Multi-Actor Systems in Water–Energy Nexus: Identifying Critical Stakeholders in Floatovoltaic (Floating Photovoltaic) Project
The intrinsic relation between water and energy has made the water–energy nexus a burgeoning issue in the discussion of sustainable development. Recently, research has begun to pay attention to stakeholders in the nexus. They, however, identified stakeholders as a given without employing methodicall...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-03-01
|
| Series: | Water |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/6/1241 |
| _version_ | 1797608510959124480 |
|---|---|
| author | Corinthias P. M. Sianipar Yi-Meng Chao Satoshi Hoshino |
| author_facet | Corinthias P. M. Sianipar Yi-Meng Chao Satoshi Hoshino |
| author_sort | Corinthias P. M. Sianipar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The intrinsic relation between water and energy has made the water–energy nexus a burgeoning issue in the discussion of sustainable development. Recently, research has begun to pay attention to stakeholders in the nexus. They, however, identified stakeholders as a given without employing methodically scientific processes with rigorous parameters. Filling in the gap, this study presents a heuristic approach to identifying critical stakeholders of multi-actor systems in the water–energy nexus. It involves three sources of influence (social roles, specific concerns, and key problems) along with four other boundary issues (motivation, control, knowledge, legitimacy), forming a matrix of the boundary categories of Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH). This study applied the heuristic analysis to the project of floating photovoltaics installed in a pond in Hyogo, Japan, as the case study. It is a unique case of the water–energy nexus since the location of the floatovoltaic installation is a privately owned pond that is also part of the public landscape and an irrigation source for the surrounding agricultural areas. The results identified two macrogroups of stakeholders (residents and project developers) driven by general interests in the project. They were derivable as overlapping micro-actors interested in more specific issues related to different facets of the project. Overall, conflicting interests in the multi-actor systems indicated deadlocked interactions due to a multidirectional tug-of-war between the microgroups of actors. Conceptually, this study significantly contributes to the literature on the water–energy nexus and stakeholder management. Practically, the approach used offers scientific processes to understand the multi-actor systems and conflicting interests involved in/affected by the nexus, paving the way for more comprehensive resolution processes of water–energy conflicts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:44:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-09d0998b137e402f9f5bcf6e5b6ba648 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:44:26Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-09d0998b137e402f9f5bcf6e5b6ba6482023-11-17T14:28:25ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412023-03-01156124110.3390/w15061241Multi-Actor Systems in Water–Energy Nexus: Identifying Critical Stakeholders in Floatovoltaic (Floating Photovoltaic) ProjectCorinthias P. M. Sianipar0Yi-Meng Chao1Satoshi Hoshino2Division of Environmental Science and Technology, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, JapanRisk Society and Policy Research Center (RSPRC), National Taiwan University (NTU), Taipei 106, TaiwanDivision of Environmental Science and Technology, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, JapanThe intrinsic relation between water and energy has made the water–energy nexus a burgeoning issue in the discussion of sustainable development. Recently, research has begun to pay attention to stakeholders in the nexus. They, however, identified stakeholders as a given without employing methodically scientific processes with rigorous parameters. Filling in the gap, this study presents a heuristic approach to identifying critical stakeholders of multi-actor systems in the water–energy nexus. It involves three sources of influence (social roles, specific concerns, and key problems) along with four other boundary issues (motivation, control, knowledge, legitimacy), forming a matrix of the boundary categories of Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH). This study applied the heuristic analysis to the project of floating photovoltaics installed in a pond in Hyogo, Japan, as the case study. It is a unique case of the water–energy nexus since the location of the floatovoltaic installation is a privately owned pond that is also part of the public landscape and an irrigation source for the surrounding agricultural areas. The results identified two macrogroups of stakeholders (residents and project developers) driven by general interests in the project. They were derivable as overlapping micro-actors interested in more specific issues related to different facets of the project. Overall, conflicting interests in the multi-actor systems indicated deadlocked interactions due to a multidirectional tug-of-war between the microgroups of actors. Conceptually, this study significantly contributes to the literature on the water–energy nexus and stakeholder management. Practically, the approach used offers scientific processes to understand the multi-actor systems and conflicting interests involved in/affected by the nexus, paving the way for more comprehensive resolution processes of water–energy conflicts.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/6/1241Critical System Heuristicsstakeholder dynamicspond managementcommunitiesnatural landscapeagricultural irrigation |
| spellingShingle | Corinthias P. M. Sianipar Yi-Meng Chao Satoshi Hoshino Multi-Actor Systems in Water–Energy Nexus: Identifying Critical Stakeholders in Floatovoltaic (Floating Photovoltaic) Project Water Critical System Heuristics stakeholder dynamics pond management communities natural landscape agricultural irrigation |
| title | Multi-Actor Systems in Water–Energy Nexus: Identifying Critical Stakeholders in Floatovoltaic (Floating Photovoltaic) Project |
| title_full | Multi-Actor Systems in Water–Energy Nexus: Identifying Critical Stakeholders in Floatovoltaic (Floating Photovoltaic) Project |
| title_fullStr | Multi-Actor Systems in Water–Energy Nexus: Identifying Critical Stakeholders in Floatovoltaic (Floating Photovoltaic) Project |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multi-Actor Systems in Water–Energy Nexus: Identifying Critical Stakeholders in Floatovoltaic (Floating Photovoltaic) Project |
| title_short | Multi-Actor Systems in Water–Energy Nexus: Identifying Critical Stakeholders in Floatovoltaic (Floating Photovoltaic) Project |
| title_sort | multi actor systems in water energy nexus identifying critical stakeholders in floatovoltaic floating photovoltaic project |
| topic | Critical System Heuristics stakeholder dynamics pond management communities natural landscape agricultural irrigation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/6/1241 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT corinthiaspmsianipar multiactorsystemsinwaterenergynexusidentifyingcriticalstakeholdersinfloatovoltaicfloatingphotovoltaicproject AT yimengchao multiactorsystemsinwaterenergynexusidentifyingcriticalstakeholdersinfloatovoltaicfloatingphotovoltaicproject AT satoshihoshino multiactorsystemsinwaterenergynexusidentifyingcriticalstakeholdersinfloatovoltaicfloatingphotovoltaicproject |