Polycentric governance has gained prominence in the environmental sector because of the potential for multiple, overlapping decision centers to address complex, multiscale socio-ecological challenges. These decision centers may interact with each other through cooperation, conflict and conflict-resolution, competition, co-existence, and may result in transformations such as consolidation/fusion, and replacement. However, not all of the interactions among decision centers and transformations have been investigated. This study examines the interactions and transformations of higher and lower-level authorities in Lake Victoria’s polycentric fisheries in Kenya using the Government Impacts Framework through qualitative research methods. We find that confusion over framing of fisheries and fishing drives functional and geographic overlaps between higher and lower levels. Higher-levels drive overlaps to replace lower-level functions. Lower-levels drive overlaps to resist the higher-level’s intrusion in their jurisdiction, leading to conflicts. Lower-levels also resist attempts at conflict-resolution. Resource scarcities and a complex bureaucracy prevent information-sharing between higher and lower-level authorities. Finally, cooperative overlaps between higher-level authorities increase oversight over lower-level authorities. In combination, these interactions and transformations, driven by overlaps, crowd-out lower-level authorities from fisheries management to concentrate policy development and implementation with higher-level authorities, even as illegal and overfishing continue. We conclude by identifying questions on drivers and functions of overlaps for future research on polycentric systems.

由于存在多个重叠的决策中心来应对复杂的，多尺度的社会生态挑战的潜力，多中心治理在环境领域倍受关注。这些决策中心可能通过合作，冲突和解决冲突，竞争，共存相互互动，并可能导致诸如合并/融合和替换之类的转变。但是，并未研究决策中心与转换之间的所有交互。这项研究通过定性研究方法，使用“政府影响框架”，研究了肯尼亚维多利亚维多利亚湖多中心渔业中上级和下级主管部门的互动和转变。我们发现，对渔业和捕捞框架的困惑导致了较高和较低级别之间的功能和地理重叠。较高级别的驱动器重叠以替换较低级别的功能。较低级别的驱动器重叠，以抵抗较高级别的入侵，从而导致冲突。较低层也抵制尝试解决冲突。资源稀缺和复杂的官僚体制阻止了上级和下级主管部门之间的信息共享。最后，上级主管部门之间的合作重叠会增加对下级主管部门的监督。结合起来，这些相互作用和转变是由重叠驱动的，将渔业管理中的下级主管部门挤出来，以集中政策制定和实施工作，与上级主管部门合作，即使非法和过度捕捞仍在继续。我们通过确定有关重叠的驱动因素和功能的问题来结束，以用于未来对多中心系统的研究。