This book is intended for use by natural resource managers and scientists, and students in the fields of natural resource management, ecology, and conservation biology, who are confronted with complex and difficult decision making problems. The book takes readers through the process of developing a structured approach to decision making, by firstly deconstructing decisions into component parts, which are each fully analyzed and then reassembled to form a working decision model. The book integrates common-sense ideas about problem definitions, such as the need for decisions to be driven by explicit objectives, with sophisticated approaches for modeling decision influence and incorporating feedback from monitoring programs into decision making via adaptive management. Numerous worked examples are provided for illustration, along with detailed case studies illustrating the authors' experience in applying structured approaches. There is also a series of detailed technical appendices. An accompanying website provides computer code and data used in the worked examples.
Additional resources for this book can be found at: www.wiley.com/go/conroy/naturalresourcemanagement.
Decision Making in Natural Resource Management will prove indispensable to natural resource managers and scientists, as well as students in the fields of natural resource management, ecology, and conservation biology. Taking readers through the process of developing a structured approach to decision making, the authors break down decisions into their component parts, analyzing and reconfiguring them to form working decision models. The book integrates common sense and logical thinking with dynamic management strategies based around hypothetical relationships, testable predictions, and feedback from monitoring programs. Numerous examples are provided for illustration, along with detailed case studies demonstrating the application of structured systems. In addition, the book provides detailed technical appendices and access to a companion website featuring useful data and code.
