Review finds integrated natural resource governance remains rare

A systematic review found that only 3% of 138 peer-reviewed studies on natural resource governance integrated participatory governance, conflict management and circular-economy approaches in the same analysis. The review screened 1,847 records published from 2000 through 2026 across Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect and the Wiley Online Library. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020, the researchers retained studies from 48 countries and coded them using 22 variables.

The distribution of the reviewed evidence shows that integration across the three fields was uncommon. Fifty-seven percent of the studies addressed a single pillar, 41% engaged with two, and 3% combined all three. None of the retained studies also incorporated a digital transparency layer. The authors note that participatory governance, conflict management and the circular economy have matured largely in parallel over the past quarter-century, while the systematic review identifies a small body of research examining their combined role in natural resource governance.

Based on the evidence, the authors propose a participation–conflict–circularity, or PCC, nexus framework. Its central proposition is that conflict analysis structurally mediates between participatory design and circular resource flows. In this model, participation is not presented as a direct mechanism for producing more circular resource use; instead, its relationship to material circulation depends on how competing interests, distributional disputes and governance conflicts are identified and addressed. Blockchain and the Internet of Things are described as optional digital scaffolds that could support implementation, rather than mandatory elements of the framework.

The review identifies three priority test beds for evaluating the proposed framework: post-conflict mining, transboundary water–energy–food–ecosystem basins, and urban mining in the Global South. These proposed settings place the PCC framework across mining, interconnected transboundary resources and the recovery of materials from urban environments. The work remains a review and framework proposal, not a field trial or intervention study: the reported percentages characterize the 138 included publications, while the effectiveness of the PCC nexus has not been directly tested. The supplied article is an early peer-reviewed version that may undergo further editorial changes before the final version of record.

Subject of Research: Systematic review of participation, conflict management and circularity in natural resource governance

Article Title: An evidence-based participation conflict circularity nexus framework for integrated natural resource governance

Article References: Hoque Mozumder, M. M., Kabiraj, S., & Schneider, P. (2026). An evidence-based participation conflict circularity nexus framework for integrated natural resource governance. Discover Sustainability, 7(1), Article 1785. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-04734-0

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s43621-026-04734-0

Keywords: natural resource governance, participatory governance, conflict management, circular economy, systematic review, circular material flows, PCC framework, urban mining, transboundary basins, post-conflict mining, evidence-based, participation