Natural resource management (NRM) is the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future generations (stewardship).
Natural resource management deals with managing the way in which people and natural landscapes interact. It brings together natural heritage management, land use planning, water management, bio-diversity conservation, and the future sustainability of industries like agriculture, mining, tourism, fisheries and forestry. It recognizes that people and their livelihoods rely on the health and productivity of our landscapes, and their actions as stewards of the land play a critical role in maintaining this health and productivity.
Natural resource management specifically focuses on a scientific and technical understanding of resources and ecology and the life-supporting capacity of those resources. Environmental management is similar to natural resource management. In academic contexts, the sociology of natural resources is closely related to, but distinct from, natural resource management.
History
An emphasis on sustainability can be traced back to early attempts to understand the ecological nature of North American rangelands in the late 19th century, and the resource conservation movement of the same time.Berkeley University of California: Geography: Geog 175: Topics in the History of Natural Resource Management: Spring 2006: Rangelands San Francisco State University: Department of Geography: GEOG 657/ENVS 657: Natural Resource Management: Biotic Resources: Natural Resource Management and Environmental History This type of analysis coalesced in the 20th century with recognition that preservationist conservation strategies had not been effective in halting the decline of natural resources. A more integrated approach was implemented recognising the intertwined social, cultural, economic and political aspects of resource management. A more holistic, national and even global form evolved, from the Brundtland Commission and the advocacy of sustainable development.
In 2005 the Government of New South Wales, Australia, established a Standard for Quality Natural Resource Management,NSW Government 2005, Standard for Quality Natural Resource Management, NSW Natural Resources Commission, Sydney to improve the consistency of practice, based on an adaptive management approach.
In the United States, the most active areas of natural resource management are fisheries management, wildlife management, often associated with ecotourism and rangeland management, and forest management. In Australia, water sharing, such as the Murray Darling Basin Plan and catchment management are also significant.
How to prevent natural resource depletion Here are some ways to prevent changes in land and sea use:
Reduce, reuse, and recycle Volunteer Educate Conserve water Choose sustainable Shop wisely Use long-lasting light bulbs Plant a tree Stop pollution Control hunting Prevent invasive species Secure Indigenous land rights Reforestation and landscape restoration Establish new protected areas Redesign food systems Use finance as a tool
Ownership regimes
Natural resource management approaches can be categorised according to the kind and right of stakeholders, natural resources:
State property: Ownership and control over the use of resources is in hands of the state. Individuals or groups may be able to make use of the resources, but only at the permission of the state. National forest, National parks and military reservations are some US examples. Private property: Any property owned by a defined individual or corporate entity. Both the benefit and duties to the resources fall to the owner(s). Private land is the most common example. Common property: It is a private property of a group. The group may vary in size, nature and internal structure e.g. indigenous neighbours of village. Some examples of common property are community forests. Non-property (open access): There is no definite owner of these properties. Each potential user has equal ability to use it as they wish. These areas are the most exploited. It is said that "Nobody's property is Everybody's property". An example is a lake fishery. Common land may exist without ownership, in which case in the UK it is vested in a local authority. Hybrid: Many ownership regimes governing natural resources will contain parts of more than one of the regimes described above, so natural resource managers need to consider the impact of hybrid regimes. An example of such a hybrid is native vegetation management in NSW, Australia, where legislation recognises a public interest in the preservation of native vegetation, but where most native vegetation exists on private land.
Stakeholder analysis
Stakeholder analysis originated from business management practices and has been incorporated into natural resource management in ever growing popularity. Stakeholder analysis in the context of natural resource management identifies distinctive interest groups affected in the utilisation and conservation of natural resources.
There is no definitive definition of a stakeholder as illustrated in the table below. Especially in natural resource management as it is difficult to determine who has a stake and this will differ according to each potential stakeholder.
