Sustainable development : the question of integration and coordination

It could be argued that the quest for integration is at the core of sustainable developmentimplementation issues. Although there is no simple answer to the integrationchallenge there is no doubt that organisational integration and coordinationcomprise a critical ingredient in any prescription package. The reasons whyit is difficult to achieve integration is encapsulated by the notion of the ‘limits togovernance’ which describe the organisational complexities and constraints facingtraditional governance. At the basic theoretical level the interactions betweenorganisations are explained in terms of the two organising principles of competitionand collaboration, while coordination could be a product of three alternativemodes of governance. The general acceptance of the idea that a decentralised setof formal and informal agreements among diverse groups and organisations in theform of networks and partnerships holds the most promising institutional prospect,is explored in from two angles: firstly from a macro perspective considering thechanging role of the state and secondly a bottom-up perspective focusing on thenotion of organisational innovation in resource management. Finally some conclusionsare drawn as to the prospects of networks being able to achieve integrationand coordination in environmental management.