In it, An and his co-authors address how the risk of losing autonomy sometimes dissuades organizations from joining collaborative sustainability institutions. They argue that when rules exist that protect individual organizations’ autonomy, more diverse groups are likely to join, and confidence in the collaboration’s work increases. Through data analysis of similar groundwater sustainability efforts in California, the authors find that inclusive representation, unweighted voting power structures, and unanimity decision rules create effective protective governance structures.

The full article can be read at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2021.08.024.