Emergence, complexity and sustainability : a study of the sub-political arena

This paper aims to explore the phenomenon of emergence within complex multiple stakeholder networks that have developed around the aim of sustainable Landcare. Our empirical work indicates that these networks facilitate the emergence of organisational forms that are shaped by the tensions between two broad discourse coalitions. Each emergent form represents a coalition of interests and has a distinct discourse in relation to their interpretations of sustainable natural resource management. The finding informs our understanding of the phenomenon of emergence and has implications for the relationship between organisations in the multiple stakeholder arrangements often termed as crucial to sustainability and sustainable natural resource management.