An integrative analysis of water and climate adaptation governance in Bengaluru, India
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2025-08-30
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en
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This thesis addresses the urgent need for just and transformative climate change adaptation (CCA) in Southern cities, focusing on Bengaluru’s water governance amid climate-induced scarcity and flooding. It critiques the dominance of Global North-derived governance models, arguing they inadequately reflect the fragmented, informal, and multi-scalar realities of the Global South. I use the Integrative Governance Framework (IGF) along with Assemblage Theory, to develop the Scale-System-Site Mapping Framework – an approach that aims to capture governance as a web of relations beyond formal instruments.
Fieldwork in Bengaluru, combining semi-structured interviews and hybrid ethnography, revealed that governance systems are shaped by informal networks, autonomous actors, and civil society alignments. Four key insights emerged: civil society fosters coordination; informal relations mediate governance; autonomous action risks maladaptation when disrupted by the state; and governance discourses vary across scales, resisting linear translation. These findings challenge conventional governance paradigms and offer recommendations for stakeholders navigating urban climate adaptation in the global south.
An internship at PlanAdapt complemented this research, deepening the author’s engagement with CCA in the Global South. Overall, the thesis advocates for context-sensitive, relational approaches to governance transformation that validate Southern epistemologies and practices.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen