Research@Lincoln
    • Login
     
    View Item 
    •   Research@Lincoln Home
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • Doctoral (PhD) Theses
    • View Item
    •   Research@Lincoln Home
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • Doctoral (PhD) Theses
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Towards improving the practice of adaptive management in the New Zealand conservation context

    Jacobson, Christine L.
    Abstract
    Adaptive management has been proposed as a learning-oriented approach to environmental management where uncertainty exists. While the approach appears scientifically sound, it remains challenging to implement, with few successful examples in practice. In Aotearoa-New Zealand, the approach is relatively new, especially within conservation management. The goal of this research was to develop an understanding about the ways in which to support its adoption and practice in this context. Through synthesis of the international literature, I argue that the resolution of practice-based concerns about adaptive management requires a focus on practice context, rather than serving to emphasise differences in discipline-derived discourse. A context focus is enabled in this research by the use of reflection building approaches, including formative evaluation, joint inquiry and individual reflection on group process. The usefulness of these approaches for addressing the research goal is assessed using action research. Action research is an inductive research methodology involving an iterative and cyclical process of action and critical reflection on action. Subsequent research cycles enable substantive theory (about practice) to be developed. Five research cycles were undertaken. Three cycles were dedicated to the development and testing of a formative evaluation framework. The value of this framework for building reflection is evidenced in a multi-case analysis of the practice of adaptive management. Further, the value of alternative approaches to building reflection is also demonstrated. This research has shown that the practice of adaptive management in New Zealand is typically specialist driven. I argue that this is, in part, due to the use of adaptive management as a model of science-based problem solving. The successful practice of adaptive management is therefore dependent on practitioners' ability to attend to tensions caused by interests other than those of improving the ability to confront complexity at the localised management level. This research has proven that supporting practitioners in making explicit the underlying reasons for decisions about how to confront complexity can only serve to improve the likelihood of learning from them.... [Show full abstract]
    Keywords
    adaptive management; action research; conservation management; Department of Conservation (DOC); evaluation; learning; New Zealand; inquiry; reflection
    Date
    2007
    Type
    Thesis
    Collections
    • Doctoral (PhD) Theses [887]
    • Department of Environmental Management [1079]
    Share this

    on Twitter on Facebook on LinkedIn on Reddit on Tumblr by Email

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    1-jacobson_phd.pdf
    2-am-links.zip
    Metadata
     Expand record
    This service is managed by Learning, Teaching and Library
    • Archive Policy
    • Copyright and Reuse
    • Deposit Guidelines and FAQ
    • Contact Us
     

     

    Browse

    All of Research@LincolnCommunities & CollectionsTitlesAuthorsKeywordsBy Issue DateThis CollectionTitlesAuthorsKeywordsBy Issue Date

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics
    This service is managed by Learning, Teaching and Library
    • Archive Policy
    • Copyright and Reuse
    • Deposit Guidelines and FAQ
    • Contact Us