The next decade of adaptive governance research: concluding remarks

The need to identify, develop, test, and evaluate new approaches to governing is clear as the multiple, coupled socio-ecological change drivers make it increasingly necessary to deal with uncertainty and unsustainability. The question that needs to be asked now, to conclude this volume, is what the contribution of adaptive governance has been to the theoretical approaches of governing complex, socio-ecological systems and what insights does adaptive governance bring to the wider field of societal decision-making? While significant progress has been made in the field, as evidenced in this book, there are remaining question and new ones emerge that continue to explore the relationship of adaptive governance features in relation to formal government structures, as well as the ability and desirability to sustain transformational change of institutions and society at large.