Public and private in natural resource governance : a false dichotomy? / edited by Thomas Sikor.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : Public-private relations and key policy issues in natural resource governance / Thomas Sikor, Eva Barlosius and Waltina Scheumann -- Locating social choice in forest comanagement and local governance : the politics of public decision making and interests / Eva Wollenberg [and others] -- Devolution in Bulgaria's irrigation system : contesting the public / Insa Theesfeld -- Water service provision in the Algarve, Portugal : from local to national publics / Andreas Thiel -- Governing Austrian landscapes : shifts along the private-public divide / Marianne Penker -- Biodiversity governance : adjusting local costs and global benefits / Irene Ring -- The media in forestry : government, governance and social visibility / Daniela Kleinschmit and Max Krott -- Bioenergy clusters in Austria and Germany : from public goals to private action / Tobias Plieninger [and others] -- Marketing safe food by labelling : the pros and cons of state regulation / Jutta Roosen -- Food safety through risk analysis : the role of private and public governance / Ortwin Renn -- Connecting ecosystem services to biodiversity : designing sustainable landscapes by linking the public and private sectors in common cause / Tim O'Riordan -- Outlook : new publics and property rights / Thomas Sikor.

Natural resources have historically been considered as being governed by public or private interests-that is, by the state on behalf of the people, or by companies or individuals driven by the market. This dichotomy between private and public is now recognized as overly simplistic, and it is clear that publics and privates operate at a range of levels and with differing degrees of cooperation. Bringing together a group of internationally respected researchers, this book provides a new perspective on prominent issues in resource governance, including the state, NGOs, civil society, communities, participation, and hybrid institutions, highlighting the three-dimensional nature of relations between public and private. It builds on empirical analyses from five fields of natural resource governance-agri-environment, biodiversity, food quality and safety, forestry, and rural water-and employs a comparative approach which goes beyond the specificities of individual policy fields, recognizing shared elements and allowing for a greater understanding of the dynamics underlying governance processes. An introduction to the volume and to each section summarize the key debates and highlights linkages between chapters. This is essential reading for academics, students and policy experts in natural resource governance, development and environmental policy.