Successful water governance pathways across problem contexts : a global qualitative comparative analysis
Bilalova, Shahana (Leuphana University)
Jager, Nicolas (Wageningen University and Research)
Newig, Jens (Leuphana University)
Villamayor Tomás, Sergio (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Ciència Política i de Dret Públic

Date:	2025
Abstract:	It is widely acknowledged that the global water crisis is a governance crisis. To be effective, governance interventions must be designed to align with the specific context in which they are implemented. Our research aims to identify the types of water governance pathways that lead to successful sustainability performance, with a particular focus on the role of problem contexts. We use fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to examine 41 water governance cases that address groundwater exploitation in agriculture and surface water pollution. The analysis reveals a clear link between the nature of the water problem and successful governance pathways, emphasizing the need for governance measures to align with the specific characteristics of the problems they aim to address. The results also underscore the importance of governance capacity, as evidenced in all three pathways that emerge as solutions in our QCA. Finally, the study shows that no single governance characteristics guarantees success; rather, it is the interplay of multiple, reinforcing governance characteristics that contributes to successful sustainability performance.
Grants:	European Commission 861509
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Governance pathways ; Problem-specific pathways ; QCA ; Sustainability performance ; Water governance
Published in:	Ecology and society, Vol. 30, Issue 4 (November 2025) , art. 2, ISSN 1708-3087

DOI: 10.5751/ES-16402-300402

36 p, 1.6 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles