ABSTRACT
The importance of governance in facilitating or constraining access to benefits from natural resources and influencing the condition of natural resources is apparent throughout the earlier chapters. The overarching context of who is making decisions, at which levels, why and how, can be wrapped up in the concept and arrangements of ‘governance’. But this concept is rather nebulous, with many definitions offered. It is used in many settings and for different purposes, and is used differently between and within academic disciplines and in different sectors. There is no one single way of examining the nature and performance of governance.
