community resilience to cyclones: role of indigenous and local knowledge, power, and institutions in coastal Bangladesh. Ecology & Society, 26(1). https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12107-260105
Das, M., Das, A., Seikh, S., & Pandey, R. (2022). Nexus between indigenous ecological knowledge and ecosystem services: a socio-ecological analysis for sustainable ecosystem management. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29(41), 61561-61578. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15605-8
Dressel, S., Johansson, M., Ericsson, G., & Sandström, C. (2020). Perceived adaptive capacity within a multi-level governance setting: The role of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital. Environmental Science & Policy, 104, 88-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.11.011
Habibi Rad, M., Mojtahedi, M., & Ostwald, M. J. (2021). Industry 4.0, disaster risk management and infrastructure resilience: a systematic review and bibliometric analysis. Buildings, 11(9), 411. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11090411
Haldon, J., Binois-Roman, A., Eisenberg, M., Izdebski, A., Mordechai, L., Newfield, T., ... & Wnęk, K. (2021). Between resilience and adaptation: A historical framework for understanding stability and transformation of societies to shocks and stress. In COVID-19: Systemic risk and resilience (pp. 235-268). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71587-8_14
Hukkinen, J. I., Eronen, J. T., Janasik, N., Järvensivu, P., & Kaaronen, R. O. (2022). Coping with policy errors in an era of chronic socio-environmental crises. Ecological Economics, 199, 107489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107489
Imperiale, A. J., & Vanclay, F. (2024). From project-based to community-based social impact assessment: New social impact assessment pathways to build community resilience and enhance disaster risk reduction and climate action. Current Sociology, 72(4), 697-717. https://doi.org/10.1177/00113921231203168
Kasri, K., Hasani, M. C., Baso, A., Amiluddin, A., & Arief, A. A. (2024). Small-scale Fishermen's Adaptation to Climate Change Impacts in Coastal Areas and Small Islands in Pangkep Regency. Torani Journal of Fisheries and Marine Science, 8(1), 63-82. https://doi.org/10.35911/torani.v8i1.42163
Koditschek, T. (2023). Human Social Evolution via Four Coevolutionary Paths. In Evolutionary Thinking Across Disciplines: Problems and Perspectives in Generalized Darwinism (pp. 227-284). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-33358-3_11
Kokou, K., Syampungani, S., Chirwa, P. W., & Makhubele, L. (2024). Socio-ecological Management of Multifunctional Landscapes. In Trees in a Sub-Saharan Multi-functional Landscape: Research, Management, and Policy (pp. 267-304). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69812-5_12
Latour, M., & van Laerhoven, F. (2024). A new perspective on the work of boundary organisations: Bridging knowledge between marine conservation actors in Pacific Small Island Developing States. Environmental Science & Policy, 162, 103903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2024.103903
Maat, H., Balabanova, D., Mokuwa, E., Richards, P., Mohan, V., Ssengooba, F., ... & Mayhew, S. (2021). Towards sustainable community-based systems for infectious disease and disaster response; lessons from local initiatives in four African countries. Sustainability, 13(18), 10083. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810083
Maurischa, S. D., Fahmi, F. Z., & Abi Suroso, D. S. (2023). Transformative resilience: Transformation, resilience and capacity of coastal communities in facing disasters in two Indonesian villages. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 88, 103615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103615
McKay, P. A., Schmitt Olabisi, L., & Vogt, C. A. (2020). Assessing improvements in socio-ecological system governance using mixed methods and the quality governance framework and its diagnostic capacity tool. Environment Systems and Decisions, 40(1), 41-66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10669-019-09744-0
Nordin, S. M., Zolkepli, I. A., Rizal, A. R. A., Tariq, R., Mannan, S., & Ramayah, T. (2022). Paving the way to paddy food security: A multigroup analysis of agricultural education on Circular Economy Adoption. Journal of Cleaner Production, 375, 134089. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134089
