Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Structured decision
making
A general term for a framework of analysis of problems to
reach decisions based on evidence to meet stated goals.
Definition of Adaptive Management
Adaptive management is an approach to natural resource management that
emphasizes learning through management based upon the philosophy that knowl-
edge is incomplete and much of what is thought to be known is actually wrong, but
despite uncertainty, managers and policymakers must act [
1
]. Although the concept
of adaptive management has resonated with resource management scientists and
practitioners following its formal introduction in 1978 [
2
], it has and continues to
remain little practiced and much misunderstood. Misunderstanding is largely based
upon the belief that adaptive management is what management has always been,
a trial and error attempt to improve management outcomes. But unlike a trial and
error approach, adaptive management has explicit structure, including a careful
elucidation of goals, identification of alternative management objectives and
hypotheses of causation, and procedures for the collection of data followed by
evaluation and reiteration. Since its initial introduction and description, adaptive
management has been hailed as a solution to endless trial and error approaches to
complex natural resource management challenges and recently, it has become
increasingly referenced under various forms (please refer to following sections)
(
Fig. 8.1
). Regardless of the particular definition of adaptive management used, and
there are many, adaptive management emphasizes learning and subsequent adapta-
tion of management based upon that learning. The process is iterative, and serves to
reduce uncertainty, build knowledge, and improve management over time in a goal-
oriented and structured process. However, adaptive management is not a panacea
for the navigation of “wicked problems” [
3
,
4
] as it does not produce easy answers,
and is appropriate in only a subset of natural resource management problems where
both uncertainty and controllability are high (
Fig. 8.2
)[
5
]. Where uncertainty is
high but controllability is low, scenarios are a more appropriate approach. Adaptive
management is a poor fit for solving problems of intricate complexity, high external
influences, long time spans, high structural uncertainty, and with low confidence in
assessments [
5
] (e.g., climate change). However, even in such situations, adaptive
management may be the preferred alternative, and can be utilized to resolve or
reduce structural uncertainty.
Clearly, adaptive management has matured, but it has also reached a crossroads. Its
application is now common to a variety of complex resource management issues, and
while practitioners and scientists have developed adaptive management and structured
decision-making techniques, and mathematicians have developed approaches to reduc-
ing the uncertainties encountered in resource management, there continues to be
misapplication of the method, and misunderstanding of its purpose.
