Stakeholder participation, indicators, assessment, and decision-making: applying adaptive management at the watershed scale

• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-021-09741-4
• Publication Date: 2022-02-08T04:46:06Z
• Authors: Adriana A. Zuniga...; Larry A. Fisher; Thomas Meixner; François-Michel L...; Frank Postillion
• Keywords: Adaptive Management; Stakeholder Engagement; Watershed Management; Natural Resource Management

Climate change, population growth, and declining federal budgets are threatening the health of ecosystems, services they provide. Under these changing conditions, managing landscapes resources assumes new unprecedented challenges. Adaptive management has been identified as a natural resource approach that allows practitioners to incorporate change uncertainty into decision-making through an iterative process involves long-term monitoring continued review adjustment actions. However, success efforts in watershed relies on collective sustained indicators, which is seldom studied. The purpose this analysis examine (1) practical challenge choosing list indicators for monitoring, (2) negotiation among stakeholders around selection interpretation (3) communication tools can be used convey assessment's results findings. To do this, we analyze our ongoing work Cienega Watershed southern Arizona. Our shows selective use regular assessment review, establishment partnerships all important elements establishing effective adaptive efforts. data sources moving target requires consensus stakeholders. itself also powerful engagement tool with public at large, providing legitimacy support land decision-making. Here, outline some lessons learned transferred other cases identify potential barriers engagement, decision-making, project success.