THE INVISIBLE WAND
Adaptive Co-Management
as an Emergent Strategy
in Complex Bio-Economic SystemsA Paper written by
Jack Ruitenbeek and Cynthia Cartier
Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) Occasional Paper No. 34, October 2001
Presentation by Rowan B. Martin
A Grain of Salt: ACM Revisited
illustrated with René Magritte’s paintings
A Grain of Salt: ACM RevisitedAdaptive co-management is now being seen as a panacea
Some care is needed
The epicycles of planetary motion,
lunar motion and the earth’s rotation
all interlink to influence circles of
motion on our earth . . .
for forestry, fisheries and many other bio-economic systems
A Grain of Salt: ACM Revisited
We are all part of that panarchy
How we see ourselves within the panarchy How we see ourselves within the panarchy influences our actions and overall outlook. influences our actions and overall outlook.
We can choose three potential rWe can choose three potential rôôles les ––
Economic systems, ecological systems, social systems and the political and institutional settings in which they occur are all among these circles – which we may now call the panarchy
As observers we can attempt to describe how the panarchy works
A Grain of Salt: ACM Revisited
As designers, we might prescribe how to influence a system
. . . but we need to be aware that, in this rôle, we are no more than active agents within a slightly larger system
A Grain of Salt: ACM Revisited
As players, we have multiple rôles within the system
Each and every one of us is a researcher, philosopher, consumer, polluter, diplomat, citizen, teacher and student
A Grain of Salt: ACM Revisited
We test out strategies in each of these rôles as we play this game of life
A Reality Check
Adaptive Co-Management is not just some strategy which we can impose on a group of innocent bystanders
It is something that emerges naturally from a complex bio-economic system
There may well exist an invisible wand, driven by individuals’ altruistic dispositions to the common good,
that causes ACM to happen
A Grain of Salt: ACM Revisited
If ACM does so emerge, there are some important implications for analysis and policy-making . . .
The rôle of policy is no longer simply to introduce ACM into a system
It is to protect the conditions for emergence
A Grain of Salt: ACM Revisited
A further function of policy is to introduce consciousness
into the ACM regime through education and enablement
i.e. dezombification
A Grain of Salt: ACM Revisited
Finally, these individuals must be aware that they are capable of changing the rules of that system if necessary
Policy recognises that individuals are working within acomplex system , are capable of learning within that system
and can adapt their strategies as a result of such learning
A Grain of Salt: ACM Revisited
The new science will emerge in its own way, in its own good time
Systematic Cultural Change This paper began with the theme that we may be
on the verge of a major change in scientific paradigmThe science of complexity is gaining currency and deterministic
science is limited to addressing problems of simpler systems
It is tempting to precribe the use of complex systems science in all areas of human experience. This will not get us very far.
A Grain of Salt: ACM Revisited
There still remain too many cultural barriers which will continue to work against the adoption of the science of
complexity as a leading scientific paradigm . . .Reductionist science is alive and well
We are still taught to think inside a boxrather than to think creatively outside of the box
A Grain of Salt: ACM Revisited
Cause-and-effect models of all interactions still prevail
Complex systems science requires that we downplay
these relationships and accept surprises – but many parts of society would cease to function if this paradigm
were discarded
It will take at least one generation to overcome
these entrenched concepts
A Grain of Salt: ACM Revisited
On the other hand, there is nothing preventing any of us adopting the viewpoint of the science
of complexity within our broader panarchy
A Grain of Salt: ACM Revisited
We should not be surprised if today’s generation, in one fell swoop, overcomes all of the
presumed barriers set before it
Complex systems do, after all, produce surprises
And if history has taught us one thing, cultural changes can be very swift –
especially when that culture faces a crisis
THE END
A Grain of Salt: ACM Revisited
