Decentralized Environmental Governance under State Capacity Constraints: Institutional Challenges and Policy Innovations in Zamboanga City, Philippines

Atilano, Lesley Ann and Valerio, Aldrin and Moreno, Frede (2026): Decentralized Environmental Governance under State Capacity Constraints: Institutional Challenges and Policy Innovations in Zamboanga City, Philippines.

Abstract

Decentralization reforms assign extensive environmental governance responsibilities to local governments across the Global South, yet environmental outcomes remain uneven. This article examines how state capacity constraints shape decentralized environmental governance in Zamboanga City, a highly urbanized coastal city in the southern Philippines. The study situates the Philippine Local Government Code within broader debates on decentralization, multilevel governance, and local state capacity. Using qualitative process tracing supported by administrative, fiscal, and enforcement data from 2015–2023, the article analyzes three policy domains: solid waste management, coastal resource management, and urban watershed protection. Findings show that formal authority decentralizes faster than administrative capacity, fiscal autonomy, and enforcement power. Political incentives, intergovernmental fragmentation, and uneven technical capacity produce sectoral variation in governance performance. The study identifies policy innovations that emerge under constraint, including interlocal cooperation, hybrid enforcement arrangements, and civil society co-production. The article contributes to environmental governance scholarship by demonstrating how decentralized systems operate under persistent capacity gaps and by offering a framework for assessing policy performance in constrained local states.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: decentralization; environmental governance; state capacity; local government; Philippines; coastal cities
• Subjects: H - Public Economics > H0 - General > H00 - General; H - Public Economics > H1 - Structure and Scope of Government > H10 - General; H - Public Economics > H1 - Structure and Scope of Government > H11 - Structure, Scope, and Performance of Government; H - Public Economics > H1 - Structure and Scope of Government > H12 - Crisis Management; H - Public Economics > H1 - Structure and Scope of Government > H19 - Other; H - Public Economics > H3 - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents > H30 - General; H - Public Economics > H3 - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents > H32 - Firm; H - Public Economics > H3 - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents > H39 - Other; H - Public Economics > H4 - Publicly Provided Goods > H40 - General; H - Public Economics > H4 - Publicly Provided Goods > H49 - Other; H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H50 - General; H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H53 - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs; H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H70 - General; H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H71 - State and Local Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue; H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H72 - State and Local Budget and Expenditures; H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H76 - State and Local Government: Other Expenditure Categories; H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government ; Intergovernmental Relations > H79 - Other; H - Public Economics > H8 - Miscellaneous Issues > H80 - General; H - Public Economics > H8 - Miscellaneous Issues > H84 - Disaster Aid; H - Public Economics > H8 - Miscellaneous Issues > H89 - Other; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O2 - Development Planning and Policy > O20 - General; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O2 - Development Planning and Policy > O23 - Fiscal and Monetary Policy in Development; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O38 - Government Policy; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q0 - General; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q0 - General > Q00 - General; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q0 - General > Q01 - Sustainable Development; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q2 - Renewable Resources and Conservation > Q20 - General; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q2 - Renewable Resources and Conservation > Q28 - Government Policy; Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Environmental and Ecological Economics > Q2 - Renewable Resources and Conservation > Q29 - Other

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