Co-management has been adopted internationally, across all types of natural resource settings, bringing resource users and others into governance with government. Multiple aspects of co-management have been studied, from power-sharing to social networks and accountability, identifying a wide range of concepts that form the foundations of co-management. By bringing together and interrogating a wide range of concepts, from all natural resource sectors, including forests, fisheries and grazing land, this book identifies how each concept contributes to the understanding and practice of co-management. Concepts such as collaboration, participation, institutions, power, community, cohesion, representation, accountability, trust, legitimacy, scale, rights, justice, values, identity and adaptation are reviewed. Each chapter reviews foundational literature and identifies key implications for co-management. These are brought together in a concluding chapter that identifies recurring themes from across the chapters and develops a social relational definition and conceptual framework for the understanding and practice of co-management.

‘Much has been written about co-management, but an updated comprehensive book had been lacking. Professor Nunan's book fills this gap by providing a coherent review and analysis – a key resource for scholars, students and practitioners.'

Fikret Berkes - Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Manitoba

‘Professor Nunan has synthesized the literature on co-management and related subjects in a comprehensive, coherent and theoretically informed manner. Her book serves as a standard reference for practitioners and students worldwide who want to escape common pool resource tragedies in a way that is consistent with good governance principles.

Svein Jentoft - Professor Emeritus, Norwegian College of Fishery Science, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway

‘This book is a welcome addition to the literature on co-management and natural resource governance. Fiona Nunan strikes a clever balance between rich content and succinct presentation, which ensures that this book is a rewarding read. The mapping of a range of concepts, their synthesis into four key themes and a definition of co-management makes this a valuable resource for students, academics and practitioners.'

Frances Cleaver - Professor Emeritus, Lancaster University

‘Institutions. Power. Scale. Learning. Rights. The concepts covered in this exciting book get to the core of what makes co-management so powerful as an approach, and as a vision of what's possible. The book is required reading for students, applied researchers and resource managers seeking to understand the full range of ideas behind co-management, and how it can catalyze better social and ecological outcomes.'

Derek Armitage - Director, School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo