Adaptive management: where are we now?

Abstract

SUMMARYAdaptive management (AM) emerged in the literature in the mid-1970s in response both to a realization of the extent of uncertainty involved in management, and a frustration with attempts to use modelling to integrate knowledge and make predictions. The term has since become increasingly widely used in scientific articles, policy documents and management plans, but both understanding and application of the concept is mixed. This paper reviews recent literature from conservation and natural resource management journals to assess diversity in how the term is used, highlight ambiguities and consider how the concept might be further assessed. AM is currently being used to describe many different management contexts, scales and locations. Few authors define the term explicitly or describe how it offers a means to improve management outcomes in their specific management context. Many do not adhere to the idea as it was originally conceived, despite citing seminal work. Significant confusion exists over the distinction between active and passive approaches. Over half of the studies reporting to implement AM claimed to have done so successfully, yet none quantified specific benefits, or costs, in relation to possible alternatives. Similarly those studies reporting to assess the approach did so only in relation to specific models and their parameterizations; none assessed the benefits or costs of AM in the field. AM is regarded by some as an effective and wellestablished framework to support the management of natural resources, yet by others as a concept difficult to realize and fraught with implementation challenges; neither of these observations is wholly accurate. From a scientific and technical perspective many practical questions remain; in particular realworld assessments of the value of experimentation within a management framework, as well as of identified challenges and pathologies, are needed. Further discussion and systematic assessment of the approach is required, together with greater attention to its definition and description, enabling the assessment of new approaches to managing uncertainty, and AM itself.

Learning in Adaptive Management: Insights from Published Practice

“…Over time, adaptive management has become a popular response to the challenges of complexity and the demands of a "shifting world" (Hughes et al 2007:586). Although originally designed to incorporate continuous reflection, adjustment of management actions, and constant experimentation and repetition by managers (Walters and Holling 1990), more recently the approach has been broadened to involve participation by those outside an organization to broaden the knowledge base and reduce conflicts (Stringer et al 2006, Rist et al 2013). Adaptive management is widely advocated as a solution to a wide range of issues, including challenges with elusive solutions such as "wicked problems" (Ludwig 2001); complexity and uncertainty in decision making (Holling 1978, Walters 1997; as a remedy for "analysis paralysis" (Snowden and Boone 2007); a solution to communication breakdowns within and between agencies (McCook et al 2010); a learning tool to increase knowledge (Armitage et al 2008); a method to tap into traditional and indigenous knowledge (Berkes et al 2000); a way to link monitoring to decision making ; and a method to assess costs, benefits, and risks (Gregory et al 2006).…”

“…Adaptive management is widely advocated as a solution to a wide range of issues, including challenges with elusive solutions such as "wicked problems" (Ludwig 2001); complexity and uncertainty in decision making (Holling 1978, Walters 1997; as a remedy for "analysis paralysis" (Snowden and Boone 2007); a solution to communication breakdowns within and between agencies (McCook et al 2010); a learning tool to increase knowledge (Armitage et al 2008); a method to tap into traditional and indigenous knowledge (Berkes et al 2000); a way to link monitoring to decision making ; and a method to assess costs, benefits, and risks (Gregory et al 2006). The goals of adaptive management reflect this wide range of uses (Westgate et al 2013) and may include improved ecosystem management, better governance, public participation, and responsiveness, a universally accepted goal implicit in the adaptive management concept , Keith et al 2011, Roux and Foxcroft 2011, Rist et al 2013). With such wide-ranging possibilities associated with it, many natural resource management agencies, realizing the intricacies of social-ecological systems management, have embraced adaptive management (Runge 2011, Williams 2011.…”

“…However, although adaptive management is based on intuitive and practical concepts and should therefore be easy to understand and implement, it has the danger of becoming a catch-all phrase for any type of "trial and error" management (Rist et al 2013, Westgate et al 2013). Many scholars (e.g., Walters 1997, Gregory et al 2006, Stringer et al 2006, Keith et al 2011 have critiqued its utility, questioning the over-emphasis on process vs. action and the circularity of learning and reflection.…”

Integrative learning for practicing adaptive resource management

“…However, the effective translation of ARM theory into practice is relatively elusive (Susskind et al 2012, Rist et al 2013a, Scarlett 2013, Westgate 2013, Williams and Brown 2014. ARM has been described as confusing (Rist et al 2013b), and protracted periods of transition in natural resource management exacerbate this confusion. In water resource management, for example, the theory of sustainable water resource management is relatively more advanced than its practice and capacities (skills, knowledge, and competencies) required to implement actual integrated and adaptive water management regimes (Pahl-Wostl 2008, PahlWostl et al 2011a.…”

Theoretical ecology as etiological from the start

“…In fact, numerous authors contend that the entire enterprise of ecology is best understood as an endless pragmatic effort to: posit new hypotheses that become relevant to public policy and resource management as the environment continually changes; anticipate novel environmental problems; and explore the potential ramifications of alternative responses to potential problems (cf. Holling, 1995, p. 4;Mitchell 2009, p. 99;Rist et al, 2013).…”