Adaptive management : a tool for conservation practitioners

This guide describes and analyzes the use of adaptive management in biodiversity conservation projects. An initial section defines adaptive management and outlines the conditions that warrant its use: the complex and constantly changing systems in which conservation projects take place; the cleverness of businesses and land developers in circumventing conservation laws and restrictions; the need to take immediate action; and the impossibility of obtaining complete information, along with the possibility of learning and improving. Next, the guide reviews the scientific and philosophical sources of the adaptive management approach, with emphasis on the reflection-in-action approach characteristic of learning organizations, and describes current conservation projects in Zambia, British Columbia, and Papua New Guinea that employ such an approach. The ensuing section discusses the seven steps of the adaptive management cycle: (1) establish a clear and common purpose; (2) design an explicit model of your project; (3) develop a management plan that maximizes results and learning; (4) develop a monitoring plan to test your assumptions; (5) implement your management and monitoring plans; (6) analyze data and communicate results; and (7) use results to adapt and learn. Finally, the guide outlines principles guiding the process of adaptive management: ensure that adaptive management is conducted by the project team itself; promote curiosity and innovation; value failures and learn from mistakes; expect surprises and capitalize on crises; encourage personal growth; create learning organizations and partnerships; contribute to global learning by disseminating what your have learned; and treat adaptive management as an art to be practiced. Includes references.