Abstract:

In recent theories of environmental management and governance, the idea of participation has become very popular and has been applied in particular parts of the world to produce co-governance and co-management arrangements. However, the knowledge requirements of these regimes have not often been addressed and remain highly contested. This paper asks what kinds of frameworks for knowing and making knowledge can be established that bring together different knowledge bases, research practices and governance forms.  This paper argues that a new form of research is necessary to co-produce different forms of knowledge so as to facilitate effective, politically legitimate and culturally appropriate co-governance arrangement. This paper will use the example of the Waikato River co-governance arrangement to develop this argument.