How do we design multilevel institutions for the Earth system?

“Think locally, act globally”, as a slogan, has been around for a long time. But it needs to be operationalized through new institutional arrangements that connect from local to global. Here we are talking about institutions that are multilevel (rather than multilateral). That is, the concern is not the fragmented or overlapping nature of institutions. Rather, the concern is about finding ways in which local – state/provincial – national – regional – international levels of discourse, knowledge co-production, and decision-making can be connected. This imperative follows from the fact that the Earth system is not “flat” but hierachical or multilevel. Hence the theory of complex adaptive systems tells us that there is no one “correct” level at which the system can be managed. Information and perspectives from all levels are equally important and valid in dealing with the problems of the Earth system. Co-management arrangements in some countries connect the local to the national, but even these face obstacles, as nation states have historically resisted sharing decision-making powers with other levels, both local and international.

The Arctic Council, with eight member countries, has come closest to using information and observations from all levels in its 2005 Arctic Climate Change Impact Assessment report (http://www.acia.uaf.edu). However, there are no examples in the environment and resources area of truly multilevel institutions that connect the local to the global, and that is a big challenge in managing Earth systems.