Reflexive Participatory Governance for Agroecological Transformations
AbstractIn this chapter we further discuss the rationale for a participatory and reflexive governance process as the basis for agroecology transformations. We discuss governance and facilitation mechanisms that enable continuous discussions, negotiations, exchange and joint planning between actors. Further, we provide guidance on this ongoing and iterative social learning processes among actors that can enable and ensure governance interventions that both nurture and anchor agroecology. This often requires an expansion of ‘direct’ democracy in decision-making in order to complement, or replace, models of representative democracy that prevail in conventional policy-making. Finally, we articulate the territorial approach to governance which is increasingly seen as the decisive level in fostering agroecological transformations and the scale where reflexive and participatory governance can be effectively implemented.