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Adaptive Management

In an “ideal” world, reliable technical “recipes” would exist for meeting long and short-term objectives in natural resource management and conservation. In the policy realm, the results of the application of different policies could be anticipated, with little chance of undesirable outcomes. In practice, however, the world is not an “ideal”, easily predictable place. Indeed, the management and conservation of natural resources – including forests – is a highly complex endeavor involving technical, ecological, social, cultural, political, economic and institutional dimensions. This complexity, which is becoming increasingly recognized and acknowledged in forest management initiatives, is rapidly changing the way forests are managed.

Beyond the intrinsic complexity of forest management due to broad variability among the diverse dimensions indicated in the previous paragraph, additional complexity is introduced when societal objectives evolve over time, making it necessary to manage forests for a wide host of values, for example, biodiversity, water production, carbon sequestration and scenic beauty. Ideally, a forest manager would possess a “manual” detailing technical and policy alternatives that would guarantee success in diverse socioeconomic, cultural and ecological conditions. In practice, however, this infallible “manual” does not exist and forest managers are faced with diverse, sometimes conflicting objectives proposed and defended by a wide host of different stakeholders. In this context, adaptive management is proving to be an invaluable approach for enhancing success and increasing knowledge about these complex systems.

Pioneering work with an adaptive management approach was carried out by scientists and managers linked to fisheries. Quota systems existed which sought to guarantee the sustainability of fish catches utilizing the best models available, but the true impact of these quotas on fish populations was poorly known. Consequently, population monitoring systems were developed, and the results from these periodic assessments were used to better adapt the quota systems to sustain desired population levels (Walters 1986). While this short paragraph includes many of the key attributes of adaptive management, a more in-depth description is required to better understand the process. To this end, this article includes the following sections:

• A definition of adaptive management

• Reasons an adaptive management approach is important

• Steps in the adaptive management process

• Final reflections

A Definition of Adaptive Management

In their excellent guide, Salafsky et al. (2001) define adaptive management as follows:

“Adaptive management incorporates research into conservation action (here, forest management). Specifically, it is the integration of design, management, and monitoring to systematically test assumptions in order to adapt and learn.”

From this definition, several attributes of adaptive management become clear. Firstly, research is recognized as an integral part of any forest management initiative. Secondly, learning is viewed as an explicit objective of management interventions. Finally, monitoring systems are required in order to determine management outcomes and enhance success of future interventions.

Reasons an Adaptive Management Approach is Important

As was pointed out in the Introduction, forest management and conservation initiatives are characterized by complexity, involving technical, ecological, social, cultural, political, economic, commercial and institutional dimensions. Within a given region, these diverse dimensions interact and evolve, and even over relatively short distances, can differ in a dramatic fashion. Because of this complexity, it is often difficult to project accurately the true outcomes of distinct policies and management interventions.

One could argue that forest management initiatives should be suspended until all the necessary information required for guaranteeing success and anticipating outcomes is available. In practice, complete information is never available. As has been pointed out, societal objectives evolve over time – often quickly – and new objectives require innovative, often untested proposals. Also, the complex nature of forest management and conservation initiatives often result in quite dissimilar outcomes of the same policy and/or management intervention in different localities. Finally, in many regions of the world, action is required now. For example, in Central America an estimated 340 thousand hectares of tropical forests are lost each year to deforestation. Thus, even without complete information, forest management and conservation initiatives are urgently needed now, to stem this rapid destruction and enhance the livelihoods of the poor living in or adjacent to this precious resource.

Proponents of adaptive management firmly believe that the success of forest management and conservation initiatives can be enhanced through learning. Effective learning, however, requires systematic approach that capitalizes on lessons learned in order to adapt future management interventions. This is precisely what an adaptive management aims to accomplish.

Steps in the Adaptive Management Process

The adaptive management approach can be an effective tool for enhancing the success of specific forestry and agroforestry production systems – for example, forest plantations of high valued hardwoods or silvopastural systems – or an approach for increasing the effectiveness of forest management and conservation initiatives over large areas in which a wide host of stakeholders are involved. This article will concentrate primarily on the latter, more complex extreme. In these types of initiatives, the first step in the adaptive management process is the identification of stakeholders with vested interests and direct involvement in forest management and conservation. An effort is made to bring these stakeholders together and establish mechanisms to enhance participation in the process. Examples of multistakeholder platforms, which can now be found throughout the world, include local networks of horizontal cooperation (for example, the Honduran Network for the Management of Broadleaf Tropical Forests (REMBLAH) and important worldwide initiatives such as the International Model Forest Network Program (see References and Further Reading). These initiatives integrate a wide host of stakeholders including public sector institutions, local governments, community groups, indigenous groups, private companies, environmental organizations, NGOs, projects, research and educational institutions among others. Once the decision to cooperate is reached, an effort is made to clarify a collective mission which generally seeks to achieve sustainable forest management (SFM), encompassing environmental and economic objectives (Galloway 2000).

