Adaptive management is a cyclic, learning-oriented approach to the management of complex environmental systems that are characterized by high levels of uncertainty about system processes and the potential ecological, social and economic impacts of different management options. Jacobson, C. (August 2003) Introduction to adaptive management

Overview

Adaptive Management attempts to deal with our limitations or inability to assess impacts to the environment as a means to produce and deliver better environmental outcomes such as strategies, goals and restoration projects. The goal of an Adaptive Management strategy is to develop a set of techniques to: (1) deal with uncertain information (2) mobilize available data on partially known processes (3) assist with the formation of objectives that are less sensitive to the unexpected.

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Discussion

Adaptive Management emphasizes a systems approach and communication as the way to achieve a better, shared understanding of a problem. This implies a need to develop simplified models to better understand the behavior of systems and demands an emphasis on communication between practitioners in various disciplines and between researchers, practitioners and managers. This concept is not new and has been in practice across North America over the past 20 years. The Canadians adopted a national strategy of "Adaptive Management" for stream ecosystems in the late 1990's. The US Forest Service has used an "adaptive management strategy" for forest management in the northwest for many years. The US Fish and Wildlife uses "adaptive management" in waterfowl management. According to Bernard T. Bowmann, US forest Service, "broad top down regulations are not likely to be effective until we foster creative local solutions, adapted to local conditions that emerge from structured learning and adapting experiences. Adaptive Management is probably the only alternative to ever-tightening regulations". In the field of stream ecosystem restoration, it is assumed that practitioners will acquire the "best available scientific knowledge" from "experts" at federal, state and local agencies, universities or private sector professionals to base project-specific decisions upon. But, that knowledge can be disparate, at best, and disputed, at worst. Often what is "best scientific knowledge" for one person is "inadequate knowledge" or even "biased knowledge" for another. In addition, knowledge derived from experience (applied science) is often proprietary to those practicing professionals working in the field and is not commonly shared. Consider the barrage of scientific information that professional practitioners must face: sediment transport and competence, river continuum theory, biological criteria, channel evolution models, flow continuum models etc. and the complex list of problems such as urbanizing streams and watersheds, hydromodification, degraded habitat and water quality. These are all recognized problems, but how serious and synergistic are these and how can we best develop restoration and management schemes to address them? The concept of "adaptive management" has grown from this frustration with disparate scientific knowledge, the lack of integration between disciplines and the inability to communicate effectively with decision makers. By adopting an Adaptive Management approach to stream ecosystem restoration, and through monitoring and evaluation of restoration projects, we will begin to learn what works and what doesn't. We must then effectively communicate our findings and then focus our investments on the types of stream ecosystem restoration projects which have proven successful and gain an understanding of the interaction of project components, their relationships, and how they evolve in the ecosystem over time.

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Resources

"ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT" Handout

Summary: The Adaptive Management Board was created for the Ohio Streams Conference in 2003. The purpose of the board is convey the idea that knowledge feedback and integration efforts are necessary mechanisms for successfully completing projects in under-developed field such as stream ecosystem restoration. There currently exists a considerable breakdown in the process of moving ideas from the theory and design phase of restoration efforts to the field during the installation of designs and thus a lack of sufficiently successful projects. The Adaptive Management board visually portrays the effectiveness of adopting an Adaptive Management philosophy.

Downloads

The "Adaptive Management" Handout can be viewed and downloaded in the following formats:

» JPG file: 11"x17", resolution: 150 dpi, 1.1 Mb

» PDF file: 11"x17", resolution: 120 dpi, 4.3 Mb

Links

Adaptive Management Resources Page

Adaptive Management Network

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