Towards sustainability in the coastal blue economy: Navigating institutional change for coastal resource co-management in Ghana

This thesis examined the challenges of the governance change in coastal fisheries in Ghana. It investigated the role of contextual and process dynamics in the outcomes of fisheries co-management arrangement. Specifically, it examined the process through which the transition to co-management was implemented in coastal fisheries in Ghana and why the institutional arrangement could not be sustained. The thesis is presented as a cumulative dissertation made up of three interrelated papers. The first paper (paper 1) is more conceptual, reviewing theories of institutional change and their applicability to the study of governance change in coastal marine systems. The second paper (paper 2) is an empirical paper that examined the process of institutional development for collaborative coastal resource governance. Paper 3 examined the role of contextual political-economic dynamics in the challenges of developing and sustaining co-management arrangements in coastal fisheries. The thesis adopted analytical perspectives from three institutional theories: ideational theory, legal pluralism and the political settlements theory. Methodologically, the research adopted a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions to collect data from relevant stakeholders in coastal fisheries in Ghana. Secondary data was also a valuable source. The thesis finds that a concatenation of contextual socio-political dynamics, institutional and ideological path-dependencies hindered the governance transformation in coastal fisheries in Ghana. It makes a theoretical contribution to the institutional analysis of co-management, making the argument that outcomes of co-management regimes should not only be evaluated in terms of how such institutional arrangements produce socio-economic and ecological sustainability outcomes but also in terms of institutional sustainability. It emphasises that to understand the challenges of sustaining co-management regimes to produce sustainable governance outcomes, particular attention should be paid to the process of institutional change and contextual socio-political, ideological and institutional dynamics within which co-management arrangements are designed and implemented. The thesis underscores the need for a broader consideration of the socio-political and institutional dynamics of the resource context in governance transformation processes for sustainability in the coastal blue economy