The contribution of institutional theories to explaining decentralization of natural resource governance

Natural resource management is increasingly decentralized. Policy approaches to natural resource management often do not take into account the complexity that exists in this decentralization process. The article presents an how decentralization reforms can be instituted through an “institutional meditation” framework which emphasizes how rules, incentives and contradictions/complements are present within and throughout many institutional levels. Case studies in Uganda and Bolivia are presented in the article as the authors discuss how accountability can be encouraged in decentralized systems. The article urges that future policy changes evolve to consider the complexities within the decentralized approach to natural resource management.