Once a collective mission is arrived at – through a type of shared strategic planning – the second step in the adaptive management process is to understand or model the “system” (Salafsky et al. 2001). In this step, different stakeholders often possess quite different perceptions of the diverse factors that favor or threaten forest conservation and SFM in a given region. Gradually, however, stakeholders must arrive at a consensus with respect to the key factors that should be prioritized in future initiatives and management interventions. Because of the multidimensionality of SFM, priorities may include technical aspects of forest management, social aspects related to the organization and consolidation of community groups, aspects in the realm of industry and commerce, or it may be considered that policy changes are required in order to facilitate SFM. Generally, priorities will be identified in each of these areas, and SFM will require meaningful progress in all of them.

The third step of adaptive management is the formulation of an operational plan that addresses the priorities identified in the previous step. Each activity included in the operational plan should take into account the best information available to enhance the probability of success. Frequently, forest management initiatives fail to take full advantage of existing information, an error which greatly diminishes that chances for success. In this step, as in the previous one, it is useful to prioritize activities in the operational plan, so that higher priorities are addressed first.

The fourth step in this process is to develop and monitoring plan to test the assumptions in the operational plan. The development of a monitoring plan involves the identification of easily measurable indicators, which when measured clearly indicate the success or failure of the activities implemented in the operational plan. An effort should be made to limit the number of indicators monitored to avoid overburdening the system. Existing forest management standards including criteria and indicator sets are quite useful for developing a monitoring system (Prabhu et al. 1999).

Adaptive management is not a theoretical exercise. Practitioners of adaptive management seek to change the status quo to enhance progress towards SFM. In this context, the fifth step of adaptive management involves implementing the operational and monitoring plans described. Responsibilities and protocols must be clearly defined in order to carry out properly this step.

The sixth step in adaptive management consists in analyzing and interpreting the information generated through the monitoring plan and communicating the results to the diverse stakeholders. A common pitfall in the implementation of monitoring plans is to generate copious amounts of information that is not utilized to the full of its potential. Indeed, a failure in this step undermines efforts made in the previous steps, since an opportunity to learn and adapt future actions is lost. In general, much more time should be devoted to reflect on collaborative experiences and on the interpretation of results (Salafsky et al. 2001).

The last step of adaptive management involves the utilization of the results obtained to adapt and learn. This is the most crucial step in adaptive management, since efforts made in the previous steps permit informed adjustments in management and policy interventions to improve impact and results. With the information generated in this first cycle, a second iteration is begun beginning with the formulation of a new model of the system taking into account aspects learned. Over time, policy and management interventions should become more effective and successful.

Final Comments

To finalize this article, a few important attributes of adaptive management are reiterated and stressed. First, adaptive
management acknowledges uncertainty and complexity as part of efforts to achieve SFM. The need for flexibility is also recognized as being essential in forest management initiatives, since lessons learned will indicate the need for changes in management and policy interventions. Organizations which practice adaptive management promote curiosity and innovation a view failures as an opportunity to learn, and learning is considered one of the most important outcomes of the process.

References and Further Reading

Galloway, G. Operational Networking: An Effective Mechanism to Promote Tropical Forest Management – Promising Experiences in Central America. Kuala Kumpur, Malaysia: IUFRO World Congress Sub-Plenary Sessions Volume 1: 902-908.

IMFN. “The International Model Forest Network Program.”  http://www.rcfa-cfan.org/english/profile.16.htm (13 April 2006)

Lincoln University. “Adaptive Management-Links.” http://student.lincoln.ac.nz/am-links/

Prabhu, R., Colfer, C.J.P., Dudley, R.G. Guidelines for Developing, Testing and Selecting
Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management. Indonesia: CIFOR, 1999. Available in PDF at http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/acm/methods/toolbox1.html#top

Salafsky, Nick; Margoluis, Richard; and Kent Redford. Adaptive Management: A Tool for Conservation Practitioners. Washington D.C. Biodiversity Support Program, 2001. Available in PDF at http://www.worldwildlife.org/bsp/

Walters, C. Adaptive Management of Renewable Resources. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986.