Learning in Natural Resource Management

LearninginNaturalResourceManagement:sometheoreticalandempiricalaspectsRominaRodelaUniversityofNovaGorica,[e-mail]¾TheOriginsoftheDiscourse¾SomeTheoreticalAspects¾TheRationaleofCurrentEmpiricalResearch¾ACaseStudy:LearningandaProtectedAreaEstablishmentOriginsoftheDiscourseWhythisinterestinlearning?canberelatedtotheoutcomesassumedonitsbehalfandtothecircumstanceswhichareconductivetolearning.●Naturalresourcemanagementseekstobalancetheneedsofpeoplewiththecapacityofthenaturalresourcesystem.●Rigidanduni-dimensionalmanagementmethodswithanarrowdefinitionoftheproblemledtoagradualandunexpectedchangeoftheecosystem(Holling,1995).Newideasandapproaches:Newideasandapproaches:e.g.adaptivemanagementande.g.adaptivemanagementandgovernance.governance.OriginsoftheDiscourseOriginsoftheDiscourse●Apioneeringpiece:in1971EdgarS.Dunn,inspiredbyevolutionarytheoryandDewey’sexperimentalism,suggestedatheoryofcreativesociallearning.●Hiscritiquewasdirectedtowardadeterministicunderstandingofsocialandeconomicchangeandlearningwasusedasadynamicmetaphorforthestudyofhumanbehaviour.●Naturalresourcemanagementseekstobalancetheneedsofpeoplewiththecapacityofthenaturalresourcesystem.●Powerimbalancesandtop-downdecisionmakingledtoissuesofsocialjustice,resourcedepletionandconservationleddisplacement(i.e.Tacconi,2000;Brechin,2002)Newideasandapproaches:Newideasandapproaches:e.g.participativeapproaches,newideas.e.g.participativeapproaches,newideas.OriginsoftheDiscourseOriginsoftheDiscourse●Webleretal1995;sociallearningreferstotheprocessbywhichchangesinthesocialconditionoccur-particularlychangesinpopularawarenessandchangesinhowindividualsseetheirprivateinterestslinkedwiththesharedinterestsoftheirfellowcitizens.●Uncoordinatedindividualactionsintocollectiveactionsthatsupportandreflectcollectiveneedsandunderstandings.●Civicvirtues,moralsentiments.OriginsoftheDiscourseAreadingthatsuggeststhediscourseonlearninginNRMoriginatingintwodifferentepistemologicaltraditions.TheoriesofdemocracyComplexsystemstheoryOriginsoftheDiscourseHowtheseunderlyingepidemiologieshaveinfluencedtheinterpretationoflearninginNRM.Interpretation:asaprocessleadingtoknowledgeenhancement,moraldevelopmentandchangeinthewayparticipantsseetheproblemdomain.zassessmentcriteriaofaparticipatoryworkshop(Webleretal.,1995),zasprocessoutcomethathelpsjointaction.Interpretation:asanemergentpropertyresultingin,andleadingto,adaptivecapacityofagivensocial-ecologicalsystem.zasaprocesscharacteristic,ortrigger.Origins:typeoflearningTheliteraturespansacrossseveralcontextsofapplication,looksatdifferentunitsofanalysisandusesmoretypesoflearning.Origins:typeoflearning●Webleretal.(1995),Schusleretal.(2003),BouwenandTaillieu(2004)andWildemeersch(2007)usethetermsociallearning,●Saarikoski(2000),Blatneretal.(2001)andDanielsandWalker(1996)usethetermcollaborativelearning,●Pretty(1995)useslearning,_____________________________________________●Dunn(1971),Friedmann(1984)Grootetal.(2002),Keenetal.(2005),Leeuwisetal(2002),ParsonandClark(1995),Pahl-Wostl(2006),Röling(2002),Tabara(2005),Wildemeersch(2007)usesociallearning,●Berkesetal.(2003),MaarleveldandDabgbégnon(1999),Olssonetal(2004),theSLIMandtheHarmonicopprojectsusemoretypesoflearning.Origins:whyLearning:contributestodemocraticqualitiesofthesociety.Webleretal.1995.Learning:contributestotheadaptivecapacityofthesocio-ecologicalsystem.Gundersonetal.1995Whoislearning?WorkshopparticipantKnowledge,skills,valuepositions,increasedtrustlevelsSocio-ecologicalsystemChangeofthesystem-anewstateWhataretheoutcomes?Fewissues●Authorsusemanytypesoflearning,buttheyseldomclarifyif,andhow,thesedifferonefromanother,orwhethertheyaresynonyms,●Somethatareinterestedinasocialdimension,wouldthenfocusatparticipants’experiencewiththeparticipatoryworkshop,●Wholearnersareisnotalwaysclarified,●Mostliteratureisinterestedinmoreimmediateoutcomes,suchastheachievementofapolicy-decision,anddoesnotconsiderprocessesthatmaysustainlearninginthelong-term(Schusleretal,2003),●Thereareunder-exploredfeedbackprocesses,●Notmuchexploredwhatfactorsarethoseconductivetolearning(participatoryprocessvs.groupwork).FewissuesThese,andother,questionsattractedtheattentionofauthorswhohavesuggested:toaccountfordifferentlevelsofaggregation,toconsidermorethanonetypeoflearning,togobeyondaworkshopcontext.EmpiricalResearchEmpiricalResearchIsameasurementof(social)learningafeasibleattempt?EmpiricalResearchAmeasurement-impliestheexistenceoftargetsthatcouldinformthemeaningofanachievedperformancelevel.Also,ameasurementwouldimplytheexistenceofadefinitionofthephenomenononeaimstomeasureandanassumptiononhowtodosoinameaningfulway-e.g.temperaturewithdegreeCelsius.Thisislessstraightforwardforthesocialphenomenagiventhatdifferentinterpretationsmaysupportdifferentempiricalpractices.EmpiricalResearchAnassessmentallowssomeroomforexplorationandincanthisallowarefinementoftheunderstandingofthephenomenaunderobservation.Also,assessmentsallowforanintegrationofqualitativeandquantitativeelements,andthetwotogetherarea