The Collaborative Adaptive Management Network:

Fostering resolution of complex natural resource management problems through the appropriate application of collaborative adaptive management.

The Collaborative Adaptive Management Network (CAMNet) is dedicated to the proposition that adaptive management that involves active stakeholder collaboration is the preferred paradigm for resolving many complex natural resource management problems.

Vision

Decisions regarding complex natural resource management will be structured and informed by the principles and practice of collaborative adaptive management. This will result in improved sustainable ecosystem health and human systems. CAMNet will play a leading role in facilitating these decisions, highlighting excellence and innovation; promoting best practices, appropriate policies, and improved governance; and developing capable, visionary leadership.

Mission

The Collaborative Adaptive Management Network fosters resolution of complex natural resource management problems through:

the appropriate application of collaborative adaptive management,

emphasizing the use of best practices, and

creating and supporting learning opportunities for practitioners, decision makers, and researchers. Goals

Foster project- and program-based innovation, learning and experimentation related to collaboration and adaptive management, as well as the application of these approaches to contemporary natural resource management problems.

Support research, documentation, and analysis of applications of collaborative adaptive management approaches.

Build capacity within the practitioner community (public and private sector and academia) by sponsoring a range of opportunities for information sharing, training, and education.

Create an ongoing mechanism for science-policy dialogue and information exchange that connects practitioners, researchers, and policy makers.

Services

A rapid-response support service for practitioners seeking guidance on the application of collaborative adaptive management resource management challenges

An array of training and educational opportunities

Synthesis, documentation, and sharing of best practices

Information sharing among practitioners, researchers, and policy makers, including "on-the-ground" dialogues

Development and support of an applied research agenda

Outreach and communication with elected officials and senior agency staff at local, state, and federal levels

Defining Collaborative Adaptive Management

Adaptive management is a systematic management paradigm that assumes natural resource management policies and actions are not static but are adjusted based on the combination of new scientific and socio-economic information in order to improve management by learning from the ecosystems being affected. A collaborative adaptive management approach incorporates and links knowledge and credible science with the experience and values of stakeholders and managers for more effective management decision-making.

Given the inherent ecological and social uncertainty in complex resource management decision-making, adaptive management recognizes that it is not possible, a priori, to identify the "best" management alternative. Therefore, an experimental approach is warranted, and learning about the system becomes a deliberate goal similar to traditional ecological, economic, or social goals. Modeling, experimental design, monitoring, and the identification of key decision points are integral parts of adaptive management.

Modeling may take a variety of forms, ranging from sophisticated computer models to very basic conceptual or schematic diagrams. The intent is to develop a shared understanding among stakeholders about how the ecosystem works and to identify substantive gaps in that knowledge. This modeling is often more conceptual in nature than predictive.

Although adaptive management can be implemented by any entity with management authority, CAMNet believes that a collaborative process, whereby multiple stakeholders participate in learning and developing a shared understanding about, as well as establishing goals, objectives, and management policies for an ecosystem, helps minimize disputes and enhance the likelihood of sustainable solutions.

Facilitating appropriate use of adaptive management also means recognizing when the use of adaptive management is not the right approach. CAMNet experience suggests that adaptive management is best suited for sustaining or restoring the resilience of natural ecosystems. Management actions should favor lower risk, reversible alternatives. Policies that encourage large-scale alteration of ecosystems that is likely to impair the resiliency of the system, or those that require extensive mitigation, are probably not good candidates for adaptive management. Exceptions are those projects geared toward providing flexibility in approaches to ecosystem restoration, such as modification of water control structures.