Different approaches to who is a stakeholder Source Who is a stakeholder Kind of research Freeman. "can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization's objectives" Business Management BowieBowie, N. (1988) The moral obligations of multinational corporations. In: Luper-Foy (Ed.), Problems of International Justice. Boulder: Westview Press, pp. 97–113. "without whose support the organization would cease to exist" Business Management Clarkson "... persons or groups that have, or claim, ownership, rights, or interests in a corporation and its activities, past, present, or future." Business Management Grimble and Wellard "...any group of people, organized or unorganized, who share a common interest or stake in a particular issue or system..." Natural resource management Gass et al. "... any individual, group and institution who would potentially be affected, whether positively or negatively, by a specified event, process or change." Natural resource management Buanes et al. "... any group or individual who may directly or indirectly affect—or be affected—...planning to be at least potential stakeholders." Natural resource management Brugha and Varvasovszky "... stakeholders (individuals, groups and organizations) who have an interest (stake) and the potential to influence the actions and aims of an organization, project or policy direction." Health policy ODA "... persons, groups or institutions with interests in a project or programme." Development
Therefore, it is dependent upon the circumstances of the stakeholders involved with natural resource as to which definition and subsequent theory is utilised.
Billgrena and Holme identified the aims of stakeholder analysis in natural resource management:
Identify and categorise the stakeholders that may have influence Develop an understanding of why changes occur Establish who can make changes happen How to best manage natural resources
This gives transparency and clarity to policy making allowing stakeholders to recognise conflicts of interest and facilitate resolutions. There are numerous stakeholder theories such as Mitchell et al. However, Grimble created a framework of stages for a Stakeholder Analysis in natural resource management. Grimble designed this framework to ensure that the analysis is specific to the essential aspects of natural resource management.
Stages in Stakeholder analysis Source: Clarify objectives of the analysis Place issues in a systems context Identify decision-makers and stakeholders Investigate stakeholder interests and agendas Investigate patterns of inter-action and dependence (e.g. conflicts and compatibilities, trade-offs and synergies)
Application Grimble and Wellard established that Stakeholder analysis in natural resource management is most relevant where issued can be characterised as;
Cross-cutting systems and stakeholder interests Multiple uses and users of the resource. Market failure Subtractability and temporal trade-offs Unclear or open-access property rights Untraded products and services Poverty and under-representation
Case studies In the case of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a comprehensive stakeholder analysis would have been relevant and the Batwa people would have potentially been acknowledged as stakeholders preventing the loss of people's livelihoods and loss of life.
In Wales, Natural Resources Wales, a Welsh Government sponsored body "pursues sustainable management of natural resources" and "applies the principles of sustainable management of natural resources" as stated in the Environment (Wales) Act 2016.
NRW is responsible for more than 40 different types of regulatory regime across a wide range of activities.
Nepal, Indonesia and Koreas' community forestry are successful examples of how stakeholder analysis can be incorporated into the management of natural resources. This allowed the stakeholders to identify their needs and level of involvement with the forests.
Criticisms Natural resource management stakeholder analysis tends to include too many stakeholders which can create problems in of its self as suggested by Clarkson. "Stakeholder theory should not be used to weave a basket big enough to hold the world's misery."Clarkson, M.B.E. (1994) A risk based model of stakeholder theory. Toronto: Working Paper, University of Toronto, pp.10 Starik proposed that nature needs to be represented as stakeholder. However this has been rejected by many scholars as it would be difficult to find appropriate representation and this representation could also be disputed by other stakeholders causing further issues. Stakeholder analysis can be used exploited and abused in order to marginalise other stakeholders. Identifying the relevant stakeholders for participatory processes is complex as certain stakeholder groups may have been excluded from previous decisions.Prell, C., et al. (2007) Stakeholder Analysis and Social Network Analysis in Natural Resource Management. Leeds: Sustainability Research Institute, University of Leeds, pp. 1-21 On-going conflicts and lack of trust between stakeholders can prevent compromise and resolutions.
Alternatives/ Complementary forms of analysis:
Social network analysis Common pool resource
Management of the resources
Natural resource management issues are inherently complex and contentious. First, they involve the ecological cycles, hydrological cycles, climate, animals, plants and geography, etc. All these are dynamic and inter-related. A change in one of them may have far reaching and/or long-term impacts which may even be irreversible. Second, in addition to the complexity of the natural systems, managers also have to consider various stakeholders and their interests, policies, politics, geographical boundaries and economic implications. It is impossible to fully satisfy all aspects at the same time. Therefore, between the scientific complexity and the diverse stakeholders, natural resource management is typically contentious.
After the United Nations Conference for the Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, most nations subscribed to new principles for the integrated management of land, water, and forests. Although program names vary from nation to nation, all express similar aims.
The various approaches applied to natural resource management include:
Top-down (command and control) Community-based natural resource management Adaptive management Precautionary approach Integrated natural resource management