Institutional barriers and incentives for ecosystem management: a problem analysis.

Abstract

Ecosystem management is currently being proposed as a new resource management philosophy. This approach to resource management will require changes in how society approaches nature, science, and politics. Further, if efforts to implement ecosystem management are to succeed, institutional issues must be examined. This report identifies five problem areas where social science research can improve our understanding of how ecosystem management can best be implemented These include (1) the extent to which existing laws, policies, and programs may constrain or aid the implementation of ecosystem management; (2) institutional mechanisms for managing across jurisdictions; (3) internal organizational changes and new arrangements among resource agencies and the public, (4) theoretical principles underlying natural resource management, and (5) methodological approaches for researching institutional questions Strategies to begin researching these questions are also suggested.

Citation

Cortner, H.J.; Shannon, M.A.; Wallace, M.G.; Burke, S.; Moote, M.A. 1996. Institutional barriers and incentives for ecosystem management: a problem analysis. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-354. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 35 p