The impacts of large-scale climate and environmental changes on migration and conflict is a growing and widely debated topic. Whether the compounding effects of climate change will lead to migration, conflict, or adaptation depends on how communities respond to environmental and related socio-economic stresses. A gap in the discussion of this nexus is the role of institutions in mediating or shaping the different outcomes of community coping strategies. My doctoral project examines how rural agricultural and pastoralist communities in the WANA region cope with climate and natural resource stresses, and how their coping strategies are influenced by dynamics within and between formal and informal institutions. This includes kinship and tribal networks, social relations, and traditional norms. Central to this inquiry is understanding of the political economy/ ecology of state and tribe relations and community vulnerability/ marginalization in relation to access and control of natural resources, resource management, and rural livelihoods. Across the region, power holders and their relationship to society is changing and existing power structures are being questioned. While some studies on tribes in the WANA revolve around their influence on political processes and culture, this study attempts to understand their socio-economic influence in resource-poor countries. This paper is an attempt to understand the relationship between tribes and state in WANA generally and Jordan specifically, as it related to Natural Resource Governance (NRG). As part of this inquiry, it is important to unpack and even problematize existing definitions of tribes in the region, especially in relation to their role in politics, as well as the state formation dynamics. The focus is specifically on rural communities, for which both natural resources, as well as informal institutions play an important role in livelihood arrangements. Given the historically nomadic nature of many rural communities, tribal arrangements serve multiple economic, political, and conflict resolution purposes. The process of state formation as well as relations with tribes are relevant to understand claims and management over natural resources crucial for nomadic and rural livelihoods. Key words: Environmental Change, WANA, Tribes and State, Political Ecology, Natural Resource Governance