Adaptive collaborative management of community forests in Asia ...

Chapter 2: Adaptive Collaborative Management: A Conceptual Model • 41
Before we explore each of these three conditions, observe that in the
centre of the model is the emergence of new or revised norms, rules and
institutions (in the sense of Giddens 1984) as manifestations of changes to
social assets. Norms, rules and institutions are critical components of the
framework, containing the bulk of the wisdom and to a lesser extent the
knowledge that is generated at each phase. They form the axle on which
the framework rotates, for as Sen (1999: 142) notes, ‘Individuals live and
operate in a world of institutions. Our opportunities and prospects depend
crucially on what institutions exist and how they operate’. Agreeing with
Giddens (1984), we see these institutions as shaping and being shaped by
the groups concerned in each of the phases.
Complexity. Does all decision making require an adaptive collaborative
management approach? If a problem can be characterised accurately as
noncomplex—for example, if linkages within the system are linear and
respond without delay to external influences—then a command-andcontrol
or mechanistic style of management is likely sufficient to yield
expected management results. However, as Scott (1998) has pointed out,
there is a great temptation for people (and we include resource managers
and policy makers here) to treat complex systems as noncomplex and impose
simple models and linear solutions—much like the proverbial man with a
hammer, to whom everything starts to look like a nail. If the man with a
hammer is at the apex of an organisation that fits the machine metaphor,
as described above, the consequences may be dire. The complex nature of
a system must be recognised and addressed with an appropriately dynamic
model if positive outcomes are to be achieved in the long term.
Forest systems—and the human-forest interface—are unquestionably
complex. Forest ecosystems are highly diverse ecologically, and interactions
between species, as well as the ontology of many individual species, is
poorly understood. Forest contexts are also complex socially—in ethnicity,
gender, age, economic difference, worldview and interests in forests and
forest products. Forest systems in most developing countries operate
under overlapping and sometimes conflicting traditional systems, residual
colonial influences and modernising postcolonial structures. In some cases,
there are also powerful outside international interests, mainly but not
exclusively economic or conservationist. And the interactions between
the social and natural systems are numerous and diverse, with demands
for a multitude of forest products and services. Thus complexity—and
dynamism—is the normal condition for forests. The need for an adaptive
and collaborative management approach is therefore apparent. Complexity,