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The Dynamics of Multiscale Institutional Complexes: the Case of the São Paulo Macrometropolitan Region

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Abstract

The concept of institutional interplay (i.e., the interaction between institutions) is critical if the challenges to multilevel governance are to be better understood and addressed. Drawing on the literature on institutional interplay, this paper develops an analytical approach to examine challenges to multilevel coastal governance. São Paulo Macrometropolitan region (MMP, in Portuguese) is used to ground the empirical analysis. The macrometropolitan is one of the largest urban areas in the Southern Hemisphere; it houses the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo—one of the six most significant in the world. The MMP concentrates critical infrastructure, such as ports, airports, and roads, and considerable knowledge, technology, and innovation hubs. The coastal governance in the MMP area characterizes a highly connected multilevel system formed by 60 organizations (7 international, 29 national, 11 state, and 13 local). These comprised a complex environment featuring a great deal of fragmentation, and, consequently, jurisdictional and functional gaps and overlaps. This case was best described in terms of normative, functional, and political interplay. Interplay management has the potential to improve governance on the cross-level interactions among scale-dependent institutions of the MMP, enhancing synergies, and minimizing tensions among the institutions analyzed. This includes fostering cognitive interaction (i.e., promoting interinstitutional learning and assistance, and enhancing synergy) between institutions with complementary and/or similar objectives. Ultimately, interplay management may reduce fragmentation, improve compliance and monitoring, and increase cost-effectiveness. The findings from this paper may prove useful to other jurisdictions where pressing environmental issues involve multiple governance levels and interacting institutions.

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  • 20 January 2021

    A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-020-01412-3

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Acknowledgements

This research was made possible with the support of the postdoctoral grant #2018/00462-8 and #2019/04481-0, São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), within the Thematic Project “Environmental Governance of the Paulista Macrometropolis in the face of climate variability,” Process 2015/03804-9, Fundação de Amparo à São Paulo State Research (FAPESP) and to Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for scholarships to AT (Proc. 310553/2019-9).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Leandra R. Gonçalves & Oran Young

  2. Oceanographic Institute, São Paulo, Brazil

    Leandra R. Gonçalves & Alexander Turra

  3. Centre for Policy Futures, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Pedro Fidelman

  4. Centre for Marine Socioecology, Hobart, TAS, Australia

    Pedro Fidelman

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  1. Leandra R. Gonçalves
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Correspondence to Leandra R. Gonçalves.

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Gonçalves, L.R., Fidelman, P., Turra, A. et al. The Dynamics of Multiscale Institutional Complexes: the Case of the São Paulo Macrometropolitan Region. Environmental Management 67, 109–118 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-020-01379-1

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