Interdependent Social-Ecological Systems and Adaptive Governance 147actions (Gunderson et al, 1995). Basically such adaptive management can be divided
into:
- A conceptual system model, sometimes expressed as a computer simulation
model that represents available knowledge and understanding of the system
processes, structure and elements. - A set of strategies that represents management policies or actions.
- A set of criteria for judging the success of the implementation of management
actions and policies. - A process that continuously evaluates and responds to the effects of manage-
ment actions on the system and incorporates lessons learned in a new set of
strategies to improve management.
Walters (1997) in his review of adaptive management argues that a reason for fail-
ure lies in management stakeholders showing deplorable self-interest, seeing adap-
tive-policy development as a threat to existing research programmes and
management regimes, rather than as an opportunity for improvement. This is why
it becomes important to address the social dimension and contexts for adaptive
governance in relation to ecosystem management such as processes of participa-
tion, collective action and learning.
Policy increasingly emphasizes the involvement of local users and land owners
in adaptive ecosystem management. Involving local resource users can improve
incentives for ecosystem management (Agrawal and Gibson, 1999; Fabricius and
Koch, 2004). In addition, traditional and local knowledge about resources and
ecosystem dynamics in communities can provide unique information about local
conditions and complement scientific knowledge in ecosystem management efforts
(e.g. Berkes et al, 2000; Olsson and Folke, 2001; Becker and Ghimire, 2003;
Aswani and Hamilton, 2004; Sheil and Lawrence, 2004).
But still few ecological inventories or stakeholder analyses (that tend to focus
on conflicting interests) capture human resources in the landscape or the social
structures and processes underlying incentives and values for ecosystem manage-
ment.
Social-ecological inventories and local stewards of ecosystem services
Social-ecological inventories have been suggested to improve ecosystem manage-
ment (Schultz et al, in press). Such inventories identify people with ecosystem
knowledge that practice ecosystem management. Social-ecological inventories help
visualize ecosystem management on the ground in relation to ecosystem services,
focusing on local steward groups acting outside official management plans. In a
social-ecological inventory, conducted in a river basin of southern Sweden, local
steward groups, their ecosystem management activities, motives and social net-
works were identified. Methods included interviews, participatory observations
and review of documents and other written material. The inventory revealed a rich
diversity of steward groups that manage and monitor a range of ecosystem services