INTER-MUNICIPAL COLLABORATION AND SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SCALES MISMATCHES : A NETWORK ANALYSIS OF URBAN STOCKHOLM REGION

In the study of social-ecological systems, matching scales of social and ecologicalprocesses is regarded as a key factor for the effectiveness of institutions in governanceof natural resources. Urban regions are heterogeneous systems often more prone tosocial-ecological scales mismatches. The landscape in Stockholm County presentshigh levels of ecological connectivity through large contiguous green areas extendingfrom city core outwards – i.e. green wedges. These areas are commonly intersected bymunicipal boundaries. In this context, inter-municipal collaboration is deemed as acornerstone to avoid fragmentation of regional green structure and to alignmanagement scales in the face of urban development and change. I use the networkperspective to investigate how collaborative efforts between Stockholm Countymunicipalities are used as a strategy to deal with scale mismatches. Inter-municipalcollaborations vary in degree, from informal exchange of information to jointplanning and may occur under a range of “management themes”. I investigate thegeneral characteristics and relationship between collaboration networks of parks,forest and water management. I explore the role of different municipalities in thesenetworks and assess patterns of collaborations among municipalities sharing greenwedges and municipal borders. Informal collaborations, in the form of exchange ofinformation, are a major component of these networks. Municipal borders are not theonly determinant of collaborative efforts. Social-ecological mismatches with potentialimplication to the maintenance of regional ecological processes have been identified.I discuss these findings in the light of a theoretical model of network governance thatcombines ecological scales and social network structure at multiple scales