Shared Governance for Sustainable Working Landscapes

Sustaining our agricultural landscapes is no longer just a technical, scientific or even political problem, but it has evolved into a socially complex, so-called wicked problem of conflicting social governance and economics. This creates an extreme economic obstacle where the value of ecosystem services remains low and diffuse and the transactions costs remain high and multiple.Using Uber-like business platform technology and a shared governance model, a symbiotic demand for environmental benefits is created. Enabling multi-sector transactions for environmental benefits, this platform innovation would remedy the "tragedy of the commons"; the economic nemesis to achieving landscape sustainability. In a nutshell, to sustain our agricultural landscapes a transdisciplinary approach supported by a shared governance model housed within a multi-sided platform in needed. This book introduces an assessment framework identifying governance actors, styles and ratios for socio-ecological systems. The assessment uses a new governance compass to identify the types of actors completing which tasks and identifies the styles of governance used to complete the tasks. It is aimed to anyone involved in sustainability science, agricultural policy planning, or integrated landscape design.

Preface Acknowledgments Author Chapter 1 Introduction Agricultural transition phases A paradigm shift A wicked problem Sustainability science The wicked features of agriculture sustainability Ecological–economic disconnections Conflicting governance styles Disparate stakeholder values Variable natural capital Putting sustainability science to practice An environmental market signal Spatially based trading platform Path to agricultural landscape sustainability Assessing wicked problems Devising wicked solutions Recognizing the glocal commons Global perspectives Glocal and regional perspectives The grand economic challenge Section I: An enduring wicked problem Chapter 2 An enduring wicked problem A wicked problem Sources of wicked (landscape sustainability) problems Varied scope and scale of natural capital outputs and outcome Growing number of disparate stakeholder values Conflicting governance styles The complex agriculture landscape system The simple and complicated The complex The system as it is Natural capital System stakeholders Production group Organizational governance styles Transdisciplinary challenge Disciplinary evolution Application challenges A wicked resilient problem Chapter 3 Natural capital outputs and outcomes A natural economic capital Not a new idea The landscape as a living factory floor An automobile factory A drinking water factory The conditionally renewable earth factory Biomes Ecosystems Processes Functions Structures Outputs and outcomes Varied ecosystem service definitions Categorize goods and services as same Categorize goods and services as different Identify ecosystem services as SPUs Ecosystem services as FEGS and BRIs Compatible definitions? Chapter 4 Disparate stakeholder strategies and values Agriculture’s four phases Stakeholder shift and expansion Incompatible strategies Public utility sector Seattle public utilities and the GASB Des Moines Water Works and county drainage boards Government agency sector USDA federal farm policy EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration Order Agriculture Water Quality Certainty Program Agriculture industry sector United Suppliers’ SUSTAIN NGOs and the corporate sector The Sustainability Consortium Field to Market EPRI water quality trading Following Carlson’s Law? Top-down [dis]orderly Bottom-up chaos Disparity rooted in culture and governance Chapter 5 Conflicting governance styles Organizations Organizational evolution Conformist hierarchy Incentivized hierarchy Pluralistic hierarchy Network structure Organizational structure–governance styles connections Governance Governance cultures Governance styles Hierarchy governance Market governance Network governance Governance conflicts Governance trilemma Governance conflicts in the system as it is Section II: Devising a wicked solution Chapter 6 Devising a wicked solution A transdisciplinary approach Acquiring system knowledge Imagination as a wicked solution strategy Identifying wicked solution sources Six pilot project case studies MMPA’s EQA Minnesota Project’s conservation innovation Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s conservation bridge Minnesota department of agriculture’s EQA EPA–USDA–MN Ag water quality certainty program Chicago SWCD’s AgEQATM A [Compiled] transdisciplinary approach Retelling the transdisciplinary story Transformational knowledge The system as it ought to be Identifying the wicked problem and solution partners Wicked solution sources Shared governance platform Enabling communities of practice Chapter 7 A landscape language Index-based language form Landscape data Data collection Smart assessments Index calculations Creating language content Landscape intelligence