Changing lake governance in areas under urban transformation: Cases from the Greater Bengaluru Metropolitan Region, India

We live in an era of urbanisation, where urban centres are the major drivers of economic development. This is more so the case in the Global South, where the cities are growing exponentially while the governance and infrastructure systems are unable to adapt. Urban transformation has far-reaching implications on ecosystems, especially common pool resources (lakes, forests, grazing lands…) not just within the boundaries but surrounding areas as well. A great deal of attention has been given to study commons in both rural and the impact of urban development on changes in the biophysical and ecosystem services. There is, however, limited focus on how urban development leads to changes in institutions in managing commons such as lakes in areas of urban transformation. This dissertation contributes to the literature by focusing on institutions and actors as the centre of analysis, by addressing three interrelated objectives across three interconnected lakes along a rural-urban gradient in the Greater Bengaluru Metropolitan Region, India. It investigates how communities negotiate institutional arrangements in view of changing distributional outcomes and power asymmetries. It examines the pre-conditions of legitimacy, shared understanding and exchange of resources facilitate co-management of lakes. It focuses on understanding the role of bridging actors in shaping networks of actors involved in co-management of lakes. To understand the above objectives, I draw on the Bloomington School of Political Economy, applying a conceptual framework of polycentric governance. This framework enables to analyse how formal and informal rules, changes in the biophysical contexts and actor characteristics influence negotiations and development of alternative institutional arrangements. The results show that urban transformation has influenced a shift in the management practices of lakes in the region. There has been a shift in lake management from the 1960s where lakes were considered as a state managed resource to 2018, where there is a push for co-management of lakes. This change in management is the result of changes in the distributional outcome of communities (non-state actors) leading to the negotiation of a co-managed institutional arrangement. Though there is a difference in the negotiation of alternate institutional arrangements across the rural-urban gradient, it is highlighted that heterogeneity influences community engagement and involvement in co-managing lakes by increasing transaction costs. The role of state becomes crucial in facilitating co-management in urban and peri-urban areas to provide legitimacy to non-state actors, especially to third-sector organisations, including non-governmental organisations. The non-state actors, mainly the third-sector organisations, help in realigning actor preferences by developing shared understanding across actors. Further, these actors also facilitate development of networks of actors (state and non-state) leading to holistic lake management. The findings of the study emphasize the practical implications for policies and strategies in urban planning in the greater Bengaluru Metropolitan region and beyond. The rapid and unplanned expansion of cities necessitates the need for incorporating not just management of common-pool resources in development plans, but also the roles of state and non-state actors. This inclusion of actors requires the state to consider and enable participation of non-state actors in planning and implementation of activities for managing common-pool resources by providing adequate institutional support. Further, there is also a need for development of a common problem definition and realignment of actor goals when managing common-pool resources such as lakes, which are interconnected in nature and not bound by administrative boundaries, leading to holistic development