Adaptive Management for Water Resources Project Planning (2004) / Chapter Skim
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2 Adaptive Management Theories, Frameworks, and Practices
2 Adaptive Management Theories, Frameworks, and Practices
Pages 19-32
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From page 19... ...
Applications of adaptive management principles within the Corps of Engineers to date have focused on aquatic and hydrologic systems. Although this report encourages the Corps to consider ways in which adaptive management principles could be applied in other parts of its work program, as applications within the agency to date have focused on ecosystem restoration, these experiences are emphasized within this report.
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From page 20... ...
. Instead of seeking precise predictions of future conditions, adaptive management recognizes the uncertainties associated with forecasting future outcomes, and calls for consideration of a range of possible future outcomes (Walters, 1986)
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From page 21... ...
A SPECTRUM OF ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES Scientific inquiry can be approached and knowledge can be gained in many different ways. If these various means of inquiry are placed along a spectrum, formal, laboratory experimentation lies near one of this spectrum, and unmonitored, unstructured learning lies near the other end (Table 2.1)
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From page 22... ...
By contrast, an "active" adaptive management approach reviews information before management actions are taken. A range of competing, alternative system models of ecosystem and related responses (e.g.
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Characteristics Related to External Social Context Goals and objectives Goals and objectives should Goals will include a balance be clearly defined. between management goals and learning.
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From page 24... ...
As adaptive management proceeds, not only will ecosystem understanding by participants increase, but social and political preferences are likely to evolve, and environmental and social surprises may occur. Key questions, paths of inquiry, and programmatic objectives should be regularly reviewed in an iterative process to help participants maintain a focus on objectives and appropriate revisions to them.
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From page 25... ...
Numerical models provide an opportunity to see how ecosystems might respond to a variety of human actions, and the better the model is able to simulate reality, the greater its credibility. Numerical models of ecosystems are useful for adaptive management applications and programs, as they allow scientists and stakeholders to observe how impacts vary across multiple management actions.
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From page 26... ...
Within the field of water resources planning and management, Gilbert White for decades strongly encouraged water managers and organizations to consider a broad range of alternatives for addressing water resources problems and opportunities (White, 1961)
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From page 27... ...
Without a mechanism to integrate knowledge gained in monitoring into management actions, and without a parallel commitment and the political will to act upon knowledge gained from monitoring -- which will not eliminate all uncertainties -- monitoring and learning will not result in better management decisions and policies. In addition, adaptive management organizations must likewise have some degree of flexibility in order to adjust operations in light of new information, environmental changes, and shifting social and economic conditions and preferences (Gunderson, 1999)
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From page 28... ...
In broad terms, the evolution is from simplicity to complexity. Most major civil investments were traditionally designed and implemented primarily in terms of single investments, for single purposes, on the basis of a single forecast of future events, and with a narrow focus on construction (Table 2.3 summarizes practices that were fairly standard as of a generation ago, as well as ways in which those practices are evolving)
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From page 29... ...
Promoters and developers of engineering and other projects are responsible for managing inevitable uncertainties associated with those projects. On the one hand, there is a need to take advantage of new opportunities for improving water resources systems performance through advances in engineering, biophysical sciences, and social sciences.
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From page 30... ...
Adaptive staging (as opposed to linear staging with a predetermined path to a well-defined endpoint) was recommended as a promising approach to the development of geological repositories for high-level radioactive wastes, such the Yucca Mountain Project (NRC, 2003b)
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From page 31... ...
Adaptive site management is seen as a more effective alternative to the traditional paradigm for hazardous site restoration, which involved a linear, unidirectional path from site investigation, to remedial actions, and eventually to site closure (NRC, 2003c)
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From page 32... ...
Yet the Corps has only limited experience in integrating them within a formal adaptive management framework. A Corps of Engineers 2003 draft report prepared in connection with its Upper Mississippi River feasibility study, for example, demonstrates an understanding of adaptive management principles and challenges regarding its implementation (Lubinski and Barko, 2003)
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