Simple and compound indices Natural capital asset portfolio Purposeful uses Another market marvel? Useful applications Defining eco-services Natural capital units Mapping earth’s factory floor Natural capital values and GDP Agricultural NCC values Disruption toward harmonization Global environmental mechanism Global environmental asset portfolio Harmonizing natural capital valuation Imagining a common landscape language Chapter 8 Aligning sustainability activities Governance actors Shifting actor roles Governance shifts Meta-governance Meta-governors Governance frameworks Case study analysis Case assessment strategy Governance actors Governance styles, frameworks, and footprints Group I case studies—USDA conservation delivery system Soil Conservation Service CDS Project components Assessment and discussion Natural Resources Conservation Service CDS Project components Assessment and discussion Group I discussion Group II case studies—Minnesota EQAs Minnesota Milk Producers Association EQA Project components Assessment and discussion Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s LEQA Project components Assessment and discussion Chicago SWCD’s AgEQA Project components Assessment and discussion Group II discussion Group III case studies—emerging strategies MDA’s Ag Water Quality Certainty Program Project components Assessment and discussion Chesapeake Bay Program BMP Verification Project components Assessment and discussion EPRI’s Ohio River Basin water quality trading Program components Assessment and discussion The Sustainability Consortium Project components Assessment and discussion Field to Market Project components Assessment and discussion United supplier’s SUSTAIN Project components Assessment and discussion Group III discussion Overall case study findings Governance of project components Development Delivery Oversight Valuation Governance footprints Aligning governance actors and styles Chapter 9 A shared governance platform Shared governance Shared governance principles Multisided platforms Network community Technology infrastructure Database and content Multisided shared governance platform Creating a new supply Nonexcludable goods Excludable goods "Converting" nonexcludable goods to excludable goods New user behaviors Enabling new transactions Identify transaction costs Reduce transaction costs Shared transaction costs and values MSSG platform transactions Sustainability 1.0 Sustainability 1.5 Sustainability 2.0 Symbiotic demand versus conflicting governance Disparate stakeholder governance Symbiotic demand Section III: Designing a glocal business ecosystem Chapter 10 Governance of the glocal commons Glocalization phenomenon Social effect Sustainability supply chain effect Local + global = glocal commons Glocal governance pathways Bottom-up sustainability governance Top-down sustainability governance Private sector sustainability governance Public–private partnerships Solely private sector Adaptive pathway Glocal common governance Local commons Glocal commons Chapter 11 Designing a business ecosystem Evolving ecosystems Business ecosystems e-Commerce ecosystems An eco-commerce ecosystem concept Interface of ecoservice value Ecosystem design layers Participant layers Leaders’ layer Users layer Contributor layer Risk management assessment Strategies for an eco-commerce ecosystem User magnet Technology toolbox Cryptocurrency Matchmaking, incentives, and trust Ecosystem emergence considerations Chapter 12 Enabling an eco-commerce ecosystem Three phases of transformation Preparing the system Adaptive comanagement Minimal viable platform A first platform interaction The next platform interaction A prepared system Window of opportunity Case study windows Too many "little" windows? Too big of a window? Opening a WQ trading window Entering a WQ trading window Navigating the transition Navigating the first WQ transaction Transforming water quality trading Enabling symbiotic transactions Glocal sustainability portfolios Antithesis of the tragedy of the commons Building resiliency Compelling visions Chapter 13 Conclusion Wicked principles Sustainability science A DNA solution Platform biomimicry Stable core Variable complementary component Interface A generic wicked solution platform A resolutionary path Chapter 14 Bibliography Index

Timothy M. Gieseke’s interdisciplinary career is reflected in the research and insights of his writings. A master’s degree in environmental sciences is a cornerstone for his perspective on agriculture sustainability. He also brings experience in agriculture production, governmental experience in conservation planning, policy analysis at state and federal levels, political endeavors, and agribusiness management. With this near panoramic view of landscape sustainability, Tim recognized the need for a transdisciplinary approach to enable practitioners and policy- makers to transcend and blur the lines between their traditional organizational boundaries. He has carried this vision through several of his local to global efforts.