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Paper short abstract

This paper proposes the active use of boundary object tools to enhance participatory governance in addressing wicked problems, particularly environmental challenges, within the Indian policy process.

Paper long abstract

Since the 1990s, India’s environmental governance has gradually shifted toward participatory models, driven by grassroots activism and judicial mandates. However, these efforts often fall short of their transformative promise due to persistent bureaucratic resistance, implementation failures, and constrained community involvement. West Bengal’s Joint Forest Management (JFM), frequently cited as a participatory success, illustrates both the potential and the pitfalls of such approaches, particularly in light of critiques around superficial or symbolic inclusion.

This paper investigates how boundary objects can strengthen participatory environmental governance in India. Although extensively applied in international contexts like sustainability transitions and innovation systems, their use in India remains largely underexplored and conceptual. Drawing on policy analysis and case studies from JFM in West Bengal, the paper introduces a practical framework for leveraging boundary objects—such as community maps and biodiversity registers—as tools to navigate governance challenges like elite dominance, uneven access to knowledge, and social marginalization. By enabling shared understanding without enforcing consensus, boundary objects can support more adaptive and inclusive collaboration. The paper contends that genuine participatory governance must transcend tokenistic engagement, embracing co-production, transparency, and ongoing learning—objectives that boundary objects can effectively support when thoughtfully integrated into policy and practice.

Participatory Governance, Environmental Policy, Boundary Objects, Joint Forest Management (JFM), India