The climate is changing, fish catches are declining and forests are burning in massive fires.
     The present situation is unsustainable.
     We need a system of flexible management that works with instead of against nature.

ill: Lina Hedberg

Man wants control. Control over nature.
     Nature is often seen as something wild and dangerous that needs to be harnessed in order to fulfill our needs. To ensure consistent harvests, the dose of pesticides is increased. To save the forests, fires are not allowed. To increase fish production, farmed fish fed with wild fish, are released into the wild.
But there is a setback to this control.
    When pests, small fires, and other variations in nature are constantly obstructed, the future capacity of the ecosystem to cope with disturbance is reduced (ecological resilience (Build resilience). Possible signs from the ecosystem concerning overfishing or other changes are masked by farmed fish placed into the wild (Social resilience). The risk of disturbance is increasing at the same time as society’s readiness and knowledge about disturbances and ecosystem functioning is decreasing. When a severe disturbance does occur, there will not be enough resilience in the ecosystem or in the management systems.
     Collapse will be a reality.
    Resistant pests devour harvests sprayed with pesticides. Protected forests burn down in unstoppable fires. In planted fish cover up the loss of biological diversity. Man’s attempts to control these resources have failed.

It does not have to be like this. It is possible to use resources in a way that sustains both man and nature. We can live a good life and still manage ecosystems in a way that strengthens both ecological and social resilience. Resilience is a precondition for the capability of ecosystems and societies to cope with disturbances.
     However, this first calls for a fundamental change in our understanding of how nature functions.
     And that is no simple task.
     The dynamic character of nature makes it difficult, if not impossible, to foresee how ecosystem functions will change in the future with an increased level of human impact. For example, we cannot say with certainty what the global effects of increased emissions of carbon dioxide or of a loss in biodiversity will be.
     To cope with this uncertainty in nature, society must be prepared to work continuously to identify different types of disturbance. Furthermore, natural resource management must be able to adapt to new situations and quickly adjust policies. This in turn, demands knowledge about the functioning of ecosystems. Knowledge that has to be constantly updated.

Ecological awareness is high in natural resource managers and scientists. It can also be seen in people who spend much of their time out in nature or earn their living from it, such as hikers or fishermen.
     A solid base of ecological awareness throughout different sectors of society increases the number of alternatives and solutions available - known as the buffer capacity - when disturbance strikes. Ecological awareness also helps improve predictions about the future and reduces the risk of any negative surprises due to our use of natural resources.

A system of flexible management, which, aided by researchers as well as local users, takes onboard new information regarding natural systems and consequently adapts to new situations and disturbances is called adaptive management. Adaptive management assumes that any management or use of nature is like an experiment with the consequent need for evaluation and constant improvement.
     Adaptive management is not about controlling nature as we do today. It’s about allowing small fires in order to avoid the large ones. To tolerate small scale pest attacks but to reduce their negative impact through small-scale farms with several crops and fields surrounded by "buffer zones" with great biological diversity. Buffer zones where the pests’ natural enemies thrive. To adapt fisheries so they reflect the natural variations in fish numbers from year to year.
     A system of adaptive management adapts the resource use to the disturbance. Adaptive management benefits from nature's diversity and services through a constant revision on how ecosystems work (Ecological services). That is - to work with nature rather than against it!
     This is simply a necessary step! Especially when considering the human domination of this planet. How we choose to communally use nature will determine our children's future.


C. Holmlund