Núñez-Regueiro, M. M., Branch, L. C., Derlindati, E., Gasparri, I., Marinaro, S., Nanni, S., ... & Tálamo, A. (2020). Open Standards for conservation as a tool for linking research and conservation agendas in complex socio-ecological systems. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 44, 6-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2020.03.001
Padthar, S., Naruetharadhol, P., Srisathan, W. A., & Ketkaew, C. (2024). From linear to circular economy: embracing digital innovations for sustainable agri-food waste management among farmers and retailers. Resources, 13(6), 79. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13060079
Parikh, P., Bisaga, I., Loggia, C., Georgiadou, M. C., & Ojo-Aromokudu, J. (2020). Barriers and opportunities for participatory environmental upgrading: Case study of Havelock informal settlement, Durban. City and Environment Interactions, 5, 100041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cacint.2020.100041
Poddar, A. K. (2024). Climate Change and Migration: Developing Policies to Address the Growing Challenge of Climate-Induced Displacement. International Journal of Climate Change: Impacts & Responses, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.18848/1835-7156/CGP/v16i01/149-170
Putra, A. K., Wiksono, H., & Sumarmi, S. (2021). Community-Based Mangroves Forest Management: Socio-Ecological Recovery Movement for Coastal Areas of Pasuruan-Indonesia. Sustainability: Theory, Practice and Policy, 1(1), 1-15.
Resolute, P. (2024). Applying cultural perspective in Indonesia municipal solid waste management process towards a grounded climate concept and action: A mini-review of opportunities and challenges. Waste Management & Research, 42(10), 873-881. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X241262711
Rezvani, S. M., Falcão, M. J., Komljenovic, D., & de Almeida, N. M. (2023). A systematic literature review on urban resilience enabled with asset and disaster risk management approaches and GIS-based decision support tools. Applied Sciences, 13(4), 2223. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13042223
Rounsevell, M. D., Arneth, A., Brown, C., Cheung, W. W., Gimenez, O., Holman, I., ... & Shin, Y. J. (2021). Identifying uncertainties in scenarios and models of socio-ecological systems in support of decision-making. One Earth, 4(7), 967-985.
Shantiko, B., Liswanti, N., Bourgeois, R., & Laumonier, Y. (2021). Land-use decisions in complex commons: Engaging multiple stakeholders through foresight and scenario building in Indonesia. Environmental Management, 68(5), 642-664. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-021-01470-1
Supriatna, J., & Lenz, R. (2022). Sustainable environmental management: lessons from Indonesia. Yayasan Pustaka Obor Indonesia.
Turin, T. C., Chowdhury, N., Rumana, N., Lasker, M. A., & Qasqas, M. (2022). Partnering with organisations beyond academia through strategic collaboration for research and mobilisation in immigrant/ethnic-minority communities. BMJ Global Health, 7(3).
Walker, G., Severson, G., & Daniels, S. (2023). Collaborative Alignment: a framework for community-based collaboration for natural resource management, environmental policy decisions, and locally-led climate action. Frontiers in Communication, 8, 1228650.
Widayati, A., Louman, B., Mulyoutami, E., Purwanto, E., Kusters, K., & Zagt, R. (2021). Communities’ adaptation and vulnerability to climate change: Implications for achieving a climate-smart landscape. Land, 10(8), 816. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10080816
Wilkinson, E., Kirbyshire, A., Mayhew, L., Batra, P., & Milan, A. (2022). Climate-induced migration and displacement: closing the policy gap. ODI. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli13040081
Wurarah, R. N. (2024). Indonesia's economic and environmental resilience in the face of climate change: Analysis and implementation strategies. Calamity: A Journal of Disaster Technology and Engineering, 2(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.61511/calamity.v2i1.2024.940
Zurba, M., Stucker, D., Mwaura, G., Burlando, C., Rastogi, A., Dhyani, S., & Koss, R. (2020). Intergenerational dialogue, collaboration, learning, and decision-making in global environmental governance: the case of the IUCN intergenerational partnership for sustainability. Sustainability, 12(2), 498. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12020498
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
