Summary

Adaptive management is the recommended means for continuing management and use of natural resources, especially in the context of 'integrated natural resource management'. It is defined by learning from past management actions to use the gained experience for future planning and management. However, adaptive management has proved difficult to achieve in practice. With a view to facilitating better practice, this new handbook combines the latest in adaptive management theory with detailed case studies, to provide managers with ready access to relevant information. Case studies are drawn from a number of fields, including wilderness, marine fisheries, sustainable farming, freshwater rivers, watersheds, forests, biodiversity and pests. They also cover a variety of scales, from individual farms, through regional projects, to state-wide decision making, and come from across the world, including examples from Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada, the UK, Europe and South Africa. While the book is designed primarily for practitioners and policy advisors in the fields of environmental and natural resource management, it will also provide a valuable reference for students and researchers with interests in environmental, natural resource and conservation management.