2008 年 5 巻 p. 110-120
Adaptive management is a systematic set of principles and tools that can continually improve management policies and practices because they are linked to the outcomes of operational programs. Effective adaptive management is based on the recognition of the linkages between scientific knowledge and the social aspects particular to each case.
In this paper, two main conclusions are shown through an analysis of the issueframing process in the case of a nature restoration program at Lake KASUMIGAURA, east-central Japan. First, the current pattern of issue framing in the nature restoration program is problematic because it is based only on the scientific view of the problem and solutions. Advocates of adaptive management argue that it is necessary to incorporate social aspects of human-nature relations to solve the problems. Second, adaptive management programs should include such social reflexive verification processes that repeatedly scrutinize the validity and findings of the issueframing process, on the assumption that any single way of issue framing cannot be infallible or complete.
How to design goals of operations and how to deal with the results as effective feedback are also essential questions in the practice of adaptive management programs. As mentioned above, the key is to focus on the social aspects and the issue framing processes in the operations themselves, not just on scientific issues. Otherwise, adaptive management programs will not themselves be 'adaptive'.