Building Resilience in Trans-boundary Social-Ecological Systems: Adaptive Governance in the Lake Champlain Richelieu River Basin

Abstract

Addressing the management of water bodies that cross political, cultural, and ecological boundaries entails working with a level of complexity that requires creative, adaptive management strategies that build resilience throughout the system and allow for increased capacity in the face of disturbance. To characterize the extent to which such complexity can be managed, this paper explores the application of the social-ecological systems framework, proposed by Brian Walker and David Salt, for assessing and managing resilience. Elements of this framework will be utilized with respect to the Lake Champlain Richelieu River Basin, which is a freshwater basin that exists between the United States and Canada, in Vermont, New York, and Quebec. The paper will end with considerations regarding how adaptive management and adaptive governance can be employed as tools to build resilience in this region.