Participation, dialogue and learning: sustainable fisheries and the case of co-management

Other conference contribution, 2013

More inclusive forms of governance are increasingly advocated that allow for stakeholder participation and joint capacity building. Platforms for dialogue and the exchange of knowledge are seen as one tool to integrate different knowledge systems such as science and local knowledge. In this study, we examine a Swedish Co-management Initiative of fisheries using an integrated version of Plummer and Fitzgibbon’s ‘Adaptive Co-Management’ (2004) and Senecah’s ‘Trinity of Voice’ (2004) frameworks in analysing the participation process, communication, and learning outcomes. The results show that participating actors were successful in developing trust and enhancing learning, starting with a conflict situation and diverging interests. Attention to ‘access’ and ‘standing’ as part of participation, and skilled facilitation, were key issues in achieving these results. The article provides insights with regard to the use of established frameworks, here applied to an empirical case, enhance our understanding of learning in conflicted contexts, and helps practitioners in designing and institutionalizing learning processes and platforms in other contexts.